Rally Cycling’s Emma White won stage four of the Tour of the Gila on Saturday, exacting her revenge on Chloe Dygert who narrowly bested her in a thrilling sprint finish on Thursday. White won all three intermediate sprints during the one-hour criterium to build an unassailable lead in the points classification while Sara Poidevin maintained her second place in the overall as the best young rider. Kirsti Lay crossed the line in fourth after delivering White to the win.

Rob Britton remains in the men’s red leader jersey while teammate Kyle Murphy holds onto third overall headed into tomorrow’s queen stage. The team hopes for a repeat of last year when they successfully defended Evan Huffman’s lead on the Gila Monster stage. Britton is no stranger to the demands of leading on the final day, winning Tour of the Gila in 2016.

Emma White on repeating last year’s victory

“After winning this stage last year and a close sprint on stage two, I set the bar pretty high for myself today. The team and I knew I was capable of it, and we figured out the right formula today. It feels great to come away with a win on a stage I love. I’m excited for what the year will bring with the team!

“Going into the day, we wanted to build my lead in the sprint competition. I was definitely cautious to only exert what I knew I was capable of during the sprint points. I only did what I had to for the bonus sprints, and was confident in the finish, especially with the team covering moves and giving me a great leadout. I was able to fully recover between efforts.

“I couldn’t have pulled off the win without the exceptional efforts of the team. We were trying to accomplish two things today, a stage win and to maintain Sara’s GC position, so that meant all hands on deck. The team was near the front the entire race, keeping everything under control. They always make me proud to be a Rally Cat.”

 

Women’s Stage 3 Results

1 Emma White (USA) 1:05:26

2 Chloe Dygert (USA)  

3 Lauren Hall (USA)

4 Kirsti Lay (Can)

5 Valentina Scandolara (Ita)

 

Women’s General Classification after Stage 3

1 Katharine Hall (USA) 8:00:59

2 Sara Poidevin (Can) 0:00:08

3 Leah Thomas (USA) 0:02:09

 

Women’s Best Young Rider Competition

1 Sara Poidevin (Can)   8:01:06

2 Chloe Dygert (USA)   0:02:59

3 Emma White (USA)    0:04:13

 

Women’s Points Classification

1 Emma White (USA)   57 pts

2 Chloe Dygert (USA)   27

3 Diana Peñuela (Col)  23

 

Men’s General Classification after Stage 4

1 Robert Britton (Can) 8:15:34

2 Gavin Mannion (USA) 0:00:57

3 Kyle Murphy (USA) 0:01:43