Under dangerously wet conditions American national criterium champion Daniel Holloway (VMG-Racing)...
Daniel Holloway (VMG/Felt) claimed the final stage, but it was neutralised and didn't count towards the overall (Image credit: Scott Schaffrick)
Under dangerously wet conditions American national criterium champion Daniel Holloway (VMG-Racing) proved why he holds the title as he won the closing criterium. Holloway out-sprinted Canadian Keven Lacombe (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast) and Eric Barlevav (Team Time Pro) to claim the final stage win.
"I love racing in the rain and our guys were so motivated at the start that stopping would have just lowered our morale," said Holloway, regarding the official's decision to neutralise and restart the event due to heavy rain and tornado warnings. "All the guys wanted to race and that just made me even more motivated. They believed in me, and to me they are the ones who won tonight."
Due to the dangerous conditions, race officials decided to exclude the stage from the overall classification and furthermore donate the prize money to local charity.
Canadian David Veilleux showed an outstanding week-long performance which saw him sew up the yellow leader's jersey. The Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast rider claimed a 12-second victory over South African Christoff Van Heerden (Konica Minolta) and was 18 seconds ahead of American Stefano Barberi (Z-Team), who took third place.
"I'm sorry for the outcome of the race tonight," said Veilleux, who also won the best sprinter's green jersey. "But, it means a lot to me to win these jerseys here at the Tour of Pennsylvania. I think I would not have been able to do this without my team-mates helping me and all of our strategy that took place."
