Sunny King Criterium victory for Williams

Lily Williams (Hagens Berman-Supermint) out-kicked Lauretta Hanson (UnitedHealthcare) to take the Sunny King Criterium, the first race on the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour, with Harriet Owen (The Meteor/Intelligentsia) taking the final podium spot.

Hanson sparked the three-rider breakaway, but it was Williams who proved quickest in the rainy hour-long criterium.

"I'm really excited. It's only my second PRT victory," said Williams. "I started racing last spring, so it definitely affirms that I belong here. I'm really pleased how it went tonight. I definitely did not expect to win.

"Lauretta went, and I was in a pretty good position to follow. I was able to jump on and get to her wheel about three-quarters of a lap later. Then the third girl, Harriet, was on us pretty quickly after that," Williams said. "We all worked together pretty well, and we were able to put some time in (for the lead). For a while, I thought that the peloton was going to catch us because they were on the same stretch as us. Then I realized we had a good lead."

A 30-rider bunch sprint behind Owen was won by ISCorp's Samantha Schneider, last year's winner.

"We came to be aggressive, hoping to take the crown back," Schneider said. "We missed the (winning) move, unfortunately, but we were still able to get the field sprint for fourth. We started the season on a relatively high note, I would say.

"It was a pretty windy day and chilly. We had a rider floating in between for a while, just couldn't quite get there. That's bike racing," added Schneider.

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