Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare) pulled on the stars and stripes jersey as the winner of the 2014 Smart Choice USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships on Saturday evening after some impressive team work from UnitedHealthcare.
The womens' race stayed together for the duration of the 90-minute event, with the racing heating up in the finals laps with several attacks and a four-rider crash. With one lap to go, the UHC blue train managed to take its familiar position at the front of the pack to set Rivera up for the win.
"Once I saw that Alison (Powers) had gone down, it was a quick reset because you know it was just the four of us," Rivera said of her UnitedHealthcare team's teamwork during the last laps. “That’s the beauty of a real team. Despite the adversity of the end of the race, we were able to pick up the pieces and put them together. It just goes to show that we are a team that comes out on top.”
Rivera was followed in second by National Criterium Calendar leader Erica Allar (Colavita-Fine Cooking) and in third by Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO). It was her first title.
"I think I proved over the season and last weekend that I had really good legs, especially for a criterium. I think they (UHC) had full confidence in me and I had full confidence in them that we would win this race today," she told USA Cycling after the win.
"This is definitely number one. It's my first professional national championship. I've had a few with juniors and collegiate and one U23 title. This one is definitely special."
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coryn Rivera (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 2 | Erica Allar (USA) Colavita Racing Inc. | ||
| 3 | Samantha Schneider (USA) Team TIBCO/ To the Top | ||
| 4 | Sarah Fader (USA) Pepper Palace Pro Cycling | ||
| 5 | Lauren Tamayo (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 6 | Amy Cutler (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 7 | Morgan Brown (USA) Team Novo Nordisk | ||
| 8 | Jennifer Purcell (USA) Colavita Racing Inc. | ||
| 9 | Colleen Hayduk (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Pure Energy Cycling-Vie 13 | ||
| 10 | Mary Elizabeth Maroon (USA) TWENTY16 Pro Cycling | ||
| 11 | Ruth Winder (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 12 | Tiffany Pezzulo (USA) | ||
| 13 | Starla Teddergreen (USA) Cloud Racing p/b Ride2Recovery | ||
| 14 | Christy Keely (USA) Asheville Bicycle Racing Club | ||
| 15 | Debbie Milne (USA) Finish Strong | ||
| 16 | Christina Gokey-Smith (USA) Pepper Palace Pro Cycling | ||
| 17 | Anna Sanders (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 18 | Lindsay Bayer (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Pure Energy Cycling-Vie 13 | ||
| 19 | Jessica Prinner (USA) Colavita Racing Inc. | ||
| 20 | Jeannie Kuhajek (USA) | ||
| 21 | Whitney Schultz (USA) Colavita Racing Inc. | ||
| 22 | Amber Neben (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 23 | Erica Zaveta (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 24 | Amy Phillips (USA) Pepper Palace Pro Cycling | ||
| 25 | Sara Tussey (USA) Mellow Mushroom Racing | ||
| 26 | E Scotti Wilborne (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 27 | Tina Pic (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Pure Energy Cycling-Vie 13 | ||
| 28 | Alison Powers (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 29 | Cari Higgins (USA) UnitedHealthcare | ||
| 30 | Mary Zider (USA) Colavita Racing Inc. | ||
| 31 | Mia Loquai (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 32 | Julie Kuliecza (USA) Pepper Palace Pro Cycling | ||
| 33 | Anna Christiansen (USA) | ||
| 34 | Christina Birch (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Pure Energy Cycling-Vie 13 | ||
| 35 | Erin Wittwer (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Pure Energy Cycling-Vie 13 | ||
| 36 | Holly Mathews (USA) | ||
| 37 | Kathryne Carr (USA) | ||
| 38 | Mollie Brewer (USA) PSIMET Racing | ||
| 39 | Rachel Byus (USA) FCS Cycling | ||
| 40 | Caroline Moakley (USA) Carolina Masters | ||
| 41 | Shannon Parrish (USA) Cloud Racing p/b Ride2Recovery | ||
| 42 | Suzanna Dupee (USA) Happy Tooth Women's Racing |
