Cliff-Ryan climbs NRC standings with Chris Thater win

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Theresa Cliff-Ryan's win in the Chris Thater Memorial criterium pushed her up the rankings of the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar into third overall behind leader Janel Holcomb and Leah Kirchman. That put three Colavita-Forno d'Asolo teammates in the top three, with Erinne Willock (Tibco/Top the Top) dropped to fourth

Cliff-Ryan's victory in the fast-paced race came before Hurricane Irene's effects blew into Binghamton, New York. Despite an early breakaway from Rachel Warner (Missing Link), the race came down to a bunch sprint and Cliff-Ryan, winner of the Grand Cycling Classic, Presbyterian Hospital Criterium and Tour of Somerville, easily beat Joanne Kiesanowski (Tibco) and Erica Allar (RideClean) in the dash to the line.

The victory also gave the Colavita-Forno d'Asolo squad an unassailable lead in the teams classification.

The men's rankings remained unchanged as the race was cancelled because of worsening conditions created by Hurricane Irene's outer bands. Francisco Mancebo (Realcyclist) leads by a large margin over Jake Keough (UnitedHealthCare) in the individual rankings, while Bissell is at the top of the team standings.

NRC standings