JJ Haedo, Miller win Crystal Cup

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One day after UnitedHealthcare seemed to re-assert its dominance at the Air Force Cycling Classic with a first-place finish in the Clarendon Cup, another team proved a more than worthy adversary in Crystal City. UnitedHealthcare has been racking up victories in the National Criterium Calendar (NCC), picking up 15 wins in 17 events going into this weekend's NCC races, but Jamis-Hagens Berman wasn’t intimidated, and was ready to prove they are a force just as strong as the boys in blue.

Jamis-Hagens Berman’s J.J. Haedo won the 90-minute men's Crystal Cup race ahead of Daniel Holloway (Amore & Vita) and Jamis-Hagens Berman teammate Luis Amaran. Additionally, Jamis-Hagens Berman swept the top three spots in the men’s omnium competition with Amaran, Demis Aleman and J.J. Haedo claiming first through third respectively.

Five riders, including Amaran, Haedo and Holloway, formed the breakaway that turned out to be the move of the day in the event's featured men's pro race. UnitedHealthcare appeared to be patient with the move up the road, confident in their ability to bring it back at will, as so often that scenario has played out this year. However, Jamis-Hagens Berman had no interest in following that script and Haedo and Amaran, allied with Holloway, kept their engines stoked. The pressure resulted in dropping their two other companions, but the UnitedHealthcare blue train was closing in the final laps, per the script.

With one lap to go, UnitedHealthcare had only two riders left at the front of the pack and still trailed the breakaway, the blue train just running out of track to make the catch before the finish. As a result, Jamis-Hagens Berman’s first and third ended the three-year dominance by UnitedHealthcare, with Jake Keough taking the field sprint for 4th place, ending his three-year run as the Crystal Cup champion.

Though UnitedHealthcare’s Aldo Ino Ilesic out-sprinted Amaran and Jamis-Hagens Berman teammate Demis Aleman for the win in Clarendon, Jamis-Hagens Berman’s two-day performance was rewarded by a sweep of the omnium podium, capping off a brilliant weekend of racing for them.

The women’s pro race featured Team TIBCO’s Lauren Stephens racking up primes while riding solo off the front, en route to a comfortable first-place finish. VeloShine’s Sara Tussey was within striking distance of Stephens with four laps to go, but Stephens managed to find another gear and was never challenged as the final three laps wound down.

Colavita rider and local favorite Lindsay Bayer of Reston, Va., held off Tussey for second place, while Team TIBCO’s Joanne Kiesanowski and Mellow Mushroom p/b Shady Grove Fertility’s Laura Van Gilder battled it out in the field sprint, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The women's omnium was won by Kiesanowski, with Van Gilder placing second and Lindsay Bayer (Colavita-Fine Cooking) third overall.