Danny Summerhill (American Cycling Group) wins 2023 Salt Lake Criterium on Saturday and retains American Criterium Cup lead(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Paola Munoz (Miami Nights), in red leaders jersey, wins 2023 Salt Lake Criterium on Saturday and holds American Criterium Cup lead for women(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The Salt Lake CIty Criterium took place to the west of downtown with beautiful views of the Wasatch Mountains as the riders made the final turn onto the finishing straight.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
As in the women's race, the Miami Nights took control of the front of the race in the last few laps.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Current American Criterium Cup (ACC) individual leaders Paola Muñoz (Miami Nights) and Danny Summerhill (American Cycling Group) padded their overall leads with victories at the Salt Lake Criterium on Saturday evening. The flat and fast contest, now in its fifth year, was held on a traditional four-corner course in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, and was the sixth stop for the ACC competition.
Munoz was led out by her Miami Nights teammate Jeydy Praderas, who looked to sit up near the finish line and allow Munoz to cross the line for the maximum series points. Nicola MacDonald (Cervelo Ziptrak) was third.
DNA Pro Cycling, which held a team camp in the area prior to the weekend of racing, brought a full squad of six riders to support Kimberly Lucie, who held the sprint classification lead going into the criterium.
Munoz added to her 13-point margin over Miami Nights teammate Andrea Cyr, who finished 12th in Salt Lake. The L39ION of Los Angeles duo of Samatha Schneider, in third overall, and Skylar Schneider in fourth overall, were not present in Salt Lake so did not gain any ground from their top four positions.
Wearing the ACC red leader’s jersey, Summerhill rode safely at the front of the race on the final lap to win well ahead of rival Alfredo Rodriguez (Miami Nights), who trails the ACG rider for second place in the ACC individual standings. Denver Disruptors’Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg finished third.
The Miami Nights took control of the peloton near the end of the race, and were able to avoid a crash on the final lap, but they could not hold off a surging Summerhill.
Summerhill and Rodriguez continue as the top two men in the overall standings. Bryan Gomez (Miami Nights) was in third place going into Salt Lake, 29 points ahead of Ty Magner and 37 points ahead of Justin Williams, both the L39ION of Los Angeles riders not participating in Salt Lake. The sprint competition is led by Summerhill.
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The American Criterium Cup is a 10-race series across the US with a total prize purse of $100,000 to be distributed evenly among men and women for individual and team classification leaders. The next stop for the series is July 29 at the Intelligentsia Cup
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
