American Criterium Cup: Kendall Ryan defends title at Fulton Market Grand Prix while Richard Holec wins ahead of Danny Summerhill

Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Richard Holec (Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) sprinted to wins in the elite races at the Fulton Market Grand Prix in Chicago on Sunday. The race served as both the finale of 10 days of racing in the Chicago Grit presented by SRAM series and the fifth scoring round in the American Criterium Cup series.

Ryan repeated on the top step of the podium for a second consecutive year at Fulton Market and scored top points with her third ACC victory this season to move to third overall in the women's standings. Aline Seitz (Butcherbox) retained a significant individual ACC lead with second place in Chicago, now 26 points ahead of Andrea Cyr (Fount Cycling Guild).

Seitz's Butcherbox team passed Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28 in the team standings, while VBR riders Rylee McMullen and Olivia Cummins were the top two riders in the sprint standings.

With the men's victory at Fulton Market, Holec won his fourth race across 10 criterium events in the Chicago Grit presented by SRAM race week and won that omnium title. His Cadence Cyclery squad locked up the ACC team overall classification with one race to go.

In the men's individual standings, Danny Summerhill (L39ION of Los Angeles) used his second-place finish points in Chicago to move into second overall in the ACC standings, just three points behind leader Maurice Ballerstedt (Rose Bikes). Summerhill also scooped up mid-race bonus points to move into a solo lead in the sprint classification, now one point ahead of Owen Gillott (Chaney Windows and Doors Pasteria).

The Fulton Market Grand Prix featured a new four-corner course that included a pass beneath the famous "L" train in downtown Chicago. Both elite fields for women and men competed in 75-minute contests on Sunday afternoon.

Ryan had two teammates, Holly Breck and Laurel Rathburn, to support her hunt for another win with a stacked field that included ACC contenders as well as Women's WorldTour rider Skylar Schneider (SD Worx-Protime), who won the ACC women's overall last year.

Attacks flew with riders looking for mid-race sprint points, and a final move was made with three laps to go by Shannon Koch (Kingdom Elite Racing) and Elizabeth Dixon (Fount Cycling Guild). Their opportunity to stay away was negated by L39ION, as the reigning USPro criterium champion blasted from the front bunch in the final 100 metres. Seitz took second, Bethony Botha (Fearless Femme Racing) third. Schneider finished fifth.

“It seemed that the field was happy to let those two riders roll away, so I told Holly to send it," Ryan told organisers at the finish about the late move to shut down the breakaway duo.

“I kind of messed up and got a little too far back. There were some shifts in the peloton. It kind of swirls in there, so I got swarmed, and I had to come from far back. I just tried to tick off people on the final straightaway and give it everything I had.”

Summerhill and Gillott stole much of the show as they battled for sprint points, and other attacks never got away. On the final lap, L39ION riders Robin Carpenter and Justin Williams went to work to lead out Summerhill for his third podium of the week. However, Holec was on form and surged past Summerhill to grab the victory.

“Last year, day six, I crashed out and had a concussion - it didn't end so well,” the Czechia rider said after the race. “So to come back and win not only [four] stages but also the GC, it's been amazing."

The ACC concludes on August 31 at the Giro della Montagna Race outside St. Louis, Missouri, which doubles as part of the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup series of one-day races.

Race Results

ACC Standings (through five events)