17-year-old Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12) win the bunch sprint.(Image credit: Mark Johnson)
The podium (l-r): Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty 12), Modesta Vzesniauskaite (Colavita/Baci), Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty 12), Joelle Numainville (Webcor), Meredith Miller (Tibco).(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
The 17-year old wonderkid, Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty 12), won the Amgen Tour of California Women's criterium against a field of America's best.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
The 60-minute Amgen Tour of California Women's Criterium started at noon and followed a course around the California state capital building.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
Northern California's Team Metromint came out to race with the big girls.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
The women's field dives into a corner a few hours before the pro men came storming onto the course.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
The women's race in downtown Sacramento.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty 12 and Colavita/Baci have a dig with two laps to go.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
Megan Guarnier (Tibco) leads Kim Anderson (HTC-Columbia) in Sacramento.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
The first-year Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty 12 team after delivering teenager Coryn Rivera to yet another high-profile win.(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)
Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12) astounded those lining Sacramento’s streets when she outpaced a heavily contested bunch sprint to take the victory at the Amgen Tour of California’s women’s criterium on Sunday.
The 17-year-old put her junior gears into action and won the dash to the line ahead of Modesta Vzesniauskaite (Colavita-Baci) and Joelle Numainville (Webcor Builders) in third.
“I had the perfect lead-out and this was the perfect race,” Rivera said. “It was a long finish and there was a lot going on. I have to say thanks to the whole team because their hard work paid off.
“There was a lot going on during the race but my team kept me in good position,” she added. “It was a really long lap for the lead-out but we pulled it off and the whole team worked really well together.”
The professional women’s single-day criterium was held in conjunction with stage one of the men’s Amgen Tour of California. The 2.5 kilometre circuit started and finished on the same line as the men’s race, two hours earlier. This is the first year that the women’s race has been held on the streets of Sacramento, after traditionally being staged in Santa Rosa.
“There was a really nervous peloton today and all the teams wanted to win,” Vzesniauskaite said. “There were a lot of attacks during the race but nothing really went away. The Peanut Butter team had about six riders and our team only had three. We tried to have Rushlee [Buchanan] attack and me go for the sprint. I was confident today even though I am normally not a sprinter.”
Several of the top US-based women’s teams lined up to participate in the prestigious event including Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12, Vera Bradley Foundation, Webcor-Builders, Tibco and Colavita-Baci among other local California-based Elite women’s teams.
“This is a big race for us because it is a part of the Tour of California and we are a California-based team so I really wanted to do well here,” Numainville said. “I really wanted to win it but I got third so I am happy with that. We really tried for a sprint today.”
After several unsuccessful breakaways, the field conceded to a bunch sprint. The large loop did not cater well to a lead-out but Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 managed to help Rivera stay in good position at the front. The squad’s lead-out train was the most dominant, although it was contested by Vera Bradley Foundation in the closing kilometre.
The long finishing straight made it difficult to judge where to start the sprint. Rivera sat protected by her teammates as the race blasted to the finish line, followed by Vzesniauskaite and Numainville, who was several wheels back.
“I don’t know why but it was a very nervous sprint,” Vzesniauskaite said. “It was either crash or crash. I stayed behind Coryn in the last few hundred metres and just tried to find my own way to the finish line.”
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
