Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12) climbed into the top spot on the podium during stage one at the inaugural Aspen Women's Pro Race in Colorado. She won the opening time trial ahead of her teammate a former double world champion Kristin Armstrong in second and National Racing Calendar (NRC) leader Janel Holcomb (Colavita-Forno D'Asolo) in third.
"I was surprised to win given the nature of a very strong field here," McGrath told Cyclingnews. "I had good legs coming in and I am from altitude so I knew I had a bit of an advantage there. I am stoked to win it."
McGrath will lead the three-day omnium stage race into the second stage, a circuit race held in Snowmass on Tuesday. She is confident that her team can secure the overall title following the stage three criterium held in Aspen on Wednesday.
"I think that we are in a really good position to keep the jersey in our team," McGrath said. "Having first and second will give us a chance to play a couple of cards. We definitely want to win the overall for sure."
Former US National Time Trial Champion Jessica Phillips is promoting the Aspen Women's Pro Race. Although it is a relatively small field, there are multiple world-class talents participating in the inaugural event including French legend Jeannie Longo. "For sure, it is a good quality field," McGrath said.
The race kicked off in Maroon Bells with a 12.4km uphill time trial held at roughly 8000ft of elevation. McGrath, who is from Durango, is accustom to the higher elevation and said it played a large factor in the outcome of the time trial.
"The first part was rolling up hill and then we gradually started climbing and it got steeper at the top," McGrath said. "Any time it goes uphill, it will put a smile on my face."
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristin McGrath (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:29:15.50 |
| 2 | Kristin Armstrong-Savola (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:00:03.52 |
| 3 | Janel Holcomb (Colavita / Forno D'Asolo) | 0:00:16.34 |
| 4 | Amanda Miller (HTC Columbia Women's Team) | 0:00:46.93 |
| 5 | Kelly Crowley (Metromint Cycling) | 0:00:47.83 |
| 6 | Anne Samplonius (Now Cycling/NOW and Novartis for MS) | 0:00:49.40 |
| 7 | Robin Farina (Now Cycling/NOW and Novartis for MS) | 0:01:00.86 |
| 8 | Andrea Dvorak (Colavita / Forno D'Asolo) | 0:01:33.63 |
| 9 | Jessica Phillips (AJAX Tavern Cycling Team) | 0:01:39.33 |
| 10 | Kristin Sanders (Colavita / Forno D'Asolo) | 0:02:22.16 |
| 11 | Kasey Clark (Team Primal Racing/Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing) | 0:02:32.87 |
| 12 | Alison Powers (TIBCO to The Top) | 0:02:54.15 |
| 13 | Anne Gonzales (ESC Basalt Bike and Ski) | 0:02:59.24 |
| 14 | Lauren Hall (Colavita / Forno D'Asolo) | 0:03:16.08 |
| 15 | Jeannie Longo (Vitall) | 0:03:18.16 |
| 16 | Ally Stacher (HTC Columbia Women's Team) | 0:03:19.17 |
| 17 | Olivia Dillon (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:03:19.60 |
| 18 | Alison Starnes (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:03:25.99 |
| 19 | Abigail Mickey (AJAX Tavern Cycling Team) | 0:03:44.79 |
| 20 | Emilia Fahlin (HTC Columbia Women's Team) | 0:03:50.45 |
| 21 | Amy Dombroski (Crank Brothers Race Club) | 0:03:52.57 |
| 22 | Anna Barensfeld (Team Primal Racing/Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing) | 0:03:54.25 |
| 23 | Catherine Johnson (Unattached) | 0:03:55.56 |
| 24 | Erica Allar (Ride Clean p/b patentit.com) | 0:04:22.32 |
| 25 | Devon Gorry (Now Cycling/NOW and Novartis for MS) | 0:04:25.30 |
| 26 | Liza Rachetto (Team Primal Racing/Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing) | 0:04:25.99 |
| 27 | Tiffany Pezzulo (Team Primal Racing/Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing) | 0:04:39.76 |
| 28 | Amity Elliot (Team Kenda presented by Geargrinder) | 0:04:43.62 |
| 29 | Julie Emmerman (Team Primal Racing/Primal/Treads) | 0:04:48.06 |
| 30 | Kris Walker (Bell Lap Coaching) | 0:04:51.04 |
| 31 | Katie Colclough (HTC Columbia Women's Team) | 0:04:57.04 |
| 32 | Nicole Duke (Natural Grocers) | 0:04:59.98 |
| 33 | Alisha Welsh (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:05:00.04 |
| 34 | Cari Higgins (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) | 0:05:07.85 |
| 35 | Anne Donley (Unattached) | 0:06:28.56 |
| 36 | Gwen Inglis (Team Primal Racing/Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing) | 0:06:31.81 |
| 37 | Colleen Hayduk (Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) | 0:07:13.46 |
| 38 | Kathryne Carr (Bell Lap Coaching) | 0:07:30.02 |
| 39 | Kathryn Judson (International Christian Cycling Club/Christian Cycling-Hammer Nutrition | 0:11:24.92 |
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