Schneider speeds to victory

Samantha Schnieder (Tibco-To the Top) won her first National Racing Calendar (NRC) race at the series-ending Chris Thater Memorial Criterium in Binghamton, New York. The youngster outpaced her breakaway companion and series leader Cath Cheatley (Colavita-Baci p/b Cookinglight). Her teammate Joanne Kiesanowski won the bunch sprint for third place.

"I'm pretty stoked right now, being the last race of the year," said Schneider. "I'm on cloud nine right now. It is my first win in the NRC so it's a bit surreal. It was awesome being in a race with Cath because she is such a classy rider. I would have been happy getting first or second but I really had to play my cards right just to make sure we got the win."

"I think winning the NRC individual and team shows that we were very consistent this year," Cheatley said. "Personally, I think I've improved in a lot of areas and have turned into a pretty good all rounder.

"I think we've gone into every race with a strength of our team overall and a number of riders on the podium all season. We raced really well all season and gelled on and off the bike really well."

The nation's best line up in late summer

The Chris Thater Memorial's starting line up boasted champions such as current National Racing Calendar Series leader Cath Chealtey (Colavita-Baci p/b Cookinglight), sprint legend Laura van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) and defending champion Brooke Miller (Tibco-To the Top), who will retire from professional bike racing at the end of the season.

"Today we just wanted to go in there hard and win a bike race," said Schneider, whose team sat in second place in the NRC classification. "The NRC was in the back of our minds but it would have been very hard to pull that off."

The race started off with a $100 prime that resulted in a series of high-speed opening laps. Janel Holcomb (BMW-Bianchi) scooped the first prime and went on to create the day's first breakaway.

The power of Colavita-Baci's five-woman team held the field at bay for much of the first half of the race. Cheatley locked up her NRC series title prior to the criterium so her teammates shifted its focus to ride in protection of their top spot in the team classification, a title that was decided upon the conclusion of the criterium.

"We went into this race trying to gain NRC points for the team," said Cheatley. "We knew that we needed someone on the podium and if that happened then it would wrap up the team points for us. That was our best option because we didn't come with our fastest sprinter, Theresa Cliff-Ryan, who is in Europe at the moment. So we tried to force a break."

The pair gained roughly 15 seconds with 10 laps to go and there was little effort from the peloton to chase because both riders represented the two strongest and fullest teams. The gap exploded to 40 seconds in the closing laps and turned into a tactical battle for the race win. Schneider's young career has yielded several strong sprint performances amongst the professional women's field

"I definitely knew that Sam was fast and that it would likely be our team and Tibco in the breakaway," Cheatley said. "But that break was a good option."

Schneider outpaced her companion to the line to take the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium victory, her first NRC win of the season. "Cath was really driving that break and if it wasn't for her there is no way that break would have stuck," said Schneider.

"I didn't want to screw up that sprint because we have Brooke and Jo here and they are awesome. I really wanted to pull through for the team and it worked out well with Jo getting third and Brooke placing high up too. It was a great team effort today."

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#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Samantha Schneider (TIBCO)
2Catherine Cheatley
3Joanne Kiesanowski (TIBCO)
4Modesta Vzesniauskaite (Colavita/Baci)
5Brooke Miller (TIBCO)
6Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter Twenty12)
7Kaytee Boyd (Bike NZ)
8Laura Van Gilder
9Erica Allar
10Kacey Manderfield (Cycle Loft)
11Robin Farina (Vera Bradley Foundation)
12Carrie Cash Wootten (Vera Bradley Foundation)
13Tiffany Pezzulo (Treads.com/DFT)
14Jane Evely (SummaCare)
15Jennifer Rasmusson (Team Kenda)
16Lenore Pipes (Fruit66/Artemis)
17Janel Holcomb (BMW Bianchi)
18Kathleen Billington (BMW Bianchi)
19Amy McGuire (Wheelworks Racing)
20Lisa Jellett (Verducci)
21Toni Bradshaw (Team VBF)
22Lindsey Myers (BMW Bianchi)
23Amanda Watson
24Laura McCaughey
25Anna McLoon (Team Kenda)
26Danielle Ruane (Sunapee Racing)
27Kristin Sanders (Colavita/Baci)
28Andrea Dvorak
29Meredith Miller (TIBCO)
30Christy Blakely (Team Card)
31Kristen LaSasso (TIBCO)
32Megan Guarnier (TIBCO)
33Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita/Baci)
34Lauren Ellis (Bike NZ)

 

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

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.

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