Clarke captures UnitedHealthcare's first win of the season in Tampa

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team's Hilton Clarke captured first place tonight in the 2012 Cigar City Brewing Criterium & Street Festival in Tampa, Florida.

Clarke secured the team's first win of the season, beating Luis Amaran (Jamis - Sutter Home) and Amaran's teammate, Kyle Wamsley, who took 3rd, in the first race of the National Criterium Calendar (NCC). Clarke's teammates Adrian Hegyvary, Jeff Louder, Davide Frattini, Ben Day, and Karl Menzies, set a blistering pace and led the way for Clarke to the top step on the podium.

Commenting on his performance, Clarke stated, "This was a great way to start off the season. Tampa has been great and to have our title sponsor, UnitedHealthcare here along with NeilPryde Bikes, really motivates you. As always, once I was in a position to win, my teammates were right there and escorted me all the way to the line. I had to focus on one rider to beat and the Team brought me across the line to help me beat Luis (Amaran)."

General Manager and Team Director, Mike Tamayo, said, "I'm proud of the boys effort tonight, especially for our first race in the US. We had a lot of sponsors present at the race and that always adds a layer of pressure to perform. But the boys picked up where they left off last year in the criteriums and continue to show their fluid movement as a team."

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