Haley Smith has taken out the the third race of the Life Time Grand Prix series, claiming victory in the 69 mile (111km) Crusher in the Tushar with a solid margin of more than eight minutes.
The Canadian went out early with series leader and Unbound 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafane, but then after Smith surged ahead to take the Col d’Crush QOM it was lights out for Gomez, who fell away from the lead group and battled to the line in eighth. That, however, was still enough to keep Gomez in the series lead, with 84 points, while Smith's victory at the climb heavy event across Utah's Tushar mountains put her just two points back in second.
“I didn’t know what I was going to be capable of, but I felt confident I could give it a good run,” said Smith. “It's a hard day to plan for nutrition, I didn’t want a hydration pack because of the heat so I only had two bottles and had to ration my water and at the end I think I was at my max effort with nothing else in the tank.”
Smith finished with a time of 4:56:23, while Red Bull Rio Grande Gravel winner Emma Grant came over the line in second place with a time of 5:05:02 as Sarah Sturm crossed just 40 seconds later. Recently retired professional road cyclist Ruth Winder was then only a little more than a minute back in fourth.
The Crusher in the Tushar, which had a 60/40 gravel to tarmac split and featured 10,400 feet of climbing (3,169m), marks the halfway point of the Life Time Grand Prix. The Sea Otter Classic Fuego MTB 80k and Unbound provided the first two rounds and the next race in the series is the Leadville Trail 100 MTB in Colorado on August 13.
| Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haley Smith | 4:56:23 |
| 2 | Emma Grant | 5:05:02 |
| 3 | Sarah Sturm | 5:05:42 |
| 4 | Ruth Winder | 5:06:58 |
| 5 | Crystal Anthony | 5:11:05 |
| 6 | Anet Barrera Esparza | 5:13:02 |
| 7 | Hannah Otto | 5:14:09 |
| 8 | Sofia Gomez Villafane | 5:16:38 |
| 9 | Emily Newsom | 5:17:19 |
| 10 | Lindsey Stevenson | 5:20:22 |
-
Neilson Powless, Larry Warbasse, Michael Matthews among men's field at Maryland Cycling Classic to challenge defending champion Mattias Skjelmose
Alison Jackson, Tiffany Cromwell, Lauren Stephens add star-power in debut of women's UCI one-day race in Baltimore -
End of the road comes in September for Ceratizit Pro Cycling after 11 seasons
Women's WorldTour team confirmed to compete at Maryland Cycling Classic before ceasing operations -
'With the team we've got, it's well within our grasp' – UAE Team Emirates-XRG ready to step into Vuelta a España spotlight at team time trial
Emirati squad looking for victory on Wednesday with leaders João Almeida and Juan Ayuso sitting 10th and 11th on GC -
'The bad and the beauty of team time trials, everyone is nervous' – Ineos Grenadiers ready to embrace the stress in pursuit of back-to-back Vuelta a España stage wins
British squad confident of challenging stage 5 team race against the clock in Figueres, but admit they 'haven't got the best lineup' against UAE and Visma
