Hanson claims back-to-back wins at Giro della Montagna

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The National Criterium Calendar rolled into stage three of the Staenberg Group Gateway Cup for the 29th running of the Giro della Montagna and the finale of the 2014 USA Crits Series. Both the men and women's field battled the seemingly unstoppable dominance of the United HealthCare squad and the increasing challenge of each successive course of the Gateway Cup series.

The women's race was a near repeat of Saturday's Tour de Francis as Colavita, Fearless Femme and FCS|Zngine each took turns at the head of the field, attempting to get riders clear and keeping the pace high to break the tightly wrapped noose of the UHC team. Despite incessant attacking and aggressive riding, there was no stopping United HealthCare and Coryn Rivera as the team delivered a text book lead out to propel the many times over national champion to her third straight win in the series.

The men's field had a little more success in breaking up the race as the opening laps delivered relentless aggression as riders sought to ride clear. Ultimately, Bissell's Jonathan Jacob and Athlete Octane's Chad Hartley formed a two-rider alliance at the race's halfway point to carve out a slim advantage over the field. Hartley's presence in the break forced all of the chase work onto the United HealthCare squad and they led the field throughout the race. Gateway Harley Davidson's Cameron Rex spent several laps trying to bridge, ultimately unsuccessfully. The break could have used the extra set of legs, as the UHC led field would let little more than a 25 second gap to the opportunists. Heading into two laps to go, Hartley took out the final $100 prime as consolation for his ill-fated breakaway.

The final two laps of the men's race showed the same domination of the blue and white United HealthCare train that has characterized this year's Gateway Cup, again delivering Kenneth Hanson to a win with Luke Keough in second, forcing Athlete Octane's Daniel Holloway into third.

The final stage of the 2014 Staenberg Group Gateway Cup heads to the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis for the most technical circuit of the weekend. Time will tell if the demanding course can disrupt the rhythm of the UHC team, but if the first three days of the Gateway Cup are any indication, the rest of the field has a lot of work to do to catch United HealthCare.

Results