Gateway Cup: Samantha Schneider wins women's Tour de Francis Park criterium

Image 1 of 3

The Schneider sisters, Samantha and Skylar, continued their dominance of North American criterium racing placing one-two, respectively, at the Gateway Cup's Tour de Francis Park criterium. Their team ISCorp Cycling p/b Smart Choice MRI swept the podium with Yussely Soto placing third.

Day 2 of the Staenberg Group Gateway Cup brought the peloton to the rolling course around Francis Park in St. Louis Hills. With a bit more elevation change than the preceding night, the opportunists in each field saw a chance to break clear of the sprinters. Unfortunately for them, the wide-open course continued to discourage attacks and kept each field together for a sprint finale.

In the women’s race, UnitedHealthcare worked to keep any potential moves under complete control. Throughout the course of the hour-long race, any attack that gained even a scant 50 metres was brought to heel by UnitedHealthcare as the women’s field remained largely together throughout the race. Certainly, there were attempts to break clear, but the dominant American team was having none of it.

IsCorp p/b SmartChoice MRI, representing the other main contenders in the women’s race, was more than happy to let their rivals dictate affairs and to bide their time for the finish. Heading into the final lap count down, UnitedHealth care took the front of the group to begin their leadout, but the efforts to control the race had clearly taken their toll.

The final 100 metres saw Samantha Schneider back up Friday night’s win with a repeat victory, followed by sister and teammate Skylar and teammate Soto to round out the podium for a clean IsCorp sweep.

Full Results