Skylar Schneider wins crash disrupted stage 1 sprint at Joe Martin Stage Race
Sarah Van Dam and Marlies Mejias round out the podium
Women's stage podium
Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) won stage 1’s Arkansas Tourism Devil's Den Road Race and earned the first pink leader’s jersey for pro women at the Walmart Joe Martin Stage Race on Thursday.
The sunny and warm conditions continued after the pro men’s road race as 115 pro women began the 109.2km (67.8 mile) stage 1, the first of four days of the UCI Americas Tour event, but it was a crash-marred final 3km before the sprint to the line.
“I didn’t know there was a crash, so I hope everyone's okay. It’s a really dicey final. I think notoriously this finish usually has something bad happen, so we stayed in the front to try and stay safe,” said Schneider after claiming the victory. “It’s probably one of the fastest sprints we do the whole year because of the downhill run-in, but for me, it was just staying calm and giving it my best shot.”
Her best shot took her over the line ahead of Sarah Van Dam (DNA Pro Cycling) and Marlies Mejias (UCI Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY24), and she had also collected bonuses on the way to the finish line.
The route provided the first Queen of the Mountain points of the race in the first half, with 67.8 miles (109.2km) to go, a 3-mile switchback climb with an average gradient of 8%.
Schneider took full points over the top of the ascent ahead of Cynisca Cycling's Emilie Fortin and Alia Shafi (Fount Cycling Guild).
The field was back together as the race headed toward the one intermediate sprint with 23.6 miles (38km) to go. The sprint offered three bonus seconds for the first rider. Bonus seconds were also on offer at the finish line.
Schneider also won the intermediate sprint ahead of Lauren Stephens (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) and Galen Bolard (3T).
Results
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
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