Columbian fans came out to support their compatriot Miguel Angel López Moreno (Team Medellin - EPM) who started the day in the yellow leader's jersey.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The climb to the finish would shred the field apart over the course of the day.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Course-side selfies with a race going on in background.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Colby Lang (Project Echelon Racing) was one of a handful of riders who successfully made it off the front of the field, but like everyone before or after they were swallowed back up by a well-coordinated and motivated Denver Distruptors team.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Even race leader Miguel Angel López Moreno (Team Medellin - EPM) took a flier off the front but could not shake 2nd place GC Riley Sheehan and teammate Noah Granigan from the Denver Disruptors.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Denver worked together as a team to get Riley Sheehan maximum time bonuses on all the intermediate sprints moving him within 1 virtual second of the overall GC lead.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Alex Hoehn (Above and Beyond Cancer) and Clever Martinez (Miami Nights) were the last two riders to get a meaningful gap on the field but they unable to increase the time gap.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
With one lap to go, L39ion of Los Angeles lead by Sam Boardman took to the front in hopes of delivering Ty Williams to a stage victory after finishing second here last year.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Riley Sheehan (Denver Disruptors) took the stage win and the overall GC win after Miguel Angel López Moreno (Team Medellin - EPM) had a flat with one lap to go. Despite getting recognized by the officials and given the same time as the group he was with, Sheehan took the 10 second time bonus on the finish to move into the lead by 16".(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Final classification jersey podium, Sheehan took home the Green, Yellow, and Polka dots and Caleb Classen (Kelly Benefit Strategies) held onto the best young rider jersey he wore all week.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Team Medellin-EPM took home the best overall team classification(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Riley Sheehan (Denver Disruptors) won the final men’s criterium stage of the Walmart Joe Martin Stage Race on Sunday, and snatched the overall victory away from leader Miguel Ángel López (Team Medellín-EPM).
Coming into stage 4 with a six-second deficit in the general classification, Sheehan was locked in a duel for the finish-line seconds with López to decide the outcome.
“It was an incredible fight. He had my number and I had his number all day. It came down to the bonus sprints and has still there,” said Riley about his fight with López.
“My team kicked ass today, helping me out, surfing the wheel, and leading me out. And yes, at the end, no matter what, it was going to be bonus seconds for the finish. They set me up and I crossed the finish line first and I couldn’t be more grateful,” Riley added.
Sheehan outsprinted Bryan Gomez (Miami Nights) and Simon Daniels (United Nations of Cycling) on the uphill to the finish line for the stage victory.
López flatted on the final lap and went into the pit, forcing the officials to review UCI rules. With the 10 bonus seconds going to Sheehan, López moved to second overall. Tyler Stites (Project Echelon Racing) moved ahead of Kyle Murphy (L39ION of Los Angeles) to secure third overall.
“I’m glad I came into this race with a good team and to rock out. There were 19 seconds maximum up for grabs, and I knew I had to go for every single one of them, you know, and fight for millimetres if that if it came down to that,” the 22-year-old Sheehan said in Fayetteville Sunday after capturing the yellow leader’s jersey for good with the victory.
“Coming into the finish, L39ion came around, took charge. There was a Miami rider off the front. But you know, the guys were working the whole stage and going full gas. So they're a bit tired, but they're able to come on my wheel and protect my wheel for the finish. So I just had a straight lead out from L39ion. Yeah, all I had to do was just look down and pedal as hard as I could.”
How it unfolded
The attacks kept coming throughout the race on the technical course in Fayetteville driven particularly by the tight GC battle driving an intense competition for the bonus seconds. Team Medellín-EPM and Denver Disruptors mixed up at the front on the hunt for bonus seconds throughout the 60-lap criterium.
Second on GC into the stage, Sheehan won the three intermediate bonus time seconds reducing his deficit to López to one second before the final bunch sprint.
A few attacks peppered the one hour and 21 minute stage but nothing lasted more than two laps. In the early laps, Alex Hoehn (Above and Beyond Cancer p/b World) and Tanner Ward (First Internet Bank) worked together to get a small but were caught in after two laps. Fabio Duarte (Medellín-EPM) and Sam Boardman (L39ION of Los Angeles) tried to force a move but no other rider wanted to join them and so they were reeled back into the peloton.
Four riders managed to escape with seven laps to go but were not able to get more than a 10-second gap. Three laps later, Martinez broke away from the break to continue solo with Hoehn chasing. But it was all for nought as the Denver Disruptors lined up at the front of the peloton.
L39ION of Los Angeles controlled the pace at the front of the field with one lap to go followed by Denver Disruptors, who had Noah Granigan launch Sheehan to the line in the final bunch sprint.
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
