Redlands: Jastrab wins women's stage 2

Image 1 of 2

Teenager Megan Jastrab (Rally UHC) once again proved her class on the bike during stage 2 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic on Thursday. The 17-year-old took the uphill sprint at the end of the Highland circuit race to beat US criterium champion Leigh Ann Ganzar (Hagens Berman-Supermint) and Lauren Stephens (Tibco-SVB) across the line in a three-up finale.

Jastrab's teammate Krista Doebel-Hickok led a small group across the line three seconds later, while overnight leader Amber Neben (Trek Red Truck Racing) finished five seconds back in 13th to maintain her overall lead. She now has a 16-second advantage over Stephens, with Tibco's Emily Newsom at 36 seconds.

Jastrab's win had extra significance in light of the Rally UHC riders having recently lost their teammate Kelly Catlin, who passed away last week.

"This win was incredibly emotional for me and the team," said Jastrab on the team's website. "We were racing knowing that Kelly was with us, and we wanted to show it.

"The finishing climb is a drag, and I knew I needed to be patient," Jastrab added, explaining how she took victory. "I worked my way up from around 13th at the base of the climb to fifth before the first person started sprinting. I followed immediately, and jumped again to take the win.

"The team trusted me to finish it off and I'm incredibly thankful for all their help."

Race leader Neben was happen to stay in contention, and will wear her leader's yellow jersey again on Friday's third stage with its summit finish at Oak Glen.

"I just tried to stay as relaxed as possible and save energy,” Neben said of the day's stage. "There's so much racing left this week. Rally did an excellent job today, and Supermint also raced hard."

Results