Aguilar wins Historic Roswell Criterium

Image 1 of 19

Day two of the 2015 USA CRITS Speedweek series saw two new faces ascend the podium at the Historic Roswell Criterium on Sunday. After Tina Pic, who was coming off a win at last night’s Athens Orthopedic Clinic Twilight Criterium, was relegated, Lauretta Hanson of Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels took top honours. In the men’s race, Hector Aguilar (Southern Crescent Cycling) won a hotly contested field sprint for his first Speedweek victory.

Whether it was the bucolic atmosphere or just post-Twilight Criterium exhaustion, the women’s field remained largely contained through their 60 minutes of racing. Any attempted attacks, such as those by series lap leader Sara Tussey (Mellow Mushroom), were quickly squelched.

Other riders who threw themselves up towards the front of the field, if for nothing else to grab cash prizes, were people like Jamie Gilgen. The Rise Racing rider was continually pushing towards the head of the peloton and possibly expending too much energy early on in the race. Irish National Road Race Champion Fiona Meade (Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing) was also quite visible throughout the midpoint of the event as was her teammate Amy Cutler, and Pic’s long-time rival Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom).

Following the mid-race sprint for cash, there seemed to be a bit more jockeying for position in the pack and as a result a wheel-touch brought three riders down on the pavement. The race momentarily was neutralized, but there were no apparent serious injuries sustained by anyone in the crash.

When racing resumed, nine laps remained. Kristen LaSasso reached out for a prime and looked as if she might turn that move into an attack of the field, but the Mellow Mushroom rider was ultimately reeled in. Seven laps later Chelsea Factor (Outcast Racing Team) made a bid for the victory, but that’s the point where Pic’s Pepper Palace teammates struck out to make the race their own. Pic’s sprint was as decisive as it was in Athens the night before.

Unfortunately, the officials decided to relegate Pic because the veteran rider drifted to the right side of the course during the final moments of her sprint. As a result Hanson was awarded the victory with Angie Gonzalez of Venezuela taking second place and Samantha Schneider (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) filling in the final step of the podium.

Schneider also now sits in the overall USA CRITS Speedweek leader’s jersey after the first two events.

Aguilar takes first-ever Roswell Criterium victory

Hector Aguilar (South Crescent Cycling) nabbed his first Roswell Criterium win from a sprint-finish ahead of Ed Veal (Real Deal/Gears p/b WaspCam) and Daniel Holloway (Altovelo-SeaSuckers), who won the Athens Twilight Criterium the previous night.

The men’s 90-minute event got underway as the late spring sun began to fade above the Roswell course. While decidedly more active than the women’s peloton, the field still had trouble initially shaking loose any serious breakaway riders.

Those who tried and failed were Rafael Meran (CRCA/Foundation), who was a top-20 rider here in 2014 and Matt Moosa (Team Finish Strong Elite Cycling). Aguilar made several attempts to separate himself from the field, but the North Carolina-based rider wasn’t given any amount of serious leash despite his repeated efforts.

The dynamics of the race shifted suddenly when Maloja/Pushbikers’ Martin Hacecky put 26 seconds on the field over the course of a lap that he took in the company of Chris Uberti (Team UnitedHealthcare / The 706 Project). The two riders quickly struck a truce to work together and make their move stick.

That gap held steady for several laps, while behind them Yosvany Falcon (Stradalli Cycle-Safftti Smart Wear) moved to the front of the chase group to regain ground and add some points to his Speedweek totals.

With 19 laps to go, however, their lead began to shrink slightly. Two laps later their hold on the race looked even more tenuous when they could only manage roughly 16 seconds worth of separation. With Team Finish Strong Elite Cycling riding hard on the front the duo was finally brought back with 16 laps remaining.

With 10 laps left on the day, Frank Travieso’s Team UnitedHealthcare / The 706 Project squad began to appear at the front of the race. The peloton reacted quickly and the fight for prime positioning in advance of what was sure to be a field sprint was on. The Georgia-based 706 boys answered by forming a tight lead-out train for their Cuban sprinter. Behind themHolloway was having his rear wheel protected by his designated sweeper of the day Chad Hartley.

German track specialists Maloja/Pushbikers then moved up to the front of the field in order to launch their former Olympian Bobby Lea. Travieso and Holloway saw the danger and immediately jumped to ensure Lea’s escape wasn’t successful. With one lap remaining, the field was once again all together.

Out of the final corner, riders were spread across the road and that’s the moment that Aguilar emerged from the scrum to take the win. Behind him, Ed Veal (Real Deal Cycling) took second, with Holloway rounding out the podium.

Despite his loss, Holloway retained his Speedweek lead going into the third event; Tuesday’s Park Circle Criterium in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Full Results