Alzate, Rivera repeat as Sunny King winners

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Anniston, Alabama, shined as brightly as the brilliant sun Saturday as cycling fans lined the boards early and stayed late for the Sunny King Criterium, the first stop on the 2014 USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar (NCC).  Coryn Rivera and Carlos Alzate won the elite women's and men's races, respectively.

Women

The elite women took to the line and from the start, Colavita-Fine Cooking took control across the seven-tenths of a mile Downtown Anniston course.

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Multiple $200 cash primes kept the racers attentive and the crowd blind to a clear winner until the finish. Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare), Arden Stelly (Pain Pathways) and Vanessa Drigo (Garneau Factory Team) all went home a little richer.

Mini breaks and attacks formed throughout the race but nothing stuck except for strategy in racers' minds. Sara Tussey (Mellow Mushroom), Drigo, Jenny Rios and Pepper Palace joined Colavita in taking turns at the front while local favorite Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) stepped on the gas with four to go.

Two laps remaining, it was Colavita 1-2-3-5 with Van Gilder sitting fourth wheel and interrupting their straight. But with an all-out sprint down the straightaway, it was returning Sunny King Criterium Champion Rivera of UnitedHealthcare making Marian University proud as she stood atop the Eastman podium in the NCC points leaders jersey and Sunny King crown. Erica Allar (Colavita) and Morgan Brown (Century Road Club) rounded out the podium, in second and third, respectively. Van Gilder landed fourth.

Men

Nearly 100 elite men took to the Start line after an emotional National Anthem and lead-in procession featuring an official welcome from Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart and Mrs. Patty King of Sunny King Automotive, the criterium's longstanding title sponsor.

Chunky primes starting flying with Andrew Crater (Finish Strong) and Chris Uberti (Astellas) hitting the bank early on. Adrenalin pumping, Uberti flirted with a short stint up front after the prime pick-up but the UnitedHealthcare Blue Train started pulling out of the station. The pace picking up with 20 laps to go, it became obvious this would be a battle until the end.

With nearly a 20-second gap, Ruben Campanioni (Jamis-Hagens Berman) kept the rocket fuel burning for a dozen or so laps but with UnitedHealthcare charging, his lead was cut to eight seconds before a $400 cash prime with seven laps remaining blew things up. David Novak (Kelly Benefit Strategies) picking up the green and the crowd climbing atop the barricades, UnitedHealthcare dominated six deep with three laps remaining...1,2,3,4 with two laps on the counter.

All eyes on the livestream for backside reports, the sprint and the first NCC race of 2014 was taken by 2013 Sunny King Criterium Champion Carlos Alzate Escobar, with Ricardo Escuela (Incycle-Predator) and David Guttenplan (Guttenplan Coaching), close behind in second and third, respectively.

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