Lithuania's Edita Janeliunaite (Colavita Forno D'Asolo) won her first race stateside at the Tour de Grove on Saturday. She won the bunch sprint ahead of Joelle Numainville (Tibco-To the Top) in second and her teammate Leah Kirchmann placed third.
"I was helping my teammates today," Janeliunaite said. "I wanted to go to the front and have my teammates on my wheel. But, I won the sprint. I have a good sprint too."
Some 50 Pro-Cat 1 and 2 women started the race under wet conditions. The L-shaped course catered to the cagiest criterium racers. The women competed for 60 minutes plus three laps and for a total prize purse of $7,500. The Tour de Grove is a member of both the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and the USA Crit Championship Series.
The peloton was aggressive from the start, however, all attempted breakaways were short-lived. "Nothing was really sticking today," said Rachel Heal Colavita Forno D'Asolo directeur. "There were small groups but nothing was getting very far."
Sprinters registered for the race vying for a sprint finale included Numainville and her teammate Jo Kiesanowski (Tibco-To the Top), Janeliunaite and Kelly Benjamin (Colavita Forno D'Asolo), Laura McCaughey (Salamander), Erica Allar (BMW-Bianchi) and Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom), among others.
Allar took the corner at the front of the field, however, she crashed causing several riders to go down. The sprint continued from behind where Janeliunaite was able to hang on for the bunch sprint ahead of Numainville and Manderfield. Jen McRae (Team Type 1) placed fourth ahead of Kacey Manderfield (Pure Energy) in fifth, Samantha Schneider (Team Type 1) in sixth and van Gilder in seventh.
"Erica went down in the last corner," Heal said. "She was sitting in first position coming out of the last corner. There were three, maybe four riders who went down. Tibco were there and Edita was positioned behind them."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite Women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Edita Janeliunaite (Colavita Forno d'Asolo)
1:09:12
2
Joelle Numainville (Team TIBCO/To The Top)
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Leah Kirchmann (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo)
Row 2 - Cell 2
4
Jennifer Mcrae (Team Type 1)
0:00:01
5
Kacey Manderfield (Pure Energy Cycling Team ProAi)
Row 4 - Cell 2
6
Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO)
Row 5 - Cell 2
7
Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom)
0:00:02
8
Gray Patton
Row 7 - Cell 2
9
Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO/To The Top)
Row 8 - Cell 2
10
Amy Mcguire (Wheelworks Racing)
Row 9 - Cell 2
11
Lauren Hall (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo)
Row 10 - Cell 2
12
Sarah Huang (Nova ISCorp)
Row 11 - Cell 2
13
Carrie Cash-Wootten (Pedal the Cause/Team Revolutio)
Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
