Tour of the Gila: Emily Ehrlich wins stage 3 time trial for women

Emily Ehrlich (Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24) scorched the 16.15 mile (26km) Tyrone Individual Time Trial p/b Freeport McMoran in a time of 38:15 and won the women’s stage 3 of the Tour of the Gila. 

Maeghan Easler (Roxo Racing) posted a time 1:09 off the winning pace and took second, while Austin Killips (Amy D. Foundation) stopped the clock 9 seconds slower to take third place on the stage. 

It was the second ITT victory for Ehrlich this year, as she won the Route 66 stage 3 TT at Redlands Bicycle Classic and went on to claim the overall title.

“The TT today was really hard. It was super critical to get everything right, but I did pretty well. I’m really happy with all the little things that I did to make it work out,” Ehrlich said with the wind still blowing hard after the finish.

“I’ve moved up in GC a little bit, I’m happy about that. I don’t think I got all the way up there [first], but I’m happy with how far I got in the GC today.” 

Race leader Marcela Prieto (PatoBike BMC) finished well off the pace in the ITT and lost her 8-second advantage over Killips, who moved into the red leader’s jersey for stage 4’s Downtown Silver City Criterium on Saturday. Ehrlich moved from ninth to second overall, while Nadia Gontova (Roxo Racing) retained third overall, just ahead of Prieto.

The elite women rode the same course for the individual time trial as the men, with cross-winds continuing to roar and make the out-and-back route more technical than expected. A total of 1,188 feet of climbing came from a double ascent of Little Burro Pass, which reaches an elevation of 6,394 feet. The second pass had a challenging spike of 6-7% and then  launched riders across the final downhill 5km to the finish.

Helena Coney (InstaFund Racing) was the second rider down the start ramp and she was the first rider to finish, posting the initial time to beat, 44:44. Her teammate Brenna Wrye-Simpson followed and took over the lead but was soon eclipsed five riders later by Samantha Scott (Competitive Edge Racing).

Laurel Quinones (Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24) blasted across the wind-swept course mid-way through the women’s field with a new best time of 40:11.

The times remained above the 41-minute mark for a long time, until Emily Ehrlich unseated her Virginia’s Blue Ridge teammate with a time of 38:15. The 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist in the time trial, Olga Zabelinskaya (Tashkent City), looked fast headed to the finish, but could not get below the 40-minute mark, finishing in 40:06.

Then Zabelinskaya moved to fourth place when Maeghan Easler (Roxo Racing) rocketed under 40 minutes with a time of 39:24 and Paige Onweller (Competitive Edge Racing) set a time of 40:03. But Onweller was displaced by Killips for a stage podium.

When Mexican ITT Champion Anet Barrera (DNA Pro Cycling) crossed the line, she could only manage a top 10, her time 40:22.

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