UnitedHealthcare secured its dominance at the Charlotte Criterium presented by Novant Health this Saturday, with an in-form Coryn Rivera locking in a decisive win over Sam Schneider (ISCorp Cycling). Erica Allar (Rally Cycling) crossed the line in third place after a furious sprint to the line.
“I really had to rely on teamwork today,” Rivera told the race announcer at the end of the race. “We knew what we had to do to win the race and we pulled it out. I was happy to keep it upright despite the rain and happy to pull it off for the team.”
Under stormy skies that ended up cancelling the men’s race, 75 women set off on their first TUFMED USA CRITS Series race of the year. From the gun, the racing was fast and furious, with multiple attacks coming from all sides.
Elle Anderson (Rally Cycling), second in the USA Cycling national crit championships two weeks prior, was aggressive. Anderson fueled the pace by launching flyers off the front, forcing other teams like UHC to go on the defensive by chasing. When she wasn’t attacking, the “blue train” dictated the race dynamic with textbook accuracy.
The pace caused the pack to dwindle to just 40 riders by the last 10 laps, a testament to how challenging and tough the pace was in the women’s TUFMED USA CRITS opener.
UnitedHealthcare riders Cari Higgins and Lauren Tamayo, USA Criterium national champion who recently announced she would retire this year, set a pace that no one could match for their sprinter Rivera, who delivered as expected. Schneider tried to come around Rivera, but failed to match the speed of the young phenom, who made it three wins in a row for UnitedHealthcare at the Charlotte Criterium.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 2 | Samantha Schneider (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) |
| 3 | Erica Allar (Rally Cycling) |
| 4 | Skylar Schneider (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) |
| 5 | Yussely Mendivil Soto (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) |
| 6 | Tina Pic (The Happy Tooth Pro Cycling) |
| 7 | Diana Penuela (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 8 | Lauren Tamayo (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 9 | Lauretta Hanson (Colavita|Bianchi) |
| 10 | Nina Laughlin (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) |
| 11 | Tiffany Pezzulo (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) |
| 12 | Laura Jorgensen (The Happy Tooth Pro Cycling) |
| 13 | Jessica Mundy (Fearless Femme Racing) |
| 14 | Kristen Arnold (CRCA/ Velo Classic p/b Stan's NoTubes) |
| 15 | Anna Grace Christiansen (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) |
| 16 | Sara Tussey (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) |
| 17 | Christina Gooey-Smith (The Happy Tooth Pro Cycling) |
| 18 | Marie-Soleil Blais (Fearless Femme Racing) |
| 19 | Debbie Milne (Stradalli Cycles/Papa John's) |
| 20 | Jessica Prinner (Rally Cycling) |
| 21 | Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers p/b Van Dessel) |
| 22 | Payten Maness (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) |
| 23 | Amy Cutler (Fearless Femme Racing) |
| 24 | Cari Higgins (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 25 | Christina Birch (LA Sweat) |
| 26 | Arden Stelly (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 27 | Ashley Barson (Rise Racing) |
| 28 | Iris Slappendel (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 29 | Venessa Drigo (Stradalli Cycles/Papa John's) |
| 30 | BrittLee Bowman (CRCA/ Velo Classic p/b Stan's NoTubes) |
| 31 | Josie Talbot (ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI) |
| 32 | Cynthia Frazier (NCVC/UnitedHealthcare) |
| 33 | Andrea Thomas (Groove Subaru Excel Sports) |
| 34 | Jennifer Caicedo (Finish Strong Elite Cycling Team) |
| 35 | Annie Ewart (UnitedHealthcare) |
| 36 | Christa Ghent (LA Sweat) |
| 37 | Megan Heath (Frazier Cycling) |
| 38 | Judah Sencenbaugh (Ames Velo) |
| 39 | Sarah Matchett (Dornier Racing) |
| 40 | Lauren LeClaire (CRCA/ Velo Classic p/b Stan's NoTubes) |
| 41 | Samantha Bendt (Dornier Racing) |
| 42 | Cinthia Lehner (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 43 | Jennifer Wagner |
| 44 | Holly Beard (Advanced) |
| 45 | Tess Oliver (QCW Breakaway Bikes p.b. Felt Bicycles- JL Vell) |
| 46 | Tate Devlin (CRCA/ Velo Classic p/b Stan's NoTubes) |
| 47 | Monica Volk (The Happy Tooth Pro Cycling) |
| 48 | Kathryn Buss (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 49 | Rachel McKinnon (Low Country Racing) |
| 50 | Alexandra Burton (The Happy Tooth Pro Cycling) |
| 51 | Courteney Lowe (Happy Tooth) |
| 52 | Vanessa Botero (Finish Strong Elite Cycling Team) |
| 53 | Hannah Swan (Cycle Haus Racing) |
| 54 | Katherine Shields (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 55 | Zoe Mullins (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 56 | Chelsea Knapp (Healthy and Happy Racing) |
| 57 | Victoria Kanizer (OrthoCarolina Winston) |
| 58 | Katherine Aristizabal (Finish Strong Elite Cycling Team) |
| 59 | Kimberley Johnson |
| 60 | Stephanie Nave (Finish Strong Elite Cycling Team) |
| 61 | Theresa O'Sullivan (Dornier Racing) |
| 62 | Kathryn Clark |
| 63 | Natalie Tapias (CRCA/ Velo Classic p/b Stan's NoTubes) |
| DNF | Elle Anderson (Rally Cycling) |
| DNF | Jamie Gilgen (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) |
| DNF | Madison Kelly (Stradalli Cycles/Papa John's) |
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