Rivera wins Charlotte Criterium

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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.

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