Ratto wins Winston-Salem Classic

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Rossella Ratto (Cylance Pro Cycling) soloed to the win Monday at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, the 10th event of USA Cycling's 2016 Pro Road Tour.

Ratto gave Cylance its first UCI victory of the season thanks to a well-timed and tenacious attack. The 22-year-old blasted away from a reduced peloton on the final lap, and soloed to the victory with plenty of room to celebrate ahead of a small group sprinting behind her. Cylance teammate Valentina Scandolara won the dash for second place over Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare).

Just as in the US Pro road races two days earlier, the short, undulating, and technical circuit in the center of Winston-Salem proved to be a race of attrition. The field was whittled down by the halfway point to a front group of under 30 riders, with only two dozen making the front group as they rolled through the line with one lap to go. Ratto was well positioned near the front, and made her move with just over 10km to go, quickly opening up a half minute gap.

UnitedHealthcare put in a big effort to bring Ratto bank for Rivera, with Rally Cycling was also pitching in for their sprinter Erica Allar. Their effort was not enough to reel in the feisty Ratto, who was the bronze medalist at the World Championships in 2013.

"We planned to do a hard race, and I had my teammates working for me, setting a good pace on every climb," Ratto said. "We took two laps to go very fast, and I saw the peloton was splitting. And then I saw they were sitting up - and I thought it was the right time because they were tired and I still have some energy. I believed in what I was doing, and I wanted to thank my team as much as possible, so I continued hard in the last kilometer."

"The course was hard, but it depends on the way you approach it. Today we kept a really high speed all race long, and with the heat it was even harder. But there a lot of places where the peloton can get back together. It's a matter of continuing to survive, and keeping going, and picking the right moment to go like I did."

The victory is Ratto's first since winning the Giro dell'Emilia in 2014.

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