Race 5 - June 22: Elite Women/U23 Women RR, 123km

Curi against the odds

By Kristy Scrymgeour

Katheryn Curi (Webcor)
Photo: © Epic Images

Not only was Katheryn Curi on a team that lacked in numbers compared to the dominant T-Mobile team in today's race but this last year has been what she calls "the year of resiliency" for the up and coming rider from Danville, California. In October of 2004 she broke her collarbone, then broke it again k it again in February, the same month that her mother died. And just a month ago her father had a heart attack. Today's win for Curi was a "dream come true," with the support from her team and coach over the last challenging months paying off.

Altitude was one of the big concerns for many of the riders going into today's National Road Race Championship. With Deer Valley, Utah situated at 7200 feet, riders from sea level are definitely at a disadvantage. The course starts high and drops down into the canyons behind Park City, where riders completed three laps of a relatively flat 24.1-mile loop before climbing back out over two long climbs to the finish.

By the first mid race loop a break of six riders had formed, opening up a convincing gap on the field. In the group were Sarah Uhl (Quark), Cat Malone (Webcor), Lara Kroepsch (T-Mobile), Kate Hulser (Ford Basis), Anna Milkowski (Lipton) and Mara Abbott (Sports Garage). The break worked well together and by the second lap the gap had over 1'40" on the field and was looking dangerous. T-Mobile had Kroepsch in the break but was not happy with the situation, as their one advantage of having numbers in the field was not being utilized. They set tempo in the field and gradually reduced the gap. It was getting close by base of the final climb and Kristin Armstrong started the attacks. She split the field taking four others with her: Christine Thorburn (Webcor), Kate Sherwin (Victory Brewing), Amber Neben (Buitenpoort Flexipoint), and Lynn Gaggioli (Monex). Bridging across was Grace Fleury (Quark) taking Curi with her. Just as Fleury and Curi reached the chase group at the top of the first climb, the original break was caught and Curi made her move.

T-Mobile lead the bunch up the first climb
Photo ©: Kristy Scrymgeour

"I could see Kimberly [Baldwin] falling back a bit and I knew that the Quark riders were suffering, so I went with Grace and when we got their the break was getting caught so I attacked," Curi explained.

She attacked up the left hand side, leaving the other main contenders looking at each other. By the bottom of the descent she had a minute on the rest of the break. Gaggioli and Neben started to chase but had no help from the rest of the group and Curi's lead kept increasing. Armstrong tried to attack, as did Sherwin, but all attempts failed and the cat and mouse game continued. Curi powered home to take her first ever National Title and the chase group was caught by the peloton with a few kilometers to go. Gaggioli managed to take the bunch sprint for second place, with Tina Pic (Quark) taking third.

Curi was ecstatic as she crossed the line, the only thing she could say for a while being, "Oh, my God." A very excited team joined her for a big team hug shortly after as celebrations continued. "I just want to thank my team," said Curi. "This is the best team. The staff, the riders and the sponsors are all so great. I couldn't have gotten through the last year without my team and my coach [Laura Sharmeda]."

Curi looked back on the final part of the race saying that her main focus was her power output. "I kept looking at my SRM trying to make sure I kept my power steady. I felt really good. I got a little worried when I went under the underpass because I realized that I still had a long way to go, but I just kept focusing on my SRM."

Anna Milkowski (Team Lipton)
Photo ©: Kristy Scrymgeour

Curi's win earns her automatic selection in the US National Team for the World Championships in Spain. "It was a goal to win today," she said. "But I also knew that I'd have to work really hard to do it."

Cyclingnews caught up with Armstrong whose T-Mobile team had a disappointing day. "Honestly, I wouldn't say it was one of our strongest tactical races," she said. "Today we let people watch us race. We didn't particularly like the break so we set the tempo at the front to bring it back and then started to attack. When Katheryn got away, nobody would chase and the bunch caught us. You know when that happens there isn't a lot of communication in the field and a lot of riders didn't know that Curi was up the road, so all of a sudden she had 1'30" on us.

"One thing I will say," added Armstrong, "is that if a T-Mobile rider wasn't going to win, it's nice that it was Katheryn who won. She is a well-respected rider and wasn't really one of the favourites. It's great that an up and coming rider won today. We've had a lot of success this year, so now we just have to move on and get ready for Cascade."

Within the same race, the U23 category was also being fought out. At the end of the day, it was Lauren Franges (Victory Brewing) winning another U23 National title. She took eighth place overall in the elite race, placing her on top out of the U23 riders. Staphanie Graeter (Webcor) took second place with Mara Abbott (Sports Garage) coming in for third after being in the early break.

1 Katheryn Curi (Webcor)         3.26.03

Race 1 - June 21: Elite Women TT, 34km

Armstrong and Much make up for disappointment

By Kristy Scrymgeour

Kristin Armstrong made up for the disappointment her T-Mobile teammate Kimberly Baldwin experienced today by winning the US National Time Trial Championships and taking the stars and stripes jersey for the team. With two time National Time Trial Champion, Baldwin was forced to retire from the race only minutes into her ride due to a mechanical problem, spirits were down among the T-Mobile crew, but at the end of the day, things were looking much better with Rebecca Much adding to the team's success taking out the U23 Time Trial at just 19 years of age.

On the same course as the Olympic Time Trial selections took place on last year with Christine Thorburne taking the win over five T-Mobile riders, it was a woman in pink who would take the reigns today taking her second National Championship title. This year however the course was much longer at 34km and a much longer time trial effort than most of the women are accustomed to. "It was hard," commented Armstrong after the race. "It was longer than I'm used to. I did about 47 minutes and most time trials I've done so far take about 30 minutes."

Armstrong felt good however and managed to make up 30 seconds on the next fastest rider by the turn around point. "I didn't feel that good on the way out," said Armstrong. "It's a tough course and we started into a headwind. But I figured that everyone was in the same boat. At the turnaround, you can see riders coming the other way so you can tell where you're at. I could see that I had made up a little bit of ground at that point."

"The last climb is tough but you also know that when you get to the top, it all downhill to the finish. I knew I had to go really hard up that climb but not too hard. I had a little time up my sleeve and I knew that if I just went up there at a steady pace I would be okay."

Armstrong was pleased with the win but really disappointed for her teammate Baldwin who is so good in the time trial. "It was nice to win the National Jersey in the road race," she said. "But this feels really good too because there's not as many variables in this race."

"I'm really bummed for Kimberly," she added. "I told her that tomorrow's her day. She is riding really well and it's a good course for her tomorrow."

Cyclingnews caught up with Baldwin after the race, who was understandably disappointed with what happened. "It's the build up that makes it so disappointing," she explained. "All the motorpacing, all the questions to my coach and not being able to sleep last night, and then its all over in five seconds. It would have been a really good course for me."

As Baldwin started to roll down the ramp of the time trial she noticed already that her time trial bars were loose. By the first corner they had slipped completely over to the left and were unrideable. "Poor Joe [boyfriend of Armstrong], was the first one to see me bawling hysterically. He tried to find an Alan Key to fix my bars but nobody had one."

"In the end Kristin won and Chris [Kimberly's husband] won so it was a good day. We still got the jersey and that's all that matters."

Adding to the T-Mobile success was Rebecca Much who won the Stars and Stripes in the Time Trial and the Road Race last year in the junior division and graduated into the U23 ranks, only to take another National Title right off the bat. After placing second in the Time Trial at Junior Worlds last year, her results today may not be a surprise for some, but moving up into U23 ranks is not an easy task. Not only that, this "cool kids'" result today would have put her into the top ten in the elite field.

Much was excited after the race in her modest way. "I'm pretty stoked," she told Cyclingnews, "it's really cool. I wasn't expecting it, so I'm really happy. I was in such a good mood today," she added. "I felt really good. It was just one of those days."

Much will race tomorrow in the elite women's road race with her T-Mobile team. The U23 race will take place within the women's elite race, so of course there will be two goals for her. One, to perhaps go for the U23 title herself, but also to help her team go after the elite National Title.

"I guess we'll give the U23 title a shot," she said. "But mostly, I want someone from our team to win the elite race because that's a bigger thing. Especially for Kimberly after what happened today."

Taking second and third place respectively in the U23 division was Stephanie Graeter (Webcor Builders) and defending champion Lauren Franges (Victory Brewing).

Results

1 Kristin Armstrong (T Mobile)
                                                                  47.15.51
                           

Nature Valley Grand Prix - NE/NRC

Minnesota, USA, June 8-12, 2005

Stage 1 - June 8: Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial, 5 miles

Time trial champs come through

Baldwin and Thorburn clock fastest times

By Kristy Scrymgeour

Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders)
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

Christine Thorburn put in another brilliant time trial performance today, proving her form is good to defend her National Time Trial Championship next week. Posting a time of 9.32, Thorburn bettered the time of her nearest competitor, Kimberly Baldwin by 14 seconds, giving the Webcor team quite a lead going into the first stage of the Nature Valley Stage Race. In the men's event former National Time Trial Champion Chris Baldwin, did one better than his wife taking the win by ten seconds from Karl Menzies (Advantage Benefits Endeavour) giving Navigators the job of defending the jersey going into the first stage tomorrow.

On the short 4.5-mile out and back course in downtown St Paul, the cross wind was the major factor for riders today. The vicious thunderstorms overnight having given way to the sun, the roads were dry and it was fairly warm. In the women's race Lynn Gaggioli (Monex) clocked a quick early time, but it wasn't quite fast enough o hold on for the podium. She ended up taking fifth place with Olympic Time Trial rider Thorburn taking the honours. "I didn't feel really good out there," she told Cyclingnews after the race, "but I guess I must be fit. I've been training for the short distances lately, but Nationals is long. Its 38km, which is strange because Worlds is only 22km."

The Webcor team is keen to defend the jersey this week because they want to defend their lead on the Prestige Women's Series. "My team are going to hate me though, that we have the leaders jersey on the first day," she laughed.

2nd Place finisher Kimberly Baldwin (T-Mobile)
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

Baldwin came in second, just in front of her T-Mobile team-mate Kor Seehafer. "First is better," she said, "but after a big day Sunday [where Bruckner was instrumental in helping her team-mate Ina Yoko Teutenberg win the Liberty Classic], I'm happy come back with a decent ride building towards Nationals."

Women

1 Christine Thorburn (Webcor)       9.32.15
2 Kimberly Baldwin (T-Mobile)       0.14.42
3 Kori Seehafer (T-Mobile)            0.15.54

Stage 2 - June 9: Mankato Road Race, 86 miles   By James Lockwood

In the women's race, riders expected a flat course - until they saw the Queen of the Mountains hill on the 2.5 mile finishing circuit. "It's pretty flat. We're used to mountains in California," Webcor Builder's Christine Thorburn said before stage 2 - "Ok, the circuit hill is a HILL. I guess have to eat my words."

"That's going to hurt. Especially after 75 miles," said Shawn Heidgen of TDS-Schwalbe. And while the 75 miles with several sprint primes in the first 60 miles looked to reduce some of the field, it was not enough to prevent Thorburn from taking her second win in two days and keep ahead of T-Mobile's Kimberly Baldwin and Kori Seehafer. The first hour of stage 2 chugged along at better than 24 miles an hour. Sprinters tried to wear down climbers anticipating the big hill they'd face four times before the finish line.

Strong crosswinds whipped across the course, too, and they took their toll on everyone, including the climbers. Sprinters knew they could drop their frailer competitors and they did, starting with Ford-Basis' Kristin Danielson. Numerous attacks failed with only Magen Long of the Bicycle Store ever getting more than 30 seconds up on the group. Then a crash at mile 32 took down TDS' young rider hopeful Michelle Hyland, Ford's Kele Hulser, and two T-Mobile riders, sprinter Ina Yoko Teutenberg and former NVGP champ Katie Mactier. "They lost a lot of power when Ina crashed," Thorburn said. "Yeah, we were doing fine till the crash," Baldwin said.

"I saw three people lying on the ground already," Teutenberg said as she came around the corner. With their classification contender on the ground along with their star sprinter, T-Mobile organized to let them catch back on to the already flying peloton. "We had to keep it controlled and steady," said Seehafer. "We had to go up front and slow the pace down and have a presence on the road." While some competitors might've seen their chance, other teams complied with T-Mobile's efforts. "Ina's a really respected rider," Webcor's Thorburn added.

Meanwhile, Quark's Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder, Victory Brewing's Rochelle Gilmore and Teutenberg battled for sprint points. Gilmore also took the first Queen of the Mountains contest over Quark's Swiss climber, Annette Beutler, and T-Mobile's Baldwin. Thorburn was fourth up the first hill, but continued her attack onto the downtown finishing circuit. "I knew this would be a good circuit course for Annette," Thorburn said, "I didn't want to get gapped from her. The third time up Annette and I crested together, so I said let's work." Thorburn and Beutler worked together to lose T-Mobile's climbers, Seehafer and Baldwin. "Kori and I were behind them with a big group," Baldwin said, "and we couldn't get anybody to help chase. Nobody wanted to pull, so we got stuck in no man's land."

After the third lap, Beutler exploded to the finishing line of the four-lap circuit course ahead of Thorburn. "She just put her arms up. She thought it was only three laps," Thorburn said. "She told me we had to go." "I was thinking it was only three laps," an embarrassed Beutler said. "She didn't attack, that's one thing. Then I didn't have too much power to follow her," Beutler said about Thorburn taking a second stage and the leader's jersey for a second day. "It was my mistake, and that's the race."

Thorburn increased her classification lead to 45 seconds over T-Mobile's Seehafer. Baldwin is just a second behind her. Quark's Grace Fleury, Pic, and Van Gilder are all within a minute as is Monex's Lynn Gaggioli. Pic leads the Freewheel Bike Points Jersey race ahead of Thorburn and Gilmore. Beutler is holding onto the best climber's jersey, and Alisha Lion of Ford-Basis has taken the best young rider jersey after stage 2. All the riders talked about how tough stage 2 was and how they looked forward to a rest until stage 3's Friday night criterium in downtown Minneapolis where the race will be flat. "It's not flat here," Baldwin said who grew up in Green Bay, "I should've known that being from the Midwest. Everything rolls here."

Women

1 Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders Women's Cycling Team)    3.46.05
2 Nicole Freedman (Ford-Basis)                                    0.12
3 Tina Pic (Quark Cycling Team)      

Stage 3 - June 10: Minneapolis Downtown Classic criterium, 60/40 minutes

By Rick Fuentes

Ina Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile)
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

Christine Thorburn had everything to lose and nothing to gain Friday night. The Webcor Builder rider came into the third stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the Downtown Minneapolis Classic, leading the general classification.

And with the criterium set over city streets during the 40-minute stage, getting a breakaway would be tough with so many turns in the course. More troubling, being involved in a crash could cost her the leader's jersey.

As predicted, the breakaway didn't come, and a crash did, in the middle of the race taking out a third of the field.

"It was a tight turn," Thorburn said. "The woman who crashed hit the burg because of the decreasing angle of the turn."

Thorburn went running for the pits when her bike got the worst of it.

"I thought I was going to have to get a bike change. I couldn't roll my bike," she said. "They straightened out my bars. Felicia [Greer] gave me her wheel."

For Thorburn, the day was intense, but it left her right where she started in the leader's jersey. It also left Ina Yoko Teutenberg of T-Mobile in a familiar spot, too: atop the winner's podium as champion of the crit, a title she took two years ago.

Track world champion Katie Mactier (T-Mobile)
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

The short course and quick race meant riders were on the redline almost immediately.

"It was a fast race from the start," said Victory Brewing's Rochelle Gillmore, who took second behind Teutenberg. "I wasn't ready for the intensity. I didn't warm up enough beforehand. I suffered most of the race."

Gillmore was also involved in that mid-race crash, but received a wheel change and got moving again.

The race appeared to be all T-Mobile. Their star sprinter Teutenberg launched off the front and pulled in the early laps. Then Katie Mactier pulled, followed by Kim Baldwin. There were 35 seconds in time bonuses up for grabs that would have narrowed the time gap to Thorburn.

Even climber Annette Beutler of Quark took the reins up front for a few laps, but with four laps to go it was Victory Brewing's Gina Grain driving.

The six-turn course strung out the field and made the most of every rider's cornering skills. Early afternoon rain dampened the roads just enough to put fear in the racers.

Quark
Photo ©: Bruce Adelsman

"It was a pretty technical course," Quark's Laura Van Gilder said, "and you've got to stay up front to make sure you're not caught unaware."

"I love technical courses, coming from a BMX background," said The Bicycle Store's Magen Long. "I'm glad the rain went away. I was afraid when I heard the tornado warnings. I thought I was back in Oklahoma."

Long looked like she had a twister behind her as she chased down Teutenberg on the last lap, but it wasn't enough. Teutenberg's two-armed, palms-up salute just seemed to say, "Hey, was the outcome ever in doubt?"

Van Gilder, Quark's Tina Pic, and Long followed Teutenberg and Gilmore to the line.

"Ina rode a really good race," Long said, "Kori Seehafer (T-Mobile) was doing a good job blocking."

"I wanted to win," Gillmore said, "but I made a wrong move, waited too long. Then there wasn't enough room. Just a mistake I made. I'm confident I have the speed to win."

Teutenberg said it was all teamwork. "I got a good lead-out from my team," she said. "I had no choice. [My director] told me I had to do it today. It's good to have a stage win. Now everybody can relax."

T-Mobile
Photo ©: Bruce Adelsman

That's not likely with a 94-mile road race in rolling Red Wing, Minn., on Saturday and a 50-minute crit in historic Stillwater that includes the 20-percent grade up Chilakoot Hill. Plus, Thorburn only holds the GC leader's jersey by 36 seconds over Van Gilder, who racked up enough time bonuses to leapfrog over Seehafer and Baldwin.

"We were on the defensive today," Thorburn said. "We worked pretty hard on the front."

"You're not going to get a minute on someone who's conscious of it," Van Gilder said about the Minneapolis crit. "There's two more hard days of racing. We're not here to roll over either."

The Nature Valley Grand Prix continues on Saturday with the Red Wing Road Race in Red Wing, Minn., about 55 miles southeast of the Twin Cities along the Mississippi River.

Women
 
1 Ina Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile)                                 39.33
2 Rochelle Gilmore (Victory Brewing Cycling Team)                    
3 Laura Van Gilder (Quark Cycling Team)                              
4 Tina Pic (Quark Cycling Team)                                   0.01
5 Magen Long (The Bicycle Store)

Stage 4 - June 11: Red Wing Road Race, 101/94 miles

In the women's race, Gina Grain is absolutely, swear-on-a-stack-of-bibles-on-her-mother's-grave certain. She got hit by lightning.

"Ok, you can never be sure," the Victory Brewing rider said laughing, "but this, big, huge thing of lightning came down and my fingers on my right hand were on the shifters - the metal part - and then I felt this buzzing all the way up to my elbow."

Whether it struck her or not, it was enough to put a scare into race officials, who stopped the race 60 miles in for about 20 minutes. Riders were told to take shelter, and most went to a nearby farmer's barn.

"It was a first-time experience for me," Grain said. "I never could have imagined having a coffee break in a barn during a race. It was the safest thing to do, a good call on the officials."

Once the storms passed and racing resumed, it was Quark Cycling Team's Tina Pic who provided the sparks as she had done most of the day, taking the win in 4 hours, 42 minutes ahead of T-Mobile's Kori Seehafer and Annette Beutler, also of Quark. With bonus time on the win and two of the sprint primes she took on the day, Pic moved into second overall, 26 seconds behind leader Christine Thorburn who finished in the pack in fifth place.

Racing started as soon as mile 21. Pic and Monex's Lynn Gaggioli went 1-2 in the first couple of sprints, then Grain took a flyer off the front. Webcor set tempo and covered all the attacks.

"It was a pretty aggressive race," Thorburn said. "My team did a good job. Erinne (Willock) was a superstar."

"Grace (Fleury) from Quark was off," Willock said. "She was motoring. We had to catch her, and then Christine was off with her."

"Webcor was chasing everybody from one side of the road because of the wind," Pic said, "so you ended up being in the gutter all the time."

The group hit a gravel road and that stretched out the entire peloton. Teams tried to take the front ahead of skittish riders, but the rain delay reunited the group. After the delay, Quark's Fleury and Webcor's Cat Malone got 53 seconds on the group, but they were reeled in as the group entered the Red Wing finishing circuit.

"We were trying to save ourselves for the finishing circuit," Seehafer said. "We were in the threat of losing podium places because Quark had time bonuses. I instigated a break on lap two, bringing four riders with me. Then me and Erinne Willock were working."

"Laura (Van Gilder) and I were so close in the standings," Pic said. "We wanted to get one of us the win. It was nice to get on when T-Mobile took the front."

Seehafer drove the breakaway group for three laps trying to pop the sprinters. She ended up towing Pic, Beutler, Gaggioli, and Thorburn, and that's how they finished. Pic won the stage and 25 seconds in time bonuses. Seehafer scored second place and 11 seconds.

Along with leading Pic, Thorburn is ahead of Seehafer by 34 seconds back, with Baldwin 44 seconds behind. Beutler still holds the best climber's jersey. Pic has a 16-point lead in the Freewheel Bike points competition, and Willock has regained the best young rider's jersey.

"It was a hard, tough race," Victory's Grain said. "It's a lot different with the hills this year. It's good hard training. And this year because of the course changes, it's not so much of a race just for the sprinters."

Racers will have to recuperate quickly. The last stage in the hilly, tourist town of Stillwater, Minn., is the last chance to gain any time on Thorburn, but riders will have to fight the fatigue of climbing Stillwater's Chilakoot Hill. The grade is 20 percent, and the winding course makes it easy for the group to lose sight of a breakaway.

Women
 
1 Tina Pic (Quark Cycling Team)                                4.42.40
2 Kori Seehafer (T-Mobile)                                           
3 Annette Beutler (Quark Cycling Team)               

Women: Thorburn keeps leader jersey, Gaggioli wins final stage                 by Rick Fuentes

Lynn Gaggioli (Monex)
Photo ©: Caroline Yang

Twenty-six seconds is all that separated Webcor Builder's Christine Thorburn from Quark Cycling Team's Tina Pic.

That's about as much time as it took to crest Chilkoot Hill, a short climb at a grade of 20-percent that the riders had to tackle 13 times in this final stage of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival's Nature Valley Grand Prix. With eight turns, the 1.5-mile course also provided ample spots for breaks to sneak away out of sight.

Thorburn's team was determined not to let either of those affect who wore the general classification leader's jersey at the end of the race. The jersey was Thorburn's all week, and with only one sprint prime offered, the only way to get time on the leaders was to set a hard pace.

Webcor set the hardest.

"We wanted to take the offensive from the start, but we also wanted to conserve," Thorburn said.

Thorburn won the leader's jersey after the Stillwater Criterium, keeping the 26 seconds she had on Pic and the 34 seconds she had on T-Mobile's Kori Seehafer. With all the top contenders and the leader's jersey present, little changed on the classification lists as Monex's Lynn Gaggioli took the stage, called the "toughest criterium in North America."

Gaggioli agreed with the assessment. "It's just awesome. It's different. It's challenging," she said.

Annette Beutler (Quark)
Photo ©: Caroline Yang

From the gun, Thorburn came around again and again at the front with her teammates Erinne Willock and Katheryn Curi, plus Quark's Pic and climber Annette Beutler, T-Mobile's Kori Seehafer and Kim Baldwin, and Gaggioli.

"Last year, the attacks came after this (Chilkoot) hill," said Beutler, who won this stage last year. "This year not. It's better for me. It's nice when the pace is the same."

"We had to keep the race in control," Willock said.

A lead pack of GC contenders finally got two minutes on the rest of the field, but none of them could get away from each other. With three laps to go, Gaggioli attacked at the bottom of Chilkoot.

"From what I could see, it looked like I was the fastest on the hill," Gaggioli said. "I thought I'd try, but then I saw that the few people with me were chasing for me. So, I sat in and saved some energy for going for the sprint."

"Gaggioli attacked, Willock attacked, then I did," Beutler said. She was wearing the best climber's jersey and also towing her teammate Pic, who was also wearing the sprinter's jersey.

"Annette is so talented," Pic said, "I had to tell her don't go so hard."

After Gaggioli sat up, Willock went for the stage win.

Radio check...
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

"She (Gaggioli) was chased down," Willock said, "I was further down on GC. Initially, they hesitated when I attacked which is what we were hoping for."

"I so wanted Erinne to get the win. She worked so hard for me all week," Thorburn said disappointedly. "Lynn was hungry for a stage win."

"I definitely like having those power hills," Gaggioli said. She crossed the line with enough time to raise a fist in the air, but the time gap was slim enough to maintain Thorburn's lead. The top 10 finished with the same time.

"It's a great end to a great week," Willock said. She took second and won the young rider's jersey.

Beutler held on to the climber's jersey. Pic kept the Freewheel Bike sprinter's points jersey.

"I'm really hurting. It was a rough day. Yesterday was a rough day," she added about Saturday's 94-mile stage in Red Wing. "I'm definitely feeling it."

A surprise on the podium to all except Minnesota cycling fans was Flanders/MBRC's Teresa Moriarty. She placed third behind Gaggioli and Willock.

"I really focused for this race," Moriarty said. "You know when you're racing with riders of that caliber."

The final podium
Photo ©: Matthew Moses

Moriarty got some help from the local crowds, many of which she's passed in races over the years. "Every 100 meters it was 'Teresa, Teresa!' That was fun."

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is the second race in the Women's Prestige Series and it's quickly becoming a favorite for returning riders.

"I didn't focus for this race," Gaggioli said, "but it's been very different. The racing has been superb. The crowds have been attentive. I think this may be the best stage race in the country for women." 

Women Pro/1/2/3
 
1 Lynn Gaggioli (Monex)                                          52.45
2 Erinne Willock (Webcor)              
3 Teresa Moriarty (Flanders/MBRC)                                     
4 Annette Beutler (Quark Cycling Team)                                
5 Kori Seehafer (T-Mobile)                                            
6 Chrissy Ruiter (Ford-Basis)                                         
7 Megan Elliott (Bianchi/Grand Performance)                           
8 Tina Pic (Quark Cycling Team)                                       
9 Laura Van Gilder (Quark Cycling Team)                               
10 Christine Thorburn (Webcor)

Women's final general classification
 
1 Christine Thorburn (Webcor)    10.10.17
2 Tina Pic (Quark Cycling Team)                                    0.26
3 Kori Seehafer (T-Mobile)                                         0.34
4 Kimberly Baldwin (T-Mobile)                                      0.44
5 Lynn Gaggioli (Monex)                                            0.53
6 Annette Beutler (Quark Cycling Team)                             1.04
7 Laura Van Gilder (Quark Cycling Team)                            1.51
8 Chrissy Ruiter (Ford-Basis)                                      2.19
9 Erinne Willock (Webcor)            2.35
10 Helen Kelly (Quark Cycling Team)                                   
11 Kim Anderson (Colavita/Cooking Light)                           2.45
12 Amy Moore (Victory Brewing Cycling Team)                        3.00
13 Audrey Lemieux (Quark Cycling Team)                             3.12