Alfredo Rodriguez (REIGN Storm Racing) and Sofía Arreola de Finsterwald (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY24) claimed victories in the elite races at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic (WSCC), the final point-scoring round in the USA Crits series.
Rodriguez secured the men’s individual title for USA Crits with his victory Saturday, adding a fourth podium in the series. Roderyck Asconeguy Diaz (MC Cycling Team) was second overall and it was a title wave of REIGN Storm riders completing the top five with Danny Summerhill in third, Bryan Gomez fourth and Jordan Parra in fifth. Michael Garrison (MGR p/b NICH SpeedClub), who did not race in North Carolina, took the lap honours in the series.
With a fourth-place finish in the WSCC, Alexis Magner (L39ION of Los Angeles) won the women’s individual title for USA Crits with a wide margin over her closest adversaries, second-placed Harriet Owen (DNA Pro Cycling) and third-placed Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles), who were absent in North Carolina. Ivanie Blondin (Goldman Sachs ETFs) and Elizabeth Harden (Work Hard Be Humble Cycling) were fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Kaitlyn Rauwerda (DNA Pro Cycling) was the women’s top lap leader in the series.
REIGN Storm Racing won the men’s team overall in the series, while Goldman Sachs ETFs Racing took the women’s team title.
USA Crits included six established criterium races across April and May in a trio of southern states. The collection of races offered a base prize purse for elite riders of $200,000, based on a combination of individual race payouts and a series bonus for top 10 elite men, elite women and teams.
The finale in Winston-Salem used a downtown course which looped up around Bailey Park, which hosts live concerts all day.
Arreola attacked in the final laps to claim victory with Heidy Praderas (Kingdom Elite Racing) and Arreola’s teammate Marlies Mejias, who won the race last year, completing the women's podium. For the Virginia’s Blue Ridge duo, Winston-Salem was their first and only race of the series, as they had focused on stage racing. Mejias won four stages across Tour of the Gila, Tucson Bicycle Classic and Valley of the Sun, and Arreola won a stage and the overall at Tucson Bicycle Classic.
On the men’s side, REIGN Storm Racing controlled the race and Rodriguez won by several bike lengths over Cole Davis, riding solo for Ribble Rebellion in North Carolina. Alberto Ramos (CRCA/Foundation) was third.
