The USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships criterum Saturday suited the Fort Lewis College cycling team better than Friday’s road race.
“It was definitely a better day. Little shorter, made the heat out here not as bad,” FLC road coach Ian Burnett said. “It was a really climby course (Saturday) – a lot of fast, hard punchy stuff. The person who did the best was one of our mountain bike kids. It was a real mountain bike style.”
Sophomore Ryan Standish finished third, giving FLC its first medal in the event.
Marian’s Josh Johnson outsprinted Standish and second-place finisher David Lombardo of Lindenwood.
Standish was part of a late breakway after the race was neutralized and restarted with six laps to go because of a rider who crashed and still was on the course.
“It was pretty crazy,” Burnett said.
Junior Dean Haas of FLC took eighth.
UC-San Diego’s Gretchen Stumhofer won her second event of the weekend in the women’s criterium in 1 hour, 0.44 seconds, all but assuring her the women’s omnium title. Sofia Gomez-Villafañe logged the Skyhawks best finish in 13th, one lap behind the leaders. Sydney Edmundson was 21st and Maddie Chaves 23rd after both were pulled off the course.
The Skyhawks now turn their focus to Sunday’s team time trial, which they’ve been eyeing all weened.
FLC rested three of the four men on its time trial team and two of the women to try and grab a title. “Time trial’s been our goal all weekend because it’s a race we can control and not rely on anyone else or have any luck or strategy,” Burnett said.
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