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Nature Valley Grand Prix 2009

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Race Writeup

Erica Allar of Value Act Capital won the Cannon Falls stage after a catalogue of crashes on the day. Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) finished second, with Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) third.

The Cannon Falls Road Race winds through scenic Goodhue County before finishing on a circuit in downtown Cannon Falls . There are no defining climbs and the course was not affected by any adverse weather conditions. The race was affected by a number of bad decisions, moves that in some instances took down numerous riders. Through a series of crashes, some missed turns and this created a number of breakaway attempts and strung out along the course.

The action started from the beginning, with the first Queen of the Hills (QOH) competition at 3.6 miles, won by Ruth Corset (Jazz Apple Women’s Cycling Team). An early attack by Christina Smith (Veloforma) launched after the first QOH marked the only notable break, gaining up to 20 seconds before getting caught within 4 miles.  

Attack after attack caused havoc in the bunch and just before the turn at 5km onto the dirt track a number of riders hit the ground including most of Webcor, Team Tibco and Tina Pic. Many teams were affected by the accident, but Webcor-Builders took the brunt of the fall, which erased third placed and best young rider Alexis Rhodes, fourth placed Erinne Willock, eight placed Katheryn Mattis, Rebecca Much and Gina Grain. Team TIBCO riders caught up in the accident included Julie Beveridge, Ambar Rais and Meredith Miller.

Recovering from the crash the front of the peloton missed turn onto the stretch of gravel road and the remainder of the peloton continued on in pursuit of the finishing circuits. Both Pic and Allar were embodied in the group that missed the turn and found themselves chasing their way back up to the field with enough time to sprint. The pack sprinted to the line and Allar managed to find her way through to the line.

Tiffany Cromwell won the Sport Beans Queen of the Hills Jersey. Stage winner, Erica Allar, took over the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Kristin Armstrong maintained the leader’s jersey, while the Wheaties Sprint Jersey stayed with Kirsty Broun (Riverstone CDA). Jacquelyn Crowell (Team Type 1) starts the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium in the APC Best Young Rider Jersey after the crash of Alexis Rhodes. Kate Veronneau (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team) in the Nature Valley Top Amateur Jersey.

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