Kristin Armstrong Wins Fourth Nature Valley Grand Prix Title With A Teary Goodbye At Her Last American Race
Opening the last U.S. stage race of her career with a victory, Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) blazed up the finishing hill of the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial to take the yellow jersey in the first stage of the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix and never looked back.
“This is one of my favorite races,” a beaming Armstrong said. “Minneapolis is very welcoming,” she added, noting that the community and fan support at the Nature Valley Grand Prix helps her prioritize this race over others when deciding her racing schedule.
Racing without any team support, Armstrong then set a blistering pace in the St. Paul Lowertown Criterium later that night to not only not only to stay out of harm’s way but also to keep the pace high enough that no one else could go off the front either.
And with all the top names keeping an eye on each other it was Kirsty Broun from Riverfront CDA who took the victory in the final sprint.
The Cannon Fall Road Race was full of action with lots of breakaways, some crashes, and some riders missing the turn onto the gravel road leading to the finishing circuit in town. Erica Allar of Value Act Capital was able to survive all of this however for the win with Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) and Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) rounding out the podium.
The inaugural Uptown Minneapolis Criterium saw a very aggressive race with many teams vying for control of the peloton on the technical course. In the end, however Brooke Miller (Tibco) took the victory followed by Shelley Olds, who took over the Wheaties Sprint Jersey, and Laura van Gilder (Altarum Women’s Cycling).
After the unfortunate series of crashes for Webcor Builders that took them off the podium and out of their competition jerseys at Thursday’s Cannon Falls Road Race, Alexis Rhodes road away breakaway companions Dotsie Bausch (Jazz Apples) and Brooke Miller (TIBCO) to take the stage win, the Queen of the Mountains Jersey, and the Best Young Rider Jersey. Though there was a lot of excitement around whether or not Armstrong would lose the yellow jersey, she was able to hold on in the end.
Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) fiercely defended her yellow jersey at the Stillwater Criterium, attacking the peloton in the second lap, but she left the Nature Valley Grand Prix well decorated and with a teary goodbye at the last American race of her career. A triumphant end to a win-filled career, Armstrong won the overall general classification, the Jelly Belly Sports Beans Best Climber Jersey and the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) and Andrea Dvorak (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) both of whom followed Armstrong’s attack took second and third for the stage, respectively with Olds also moving into second place overall. Rounding out the final podium was Alison Powers from Team Type 1.