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Emily Ehrlich (Virginia’s Blue Ridge-TWENTY28) not solely defended her elite girls’s title at Valley of the Sun Stage Race on Sunday, however she grew to become the primary rider in 33 years to earn the GC title throughout 4 consecutive years.
Once the time trial was securely in hand, with a 37-second benefit to Fount Cycling’s Marjorie Rinaldo, the 31-year-old held regular throughout the highway race and criterium levels to maintain Rinaldo at bay, the Fount rider shifting to 3rd general at 10 seconds again. VBR teammate Marlies Mejías used a stage 2 highway race victory to complete second general, 7 seconds again within the GC.
“Winning VoS for the fourth time is proof that it holds a particular place in my coronary heart, and I’ll all the time be glad about the alternatives, inspiration, and confidence it has given to me,” Ehrlich advised Cyclingnews.
“VoS is a good way to open the season particularly as a result of it focuses on three completely different disciplines of highway racing in three days, it is a sure-fire technique to speed up your early season health, and it has been an necessary a part of doing that job for me the final 4 years.”
North American groups descend to Arizona for the hotter local weather and the unofficial begin to a compressed western swing of occasions and workforce camps, VoS bookended with the four-stage Tuscon Bicycle Classic, February 21-23. Held within the larger Phoenix space, VoS affords racing for professionals, amateurs and juniors, together with factors for the USA Juniors Cup.
Canada’s Carson Mattern (TaG Cycling) used a victory within the 95-mile (153km) highway race to safe the GC title for elite males. Cory Lockwood (Golden State Blazers) started the weekend as the primary VoS general males’s chief by successful the ITT. After the 20-year-old Mattern took over the GC on stage 2, the Blazers’ rider then completed safely within the area within the criterium to safe second general, 16 seconds separating the 2. Tim McBirney (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Equator Coffees) was 20 seconds off the general mark for third on GC.
While the ultimate criterium stage by no means performed into the general podium, the one-mile loop in downtown Phoenix offered thrilling racing, the Golden State Blazers dominating the lads’s laps previous the state capitol with Cory Williams and Tyler Williams going one-two. In the ladies’s contest, Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) gained in a photograph end forward of VBR teammates Olivia Cummins and Mejías.
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Ehrlich got here in because the favorite, placing her time trialling abilities on show on the 10-mile (16.1km) race in opposition to the clock in Buckeye. Last 12 months she put her TT engine to work on the monitor, successful gold medals on the Pan-American Championships in Carson, California within the Individual Pursuit and Team Pursuit. That was her first-ever monitor competitors.
“I’m particularly trying ahead to racing the Pan American Championships for workforce pursuit and particular person pursuit. My workforce pursuit workforce additionally contains two different teammates that I used to be capable of race with at VoS and get to know higher this 12 months. I’m very excited to see what we are able to do collectively. I’m excited to see how I can proceed bettering on the monitor basically, going into my second 12 months of coaching and racing on the monitor,” she advised Cyclingnews, her final objectives being qualification for monitor and highway Worlds.
Not solely did Erhlich unseat Geneviève Jeanson because the winningest rider at VoS (2001-2003), however her Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28 workforce earned a GC title for a ninth time. The US Continental programme positioned 4 riders within the high 10.
“Our teamwork was flawless regardless of this being our first race collectively. Racing for such a powerful workforce could be very thrilling” mentioned newly-signed Anna Hicks, who completed seventh general.
Hicks will probably be a part of the core group driving this weekend in Tucson, together with Ehrlich and Mejías, whereas Rylee McMullen and Sofia Arreola will be part of from monitor competitors of their house areas. McMullen gained gold medals on the Oceania Championships within the Points and Team Pursuit races whereas Arreola certified for the Mexican nationwide workforce.
USA Juniors Cup
Valley of the Sun was the second cease of eight occasions in 2025 for the USA Juniors CUP Race sequence. TWENTY28 Aevolo girls swept the 17-18 podium, Landrie McLain taking the general with teammates Emma Jimenez and Bridget Ciambotti on the GC podium.
The males’s 17-18 general title went to Beckam Drake (HIll’s Sport Shop). Benjamin Juracich (DDP Elite Cycling Team) was second and Rowan Child (GEPLA Watersley R+D) third.
The general GC winners will probably be confirmed at Tour of America’s Dairyland in June, with the Junior 17-18 males’s and girls’s classes 1/2/3 receiving automated nominations for a 2025 National Team journey, partially funded by the USA Juniors Cup.
GC Results Elite Men and Women
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