Sunny King Criterium: Kendall Ryan and Alfredo Rodriguez win titles in Anniston

The 2024 Sunny King Criterium was a race of redemption for Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Alfredo Rodriguez (Reign Storm Racing), who each went from runner-up finishes final 12 months to victories this outing. 

The victories for Ryan and Rodriguez had been additionally vital as they earned prime factors within the season opener of USA Crits, a group of six races throughout three states with a base prize purse of $200,000 for elite riders of $200,000.  

It was all sunshine and scorching velocity for the four-corner races on the twenty second version of the Sunny King Criterium in downtown Anniston, Alabama on Saturday. Both races noticed assaults attempt to stick, solely to be reeled again by the excessive tempo. For the ladies, it got here right down to the uphill dash off the ultimate nook, Ryan driving forward of Alexis Magner, neé Ryan for a L39ION one-two end and Harriet Owen (DNA Pro Cycling) closing quick for third.

“Today I actually wished it to return right down to a dash. My sister [Alexis Magner] actually piloted us to the final nook. It was a great place for me at this race. That was the profitable transfer for me. 

“The greatest competitors within the race for me was undoubtedly Harriet Owens. I anxious about her within the dash particularly. They [DNA Pro Cycling] had yet one more rider than we did, so they could do a reasonably good lead out and get her there. We had been simply anxious about positioning for the dash and simply be sure that we had been in a great place. I felt her arising on my proper they usually had been proper there.”

Last 12 months Kendall Ryan ushered her L39ION of Los Angeles teammate Lizbeth Salazar to the road for the dash victory, and this 12 months the workforce adopted their plan to maneuver Kendall Ryan to the highest step of the rostrum.

On the lads’s facet, final 12 months Rodriguez thought he had the win for his then Miami Nights workforce, however was pipped on the line by Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon Racing). This 12 months, the Reign Storm duo of Rodriguez and Bryan Gomez went one-two a the road, leaving Roderyck Asconeguy Diaz (MC Cycling Team) in third, and Michael Garrison (North Georgia Cycling Association) in fourth from the small lead group.

“I used to be actually nervous immediately firstly. Michael [Hernandez, teammate] instructed me, ‘hey don’t fear’, however I used to be actually nervous as a result of final 12 months I used to be like 5 meters to the road,” Rodriguez mentioned about remembering how he was overtaken on the line by Bickmore final 12 months. “This 12 months it’s workforce. They offer you actually good help within the race and offer you confidence. 

The Reign Storm had been a part of a small breakaway that started to lose companions and a big hole with simply seven laps to go. Garrison and Asconeguy Diaz had been in a position to speed up away with Rodriguez and Gomez to make it a foursome on the entrance for the ultimate three laps, and Rodriguez getting the win this 12 months.  

“When he [Garrison] related, it modified the entire plan. Before, Bryan and I had been speaking within the breakaway and he coated one man and I coated the opposite, then ButcherBox dropped and [Garrison] related. We had been like, ‘who covers this man’? Bryan mentioned ‘I’ll take this man and you’re taking the others, and take note of the end’. This win is for the workforce. Bryan was actually good tonight, actually sturdy.”

The subsequent cease for USA Crits will probably be April 20 at Rock&Road Criterium in Newnan Georgia.