Canadian Cyclist

 

June 15/11 11:58 am - Nature Valley GP: Stage 1 women


Posted by Editoress on 06/15/11
 

Armstrong Returns To Nature Valley With Dominant Win

report  by Cynthia Lou, Nature Valley Grand Prix


Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12) secured the Nature Valley Grand Prix’s first yellow jersey Wednesday morning at the six-mile St. Paul Time Trial.

The former Olympic and world time trial champion's time of 14 minutes and 30 seconds was 23 seconds ahead of Evelyn Stevens of HTC-Highroad. Riders from those two teams rounded out the top five, with Alison Starnes and Kristin McGrath (both of Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12) in third and fifth, respectively, and former world time trial champion Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) in fourth.

“There’s something about the energy of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and I love the Nature Valley Race,” said Armstrong, who won the Nature Valley Grand Prix four years in a row before taking a brief retirement last year to give birth to her first child. “I see people that I’ve seen for years. There’s something about coming back to a race and feeling comfortable in the community and the environment and with my team, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12. The girls are like family, so it allows me to have balance now, having a child. There’s not the extra pressures of feeling guilty that I’m not with the team for a few minutes here and there.”

Having had to defend her title sans teammates in the past, Armstrong says she has a strong team to rely on this time around.

“My teammate Alison Starnes is in third, Kristin McGrath is also up there, so I think we have some options,” Armstrong said. “I think that I’m the target, but I don’t always have to be the answer. So I’m willing to play, I think other teams want to play. I know that HTC is out here and they’re going to want to do something. Diadora brought a team, Colavita is here, so we’re going to see some action.”

Rainy conditions resulted in a slightly different range of times than last year when the course was dry. The course included a turnaround, and riders were more cautious on the wet and slippery roads.

Racing in this year’s field are last year’s winner Shelley Olds (Diadora-Pasta Zara-Manhattan) and current world road champion Giorgia Bronzini (Colavita Forno D'Asolo presented by Cooking Light). Olds finished 1:47 back with a time of 16:17, while Bronzini was 1:53 behind in a time of 16:23.

Racing continues Wednesday night with the St. Paul Downtown Criterium, featuring a 1.4 km, six-corner criterium course, featuring two intermediate time bonuses, a finishing time bonus, and three sprint point competitions. Last year, time bonuses from this stage whittled a 23-second gap down to a mere two seconds for eventual overall winner Olds.

 

Stage 1:  Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial, 9.65 km Time Time Diff
1 Kristin Armstrong (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:14.30.160  
2 Evelyn Stevens (USA) HTC-High Road 0:14.53.410 0:23
3 Alison Starnes (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:14.57.410 0:27
4 Amber Neben (USA) HTC-High Road 0:14.59.370 0:29
5 Kristin Mcgrath (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:15.03.440 0:33
6 Anne Samplonius (Can ) NOW Cycling 0:15.05.250 0:35
7 Kelly Benjamin (USA) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.11.610 0:41
8 Amber Pierce (USA) Diadora Pasta Zara 0:15.15.660 0:45
9 Rushlee Buchanan (NZl) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.17.750 0:47
10 Erinne Willock (Can) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:15.18.650 0:48
11 Jaime Nielson (NZl) BikeNZ National Team 0:15.22.630 0:52
12 Jade Wilcoxson (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:15.25.630 0:55
13 Rachel Neylan (Ita) Diadora Pasta Zara 0:15.26.150 0:56
14 Meredith Miller (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:15.30.890 1:00
15 Inga Cilvinaite (Ita) Diadora Pasta Zara 0:15.32.640 1:02
16 Carmen Small (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:15.33.360 1:03
17 Kathleen Giles (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:15.35.230 1:05
18 Tayler Wiles (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:15.35.880 1:05
19 Robin Farina (USA) NOW Cycling 0:15.36.700 1:06
20 Amanda Miller (USA) HTC-High Road 0:15.37.380 1:07
21 Lauren Tamayo (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:15.38.620 1:08
22 Elizabeth Newell (USA) Vanderkitten-Focus 0:15.39.890 1:09
23 Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:15.42.290 1:12
24 Andrea Dvorak (USA) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.42.780 1:12
25 Kaytee Boyd (NZl) BikeNZ National Team 0:15.43.880 1:13
26 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.46.100 1:16
27 Anna Barensfeld (USA) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:15.50.150 1:20
28 Ally Stacher (USA) HTC-High Road 0:15.51.220 1:21
29 Theresa Cliff-Ryan (USA) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.51.460 1:21
30 Joelle Numainville (Can) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:15.51.850 1:21
31 Catherine Cheatley (NZl) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:15.54.150 1:24
32 Jennifer Rasmusson (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:15.54.940 1:24
33 Ashley James (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:15.57.560 1:27
34 Devon Gorry (USA) NOW Cycling 0:15.59.530 1:29
35 Rachel Warner (USA) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:15.59.910 1:29
36 Coryn Rivera (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:16.01.200 1:31
37 Megan Guarnier (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:16.04.100 1:34
38 Lauren Ellis (NZl) BikeNZ National Team 0:16.04.800 1:34
39 Cara Gillis (Can) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:16.05.140 1:35
40 Leah Guloien (Can) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:16.05.580 1:35
41 Amity Elliot (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:16.05.600 1:35
42 Jacqueline Kurth (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:16.06.380 1:36
43 Joanne Kiesanowski (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:16.07.630 1:37
44 Olivia Dillon (USA) Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 0:16.08.460 1:38
45 Rosara Josephs (NZl) BikeNZ National Team 0:16.13.250 1:43
46 Stacy Appelwick (USA) ABD Cycling Team 0:16.14.170 1:44
47 Erika Graves (USA) NOW Cycling 0:16.15.880 1:45
48 Emily Collins (NZl) Vanderkitten-Focus 0:16.17.300 1:47
49 Elle Anderson (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:16.17.190 1:47
50 Shelley Olds (USA) Diadora Pasta Zara 0:16.17.790 1:47
51 Melanie Colavito (USA) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:16.18.600 1:48
52 Samantha Schneider (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:16.18.300 1:48
53 Barbara Guarashi (USA) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:16.15.100 1:45
54 Jessica Prinner (USA) ABD Cycling Team 0:16.20.360 1:50
55 Chole Hosking (Aus) HTC-High Road 0:16.20.560 1:50
56 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Cooking Light 0:16.23.730 1:53
57 Jazzy Hurikino (Aus) Vanderkitten-Focus 0:16.25.870 1:55
58 Kathleen Billington (USA) Danbury Audi 0:16.25.920 1:55
59 Whitney Schultz (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:16.28.570 1:58
60 Melissa Ross (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:16.30.390 2:00
61 Maura Kinsella (USA) Vanderkitten-Focus 0:16.31.700 2:01
62 Jane Weakley (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:16.32.240 2:02
63 Judy Jenkins (USA) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:16.32.410 2:02
64 Louise Smyth (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:16.33.160 2:03
65 Lindsey Myers (USA) Danbury Audi 0:16.33.720 2:03
66 Laurel Larsen (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:16.36.140 2:06
67 Robin Bauer (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:16.38.870 2:08
68 Genevieve Whitson (NZl) MVP Health Care Cycling Team 0:16.39.480 2:09
69 Emma Mackie (USA) Team TIBCO/To The Top 0:16.41.740 2:11
70 Laura Meadley (Aus) MVP Health Care Cycling Team 0:16.44.960 2:14
71 AnnaJean Dallaire (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:16.46.840 2:16
72 Christina Gokey-Smith (USA) NOW Cycling 0:16.49.160 2:19
73 Laura Ralston (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:16.49.470 2:19
74 Holly Mathews (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:16.50.130 2:20
75 Missy Erickson (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:16.58.670 2:28
76 Addy Albershardt (USA) NOW Cycling 0:17.00.220 2:30
77 Jennifer Purcell (USA) Danbury Audi 0:17.01.300 2:31
78 Jenna Rinehart (USA) Missing Link Coaching Systems / Specialized 0:17.02.170 2:32
79 Jeannie Kuhajek (NZl) ABD Cycling Team 0:17.04.450 2:34
80 Colleen Paine (USA) Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder 0:17.06.450 2:36
81 Anna Young (USA) MVP Health Care Cycling Team 0:17.08.630 2:38
82 Hilary Billington (USA) Danbury Audi 0:17.16.190 2:46
83 Lenore Pipes (Gum) MVP Health Care Cycling Team 0:17.17.490 2:47
84 Amy Miner (USA) NVGP Pro Ride 0:17.17.830 2:47
85 Rebecca Wellons (USA) Danbury Audi 0:17.18.200 2:48
86 Kristen Meshberg (USA) ABD Cycling Team 0:17.34.410 3:04
87 Natalie Stoll (USA) MVP Health Care Cycling Team 0:18.13.210 3:43
88 Kimberley Turner (USA) Kowalski's Collegiate All-Stars 0:18.18.720 3:48
89 Sarah Demerly (USA) ABD Cycling Team 0:18.22.80 3:52

 

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