By Cynthia Lou
Redemption was sweet for Webcor Builders today. After the unfortunate series of crashes that took them off the podium and out of their competition jerseys at Thursday’s Cannon Falls Road Race, Alexis Rhodes road away from 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. Teammate Kathryn Curi Mattis took the day’s Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider’s Jersey.
“How tough are they to be able to keep fighting and never give up,” beamed Webcor Builder’s director Laura Charmaeda. “Not only did they not give up, but they came out here to stomp the race again. That’s just plain tough.”
Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) extended her lead in the Wheaties Sprint Competition by winning the first two sprints. Sprint competitions three and four were absorbed by the breakaway groups.
While all early attacks were brought back, with TIBCO, Webcor Builders, and Colavita staying active near the front, the attacks picked up approximately 28 miles into the race, after the second Sprint Competition. Webcor Builder’s Kathryn Curi Mattis escaped on a solo breakaway, later joined by Team Type 1’s Veronica Leal, Tibco’s Julie Beveridge, and Lip Smacker’s Jessica Phillips. The break grew to over 2’ 15“, putting Leal in the virtual yellow jersey, before Armstrong fought to bring it back with the help of Colavita.
