UnitedHealthcare’s women’s team have started their 2016 season off in winning fashion with Coryn Rivera sprinting to victory in the opening stage of the Tour Femenino de San Luis on Sunday. Argentina’s UCI 2.1 six-day race started in El Durazno and will conclude on Friday in San Luis.
UnitedHealthcare won the overall title in 2014 with retired professional Alison Powers, and last year they had three stage wins with Hannah Barnes and Katie Hall.
During stage 1’s 110.3-km race, Rivera won the bunch sprint and Hall earned enough points to take the lead of the mountain competition. Hall won the mountain competition last year.
Following the stage, Rivera posted on Twitter, “Racing with @UHCprocycling girls is like clockwork. We understand teamwork to the fullest. So proud of them today. Plus @KatieHall47 is QOM!”
Rivera is now leading the overall classification ahead of Ale Cipollini’s Marta Tagliaferro and Lares Waowdeals’ Kelly Markus.
The UnitedHealthcare team in Argentina includes Rivera, Hall and Abby Mickey, Iris Slappendel, Diana Penuela and Annie Ewart.
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Ale Cipollini Jasinksa wins Grand Prix San Luis
Ale Cipollini's Malgorzata Jasinska took her first win of the 2016 season in Argentina at the one-day Grand Prix San Luis Femenino on Saturday in El Volcan.
The Polish rider won a 28-rider bunch sprint ahead of Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare), while her teammate Ana Trevisi was third. The team is also competing in the Tour Femenino de San Luis this week.
Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank show off new kit colours in Argentina
Amercian-based UCI women’s team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank are sporting a new look as they open their season at the Tour Femenino de San Luis. The squad’s colours include a mix of dark and light blues with bright green accents. The team has also opted to change their name to Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, instead of Tibco-SVB.
The team racing in Argentina includes Lauren Stephens, who placed second overall last year by a mere eight seconds behind overall winner Janildes Fernandes Silva from Brazil.
The team also includes Alizee Brien, Brianna Walle, Kendall Ryan, Lauren Hall and Lauren Komanski.
“I think we have a stronger team than last year and the excitement level is at a peak,” said the team’s director Ed Beamon. “The girls are getting along so well and I think really happy to be racing together. I can’t wait for the fun to begin.”
Spratt and Garfoot claim Australian titles for Orica-AIS
Orica-AIS riders Amanda Spratt and Katrin Garfoot have secured national titles in the road race and time trial, respectively, at the Australian road championships last weekend.
Garfoot opened the championships weekend with the time trial win, covering the 29.3km course in 43:16. “There was a lot of pressure, more than the world championship it felt like, and I gave it my all,” Garfoot said in a team release. “I was really suffering out there, I was dizzy over the line so it’s not that I didn’t fight. I fought.”
“It feels really good (to wear the green and gold jersey). It’s one more thing off the bucket list so it feels amazing."
Spratt closed out the weekend with a victory in the elite women's 102km road race in Buninyong. She won a two-up sprint ahead of Ruth Corset. “I was feeling really strong out there,” Spratt said. “I know in a really hard race I can actually sprint pretty well in the end," Spratt said in a team press release.
“I know Ruth is a strong sprinter so I had to be really really smart with the way I rode. We had the numbers behind if it came back together so I knew I could play that card a little bit too."
Spratt also won the Australian road title in 2012.
