USA Cycling NCC rankings tighten up

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The first edition of USA Cycling's National Criterium Calendar (NCC) has reached its midpoint, and with the Tour of Somerville, Base Camp International and Glencoe Grand Prix behind, the standings are tighter than ever for the elite men and women.

Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) held onto his overall lead in the men's rankings, but lost ground to Carlos Alzate Escobar (Team Exergy), who closed down 38 points and is now 86 points behind with his results in New Jersey.

Luke Keough (Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop) moved into third after winning the Tour of Somerville and taking a 12th place in Glencoe. He trails Alzate by only eight points.

UnitedHealthcare leads the team standings by a large margin, but Jamis-Sutter Home overtook Team Exergy for second place.

On the women's side, Erica Allar (RideClean-PatentIt.com) continued her string of top results. While the Tour of Somerville and Base Camp races were men-only on the NCC, Allar's second place in the Glencoe Grand Prix to Laura van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) was enough to maintain a 146-point margin in the standings.

The NCC women's team standings remained the same with Team TIBCO-To the Top extending its lead over Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. Exergy Twenty12 is third.

The NCC continues this weekend with the three-race Saint Francis Tulsa Tough in Tulsa, Oklahoma and two-day Air Force Cycling Classic in Arlington, Virginia.

NCC rankings as of June 5, 2012