Marlies Mejias crosses line second in final stage sprint while Samantha Schneider takes third
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Emily Ehrlich won the GC of the 2023 Redlands Bicycle Classic(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) celebrates taking victory on stage 5 of the Redlands Classic(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Unlike other days in the 2023 Redlands Bicycle Classic, the fifth day was all sunshine(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
A select group of 18 riders led the women's race for the final circuits to the finish(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
On the Sunset Loop Road Race for the women's stage 5, it came down to a greatly-diminished group by the QOM on the second lap that controlled the front(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Stage 5 women's Podium (L to R): second-placed Marlies Mejias (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24), winner Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) and third-placed Samantha Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles)(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Women's 2023 Redlands Bicycle Classic GC podium (L to R): Sprint classification winner Holly Breck (DNA Pro Cycling), GC winner Emily Ehrlich (Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24), mountains classification winner Kathleen Abadie (Fount) and best amateur Alia Shafi (Fount)(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) sprinted to her second victory in a row at the Redlands Bicycle Classic on stage 5 Sunday, while Emily Ehrlich’s ninth place in the 110km Sunset Road Race was enough to secure the overall victory.
“Whenever they attacked we were up there so it was perfect,” said Ehrlich, who rides for Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24. “It’s the biggest win of my racing career. I have only been racing seriously for three or four seasons, but this is everybody’s win. The whole team was amazing.”
In the general classification, Marcela Prieto (PatoBike) came second with a gap of 33 seconds after finishing in the lead group alongside Ehrlich. Melisa Rollins (Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24) finished third overall, 41 seconds back.
A select group established a gap early in the nine-lap, 68.1-mile Sunset Road Race, which brought the five-stage Redlands Bicycle Classic to a close. Schneider beat Marlies Mejias (Virginia Blue Ridge Twenty24) in the dash to the line, adding to her win from Saturday’s stage 4 criterium.
From the 18-strong leading group, Samantha Schneider scooped up the final place on the stage 5 podium for L39ION of Los Angeles while teammate Alexis Ryan finished in fifth place, behind DNA Pro Cycling’s Shayna Powless.
“The race was brutal, it was my first time doing it. Every year I hear how hard it is and how iconic,” Skylar said at the finish about Redlands Bicycle Classic. “Not only the climb, but you have to be really focused because it’s such a fast downhill.”
In the sprint classification, Holly Breck (DNA Pro Cycling) held a three- point advantage over Rylee McMullen (Instafund Racing) going into the finale and held on to the green jersey even though Skylar Schneider moved past McMullen with points. Kathleen Abadie (Fount Cycling Guild) held on for the mountains classification and Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24 finished as the top team.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
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