Janeliunaite wins crash marred sprint in Missouri
Numainville, Kirchmann make up the podium
Lithuania's Edita Janeliunaite (Colavita Forno D'Asolo) won her first race stateside at the Tour de Grove on Saturday. She won the bunch sprint ahead of Joelle Numainville (Tibco-To the Top) in second and her teammate Leah Kirchmann placed third.
"I was helping my teammates today," Janeliunaite said. "I wanted to go to the front and have my teammates on my wheel. But, I won the sprint. I have a good sprint too."
Some 50 Pro-Cat 1 and 2 women started the race under wet conditions. The L-shaped course catered to the cagiest criterium racers. The women competed for 60 minutes plus three laps and for a total prize purse of $7,500. The Tour de Grove is a member of both the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and the USA Crit Championship Series.
The peloton was aggressive from the start, however, all attempted breakaways were short-lived. "Nothing was really sticking today," said Rachel Heal Colavita Forno D'Asolo directeur. "There were small groups but nothing was getting very far."
Sprinters registered for the race vying for a sprint finale included Numainville and her teammate Jo Kiesanowski (Tibco-To the Top), Janeliunaite and Kelly Benjamin (Colavita Forno D'Asolo), Laura McCaughey (Salamander), Erica Allar (BMW-Bianchi) and Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom), among others.
Allar took the corner at the front of the field, however, she crashed causing several riders to go down. The sprint continued from behind where Janeliunaite was able to hang on for the bunch sprint ahead of Numainville and Manderfield. Jen McRae (Team Type 1) placed fourth ahead of Kacey Manderfield (Pure Energy) in fifth, Samantha Schneider (Team Type 1) in sixth and van Gilder in seventh.
"Erica went down in the last corner," Heal said. "She was sitting in first position coming out of the last corner. There were three, maybe four riders who went down. Tibco were there and Edita was positioned behind them."
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Edita Janeliunaite (Colavita Forno d'Asolo) | 1:09:12 |
2 | Joelle Numainville (Team TIBCO/To The Top) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Leah Kirchmann (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Jennifer Mcrae (Team Type 1) | 0:00:01 |
5 | Kacey Manderfield (Pure Energy Cycling Team ProAi) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) | 0:00:02 |
8 | Gray Patton | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO/To The Top) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Amy Mcguire (Wheelworks Racing) | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Lauren Hall (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo) | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Sarah Huang (Nova ISCorp) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Carrie Cash-Wootten (Pedal the Cause/Team Revolutio) | 0:00:03 |
14 | Laura Mccaughey (Salamander) | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Lenore Pipes (Guam National Team) | 0:00:04 |
16 | Tiffany Pezzulo (Primal/MapMyRide) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Kate Chilcott (FCS Cycling Team) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Whitney Schultz (CheckMark p/b Veloforma) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Courteney Lowe (FCS Cycling Team) | 0:00:05 |
20 | Stacy Appelwick (ABD Cycling Team) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Christine Roettger (Team Revolution) | 0:00:07 |
22 | Kristen Meshberg (ABD Cycling Team) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Shailie Sanbrooks | 0:00:09 |
24 | Jane Weakley (Secret Cycling) | 0:00:10 |
25 | Emilie Flanigan (Dogfish Racing Team) | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Heather Hill (Revolution) | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Vanessa Mckenzie | 0:00:11 |
28 | Jennifer Wheeler (Team TIBCO) | 0:00:13 |
29 | Meredith Miller (Team TIBCO) | 0:00:14 |
30 | Nichole Wangsgard (Primal/mapmyride) | 0:00:18 |
31 | Elizabeth Lauer (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder) | 0:00:25 |
32 | Kelly Benjamin (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo) | 0:00:42 |
33 | Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Kat Carr (Vanderkitten) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Heather Logan-Sprenger (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo p/b Coo) | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Colleen Hayduk (Verducci Breakaway Racing UCI) | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Jennifer Rasmusson (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder) | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Jacqueline Kurth (Team Kenda) | 0:00:43 |
39 | Aimee Allen (Maple Leaf) | 0:01:37 |
40 | Sarah Demerly (ABD Cycling Team) | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Aubree Dock (Tulsa Tough Racing) | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jill Kislia (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lindsey Kriete | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rachel Byus (FCS Cycling Team) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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