Eric Young sprints to crit win at Tour of the Gila (Photos Courtesy of Mitchell Clinton Photography)
Tour of Gila Criterium men's podium. From left areTravis McCabe (UHC), Eric Young (Rally Cycling), and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (Elevate - KHS)
Huffman keeps leader jersey heading into Gila Monster stage
April 22, 2017 (Silver City, NM) - Eric Young cinched another win for his Rally team at the downtown Silver City criterium Saturday. The 28-year-old sprinter phenom came out of nowhere to take victory ahead of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling's Travis McCabe and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (Elevate-KHS), who finished second and third respectively.
GÇ£On the last lap the Cylance guys had the front and were doing a great job,GÇ¥ Eric Young said after the stage. GÇ£I went through on the second wheel behind Karl Menzies whoGÇÖs a pretty experienced racer. That was a perfect position to sprint from and I did. No one came around me. This was a little less painful than stage two.GÇ¥
Every year, the downtown criterium draws energetic fans and hard-hitting racing, and this year was no different. From the gun, attacks flew thick and fast, mostly from development teams eager to make a name for themselves while bigger teams like Rally and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling marked each other.
The most dangerous attack came from seasoned professional and former WorldTour racer, Greg Henderson (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling), who flew off the front solo with seven laps to go with in an attempt to put the pressure on. Elevate-KHS and Cylance swarmed at the front to set up their sprinters that worked to RallyGÇÖs advantage in the end, as Young handily took the win.
Third place is the best finish so far in Rodriguez' career, the 19-year-old Mexican earned a 5th place finish at the Tour of Taiwan this season. Speaking to Rodriguez at sign-in he looked to the stage as a test for him. GÇ£This is what I specialize in...this is my first year racing in a pro category. ItGÇÖs a lot harder because itGÇÖs more aggressive and the other riders expect you to be at their level in order for them to let you work with them. The good thing is that I learn more every race.
GÇ£The work went to the team,GÇ¥ Rodriguez added at the finish. GÇ£The plan was to enter in the final turn in third and it worked out that way and we were able to get the result. Thanks to the KHS team, this is the best result I have had in a UCI competition.GÇ¥
Looking towards the Gila Monster finale, the top eight riders are within a minute of each other, with Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling) in the lead. The menGÇÖs race begins 8:40 a.m. (MDT).
(L-R) Travis McCabe (UHC), Eric Young (Rally Cycling), & Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (Elevate - KHS)
About The Tour of the Gila
The Tour of the Gila takes place in and around Silver City, New Mexico and consists of road race stages, an individual time trial, and a criterium. Stage 1 for the 5-day race, is a point-to-point road race en route to the ghost town of Mogollon. The criterium is held in downtown Silver City with high speeds, 90-degree turns and a brutal climb to weed out the weak. The iconic GÇ£Gila MonsterGÇ¥ road raceGÇÖs final climbing stage ends with a climb up to the tiny enclave of Pinos Altos, nestled in the Gila National Forest. www.tourofthegila.com