Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Fergus Arthur (REIGN Storm Racing) won elite races at the Northwestern Medicine Lake Bluff Criterium on Saturday evening, the sixth of eight events for the American Criterium Cup.
Ryan outsprinted ACC women’s individual leader Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) to the line and jumped to third overall, tied with Paola Muñoz (Goldman Sachs EFTs Racing) with 45 points. Schneider added to her ACC lead, now with 83 points and a 26-point margin over second-placed Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling).
Arthur reacted quickly to a late attack by Josh Burnett (MitoQ New Zealand Cycling Project) and the duo broke free of the peloton with three laps to go. The two had a rematch from the Brookfield Criterium three days before and Arthur repeated with another win in the head-to-head matchup.
Three other REIGN Storm riders finished in the top 10 - Jordan Parra, Alfredo Rodriguez and Danny Summerhill - and extended their stronghold on the overall podium standings, Parra in the lead with 68 points.
The 12th annual Lake Bluff Criterium, held in the Lake Michigan community an hour north of Chicago, Illinois, was one of 10 races that make up a solid week of racing for the Chicago Grit series (formerly known as the Intelligentsia Cup), held July 19-28.
Ben Oliver (Above and Beyond Cancer p/b Bike World) had two victories across the 10 days and won the Chicago Grit Omnium, with Arthur second. DNA Pro Cycling’s Shayna Powless won the women’s Omnium, earning three victories.
The ACC returns to the Rocky Mountain region on August 3 for the seventh event, the Audi Denver Littleton Crit in Colorado. The individual and team overall series winners will be crowned on September 1 after the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup event in St. Louis, Missouri.
