Kim Cadzow, Kristen Faulkner and Clara Emond swept the general classification at Trofeo Ponente in Rosa for EF Education-Cannondale last week. The 22-year-old Cadzow won the longest stage of the four-day race, 112.2km from Bordighera to Pietra Liguere, and held on for her first stage race overall victory.
Faulkner used a pair of stage wins to finish second overall, and take the points and mountain classifications. Emond finished with a pair of top 10s to complete the GC podium, while Lotta Henttala earned the sprinter’s jersey and the squad took home best team honours.
“This team is just insane and everybody is just so lovely. It’s the best environment to be in. It feels amazing,” Cadzow said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it. The goal this year was to win just one race in Europe and now to have a GC is just crazy.
“Winning the team GC just shows what kind of team we are, what kind of teammates we have, that we all work together for one goal and we respect each other.”
Kadzow soloed to victory on stage 1, a day after the New Zealander finished 13 seconds out of the race lead after the prologue. The hilly second day of racing saw her attack from the main climb and time trial out front for 30km to the finish.
Faulkner won the next two days, finishing just ahead of Cadzow on stage 2, and staying ahead of the bunch sprint on the final day.
Britton and Gordon win Shasta Gravel Hugger
Rob Britton (FACTOR-OVRLND) won the men’s overall and Serena Bishop Gordon (Sunnyside Sports/SMCC) won the women’s open category at the 2024 Shasta Gravel Hugger in Montague, California.
Gordon finished 16 minutes ahead of her closest competitor, Clara Honsinger (Team S&M), with a second Team S&M rider, Brenna Wrye-Simpson, following her teammate more than six minutes later for third.
Britton was three minutes faster than Max Ritzow (Expeditors), a two-time runner-up. Stefano Barberi (Orbea/KASK/Flow Formulas) was 12 minutes off the winning pace in third.
The 100-mile ‘full hug’ route passes in the shadows of Mount Shasta in northern California, with 10 gravel sectors and connecting pavement adding up to 4,700 feet of elevation gain. The women were provided a separate start, 15 minutes ahead of other open division riders. Unlike the recent additions, sunshine replaced the past years of snow cover.
TWENTY24 Aevolo junior women’s team names trio of riders
Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24, a women’s US-based Continental team, and Aevolo Cycling, a US domestic elite development squad, joined forces to form a high-performance junior women’s road cycling team for 2024 named TWENTY24 Aevolo.
Three riders have been named to the squad, 17-year-old Eire Chen and Helena Jones and Lauren Weigel, both 18. At the opening event of the season, Valley of the Sun stage race in Arizona, Jones took second in the 17-18 junior road race. At Largo Vista Stage Race in Texas, Jones won the junior women’s time trial. From the VBR TWENTY24 junior club team, Brooklyn Raddin was third on GC.
TWENTY24 Aevolo will operate its own budget and structure, under the non-profit Tam Cycling Inc., with support from Pro Cyclist Foundation, Virginia’s Blue Ridge, Domestique Foundation and Violich Farms. Riders from the TWENTY24 UCI women’s team will serve as mentors on and off the bike.
The women’s UCI team will continue to support a junior club team with the same name. Nicola Cranmer, founder and general manager of Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24 Pro Cycling team, explained this new programme will focus on “high performance” for junior women.
“We will continue with the Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24 junior club team. The athletes selected for the newly-formed TWENTY24 Aevolo will receive more financial support, there is more of an emphasis on high performance. We initially selected athletes from our club team as a starting point but will be adding new recruits as we identify them from the junior peloton,” Cranmer, founder of founder and general manager of Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24 Pro Cycling team, told Cyclingnews.
TWENTY24 Aevolo will be managed by Kaitlin Keough, with Kristin Armstrong serving as the high performance director and Cranmer as general manager.
"I look forward to sharing my experiences and bringing next-level performance to junior women,” said Armstrong, who is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and won two world championships in the time trial. “Talent is falling through the cracks because the support for young women has not met the demand. I commend TWENTY24 and Aevolo for taking this step forward in the sport.”
