Skylar Schneider (Williams Racing Devo) won Saturday’s Arrowhead Orthopaedics Criterium, stage 4 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic for the second year in a row, Makayla MacPherson (DNA Pro Racing) was second and Marlies Mejias (Virginia's Blue Ridge Twenty24) took third in the 75-minute criterium in downtown Redlands.
Schneider was sitting on her sister Samantha’s wheel on the final lap before opening up her sprint after the final corner. The reigning Pan-American road race champion was able to hold everyone off for the victory.
“DNA did a phenomenal lead out. They were very fast and very smooth and we knew exactly where we wanted to jump and they made it hard for us because we were moving so fast. But we were on a mission today to get the first one for WR Devo,” said Schneider who owns a bakery with her sister in Wisconsin.
“And yeah, two weeks ago, I was doing all-nighters in the bakery so I'm really happy to be here.”
DNA Pro Cycling Team did the majority of the pace-making at the front of the field, with a two-fold goal, making sure that the yellow jersey Nadia Gontova stayed safe and also going for the stage win.
The intermediate sprints delivered a few skirmishes with Mejias going for points to solidify her lead in the sprint classification. Schneider did test her legs in the first sprint where she took third before going back in the field to wait for the final bunch sprint.
Gontova finished safely in the pack and remained on top of the general classification with one stage to go.
Before the start of the race, Linda Jackson received the Redlands Bicycle Classic “Legend” award which symbolizes and honours the many talented individuals that have made this event truly legendary.
Jackson is one of the most successful female professional cyclists to have come from Canada, and since retiring in 2000 has dedicated the next chapter of her career to creating opportunities for American and Canadian women to pursue their Olympic dreams.
The Redlands Bicycle Classic concludes on Sunday with Redlands Sunset Road Race where women will complete the 6.8-mile loop nine times for a total of 68.1 miles beginning at 10 a.m.
Results
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