The 2024 Sunny King Criterium was a race of redemption for Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Alfredo Rodriguez (Reign Storm Racing), who both went from runner-up finishes last year to victories this time out.
The victories for Ryan and Rodriguez were also significant as they earned top points in the season opener of USA Crits, a collection of six races across three states with a base prize purse of $200,000 for elite riders.
It was all sunshine and sizzling speed for the four-corner races at the 22nd edition of the Sunny King Criterium in downtown Anniston, Alabama on Saturday. Both races saw attacks try to stick, only to be reeled back by the high pace. For the women, it came down to the uphill sprint off the final corner, Ryan riding ahead of Alexis Magner, neé Ryan for a L39ION one-two finish and Harriet Owen (DNA Pro Cycling) closing fast for third.
“Today I really wanted it to come down to a sprint. My sister [Alexis Magner] really piloted us to the last corner. It was a good spot for me at this race. That was the winning move for me.
“The biggest competition in the race for me was definitely Harriet Owens. I worried about her in the sprint especially. They [DNA Pro Cycling] had one more rider than we did, so they might do a pretty good lead out and get her there. We were just worried about positioning for the sprint and just make sure we were in a good spot. I felt her coming up on my right and they were right there.”
Last year Kendall Ryan ushered her L39ION of Los Angeles teammate Lizbeth Salazar to the line for the sprint victory, and this year the team followed their plan to move Kendall Ryan to the top step of the podium.
On the men’s side, last year Rodriguez thought he had the win for his then Miami Nights team, but was pipped at the line by Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon Racing). This year, the Reign Storm duo of Rodriguez and Bryan Gomez went one-two a the line, leaving Roderyck Asconeguy Diaz (MC Cycling Team) in third, and Michael Garrison (North Georgia Cycling Association) in fourth from the small lead group.
“I was really nervous today at the start. Michael [Hernandez, teammate] told me, ‘hey don’t worry’, but I was really nervous because last year I was like five meters to the line,” Rodriguez said about remembering how he was overtaken at the line by Bickmore last year. “This year it’s a good team. They give you really good support in the race and give you confidence.
The Reign Storm had been part of a small breakaway that began to lose companions and a large gap with just seven laps to go. Garrison and Asconeguy Diaz were able to accelerate away with Rodriguez and Gomez to make it a foursome at the front for the final three laps, and Rodriguez getting the win this year.
"When he [Garrison] connected, it changed the whole plan. Before, Bryan and I were talking in the breakaway and he covered one guy and I covered the other, then ButcherBox dropped and [Garrison] connected. We were like, ‘who covers this guy’? Bryan said ‘I’ll take this guy and you take the others, and pay attention to the finish’. This win is for the team. Bryan was really good tonight, really strong."
The next stop for USA Crits will be April 20 at Rock&Road Criterium in Newnan Georgia.
