The Vitamin Cottage men and women crowded the podium this past weekend on the Colorado race scene. The women made it 4 for 4. After dominating Grand Junction over the labor day weekend, the VC girls continued their success by taking victory in the Gore Pass Road Race and Swankys Criterium.
Sharon Allpress repeated her solo effort from the Grand Junction the weekend before to win by two minutes over the rest of the field at Gore Pass.
Sharon Allpress
On Sunday, Renee Eastman took the victory at the Swankys criterium in Englewood, CO. The double win was only a formality for the VC pro-1-2 women who, leading by several hundred points, took Colorado's Best All Around Team competition, which came to a close over the weekend.
On the men's side, the competition was very tight heading into the weekend with only 11 points separating first place Vitamin Cottage and second place Rio Grande. Rio Grande has been a solid team all year and a major threat any time the road tips uphill. Gore Pass, a heavy duty climbing race, saw Rio Grande take 58 BAT points in one day, which is about the most you can take. However, with Chuck Coyle taking second, Jon Baker taking third. and Christian McCarty and Joe Pinkerton taking 6th and 7th, the VC boys capped 59 points. Coyle and Rio Grande's Barkley Robinson broke away from the field after the first climb and would never be seen again by the field. Robinson, a solid climber, was finally able to shake Coyle on the finishing climb for the win.
Colorado's Best Cycling Team's Weapons of choice...
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Eddy Merckx Premium Frames
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Easton Wheels, bars, stems, forks, seatposts
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Ergomo Power meters
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Campagnolo Components
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Speeplay Pedals
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Gommitalia Tires
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Clif Bar bottles
On Sunday, the Swankys criterium hosted a solid group of national-level pro riders. Vitamin Cottage placed two riders, Alan McCormack and Christian McCarthy in the winning breakaway of 7 riders. In the end, Scott Moninger (Healthnet Maxxis) used the course's power climb to leave his breakaway companions behind for the victory. Jonathon Garcia (Einstien's) managed to latch onto Moninger for second, with McCormack rounding out the podium for the third. The Vitamin Cottage men notched another 50 points in the BAT competition to take the honors for the third year in a row.
Swankys Podium - Garcia, Moninger, McCormack
Next weekend, Parker, CO, will host the Parker Omnium, an NRC race. VC will go toe to toe with some of the best pro talent in the country. See www.parkeromnium.com for all of the details.