A 72km crit in the USA is next on the list, most notable because it's the first race with some hilly terrain.
sorry about the names in the first couple pics, missed them
The race starts, and right after the gun, Matthews of Red Bull launches the opening attack.
He is followed by Allain of Lego, Schinker of Vesuvio, Marycz of Tinkoff, Cruz of Quicksilver, Rodriguez Parra of Colombia, and the crazily named Kazakh, Nepomnyachsniy of Milka.
Shortly after, a counterattack is launched, by Oliveira of Bimbo. He is followed by Allonca of Santander and Simon of Pearl.
As the riders finish the first lap, the ten attackees have settled down into a BOTD.
business as usual
The pack drifts a short distance behind, until with 26km to go, Eastman of Wikipedia, on home soil, and Lobato of Bimbo try and bridge.
After a short delay, Hoogerland from Falcon, one of the main favorites on the day, attacks, and that naturally gets things moving.
here we go
He is countered by fellow three-star favorite Kangert of Pearl, as well as Kunshin of Tinkoff and another American, Summerhill of Colombia. Shortly after, the last three-star favorite, Zaini of Lego, countered, as did Kritskiy of Tinkoff.
The riders try and bridge, and with 21km to go, five have made the junction to the leading group (to create a fifteen man lead group), with those five being Summerhill, Kangert, Kunshin, Lobato, and Zaini.
But that means Hoogerland has missed the lead group, and he is 50" back, with Eastman and Kritskiy, trying to catch up.
However, over the next 11km he is getting no closer (in fact he and Eastman get dropped by Kritskiy), and with 10km to go he looks out of it.
But back in front, Summerhill has attacked, and has gotten a big gap. He obviously wants to win on home soil.
could he win?
The other fourteen men of the break (no one else has a chance) aren't going to let him go easy though, and soon after Kangert tries to bridge, with others following.
And with 5km to go, four men have clawed there way back. Summerhill has been joined by Kunshin, Lobato, and Kangert, with his Colombia teammate Rodriguez Parra just behind.
With 1.2km to go, the five of them start the sprint, with Kunshin trying to open it up around Rodriguez's leadout.
Halfway to home, with .5km left, Kunshin had gained a small lead, with Kangert trying to bring himself level to the Russian.
But he failed.
victory for Tinkoff
Kangert just couldn't get back, and finishes second, with Rodriguez Parra holding onto third. Meanwhile, Lobato is able to hold off Summerhill for fourth.
Fifty seconds later, Nepomnyachsniy leads in the next ten, with Schinker in 7th, Matthews in 8th, Zaini in 9th, and Cruz in 10th.
Shortly after Kritskiy comes in with 16th place, right in front of the disappointed Hoogerland in 17th.
