Bahati Foundation, HTC-Columbia crush Merced crit

The Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling squad swept the podium at Saturday’s Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic Downtown GP in Merced, California.

Matthew Rice, Rahsaan Bahati and Hilton Clarke went one-two-three in the 40-mile crit, run on a flat, fast 0.8-mile loop.

Rice was part of a five-man break that also included Bissell’s Ben Jacques-Maynes, Cal Giant’s Andrew Talansky, Yahoo Cycling’s Philip Mooney and Trek-Livestrong’s Iggy  Silva.

Just as the break was caught in the last corner of the race, Rice jumped clear for the win, and his Bahati Foundation teammates grabbed the second two spots in the field sprint right behind. It was an encouraging start for the brand new team.

HTC-Columbia was nearly as successful in the 32-mile women’s race. Ina Yoko-Teutenberg won the bunch sprint for the second consecutive year with teammate Chloe Hosking third. Only Shelley Evans (Peanut Butter & Co.) spoiled the sweep, taking second.

“It was nice to be able to pull on the sprint today,” said Teutenberg. “It’s always hard to judge your form before the first race of the season and I’m lacking top-end speed right now, so I was a little nervous going into it. The girls raced really well to control the race.”

After a crash with three laps to go, the race was neutralized for 15 minutes. When the officials restarted the race, they upped the lap count to six, and HTC-Columbia went to work.

On the last go-round HTC’s Kimberly Anderson was setting the pace with Teutenberg on her wheel. Teutenberg let a gap open, forcing other teams to chase. Anderson was caught just before the last corner and Hosking set Teutenberg up for the sprint.

Sunday brings the Foothills Road Race, run on a 24-mile loop in northern Merced County. Men race 120 miles, women 72.

FILED UNDER: News / Race Report / Road TAGS: Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic