Tour of America’s Dairyland American Criterium Cup Race Recap
Written by Zach Nehr
Pro Women’s Race
There were only a few laps to go when legendary announcer Brad Sohner shouted into his microphone, “Super Prime on the next lap! Downer Super Prime on the next lap!” That meant the winner of the next lap was set to take home $5,000…five thousand dollars in cash.
Some riders sacrifice their chance at the race win to go for the super prime, and that’s exactly what HigherDOSE RENOVA had in mind as Odette Lynch came to the front. The Australian let out the sprint with 200 meters to go, and it was her teammate Claudia Marcks who sprinted to the five grand while hometown favorite Skyler Schneider finished second.
Hailing from West Allis, Wisconsin, not far from Downer Avenue in Milwaukee, Skylar was determined to go for the win after missing out on the Super Prime. Her sister and L39ION of Los Angeles teammate, Samantha Schneider, helped keep things together for the overall leader of the American Criterium Cup at the Downer Classic. Sporting the red leader’s jersey from MUMU Apparel, Skylar patrolled the front of the field as breakaways came and went.
Unlike Tulsa Tough, Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing and newly-crowned US Criterium National Champion Kendall Ryan were absent from the Downer Classic, which left the door open for other riders to take top honors. On the 10th of 11 consecutive race days at the Tour of America’s Dairyland, the ACC field readied for the Café Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic p/b ISCorp on the iconic triangle course. Boiling hot temperatures are coming to the Midwest next week, but temperatures were mild as the pro women took to the streets.
The leader of the Davis Phinney Foundation Sprint Prime competition, Yarely Salazar, was part of the missing Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing squad, so when the bell rang for the ACC Mid Race Prime, it was anyone’s game. Add to the mix the Lowlands sprint competition, another intermediate sprint competition held within the 11 days of the Tour of America’s Dairyland, and you’re in for chaos.
Two laps after the Lowlands prime, the field was strung out and fatigued, and that helped Andrea Cyr get away solo to take maximum points. Not only did Cyr win the ACC prime, her teammates also swept up the second and third positions, marking a dominant sweep for HigherDOSE RENOVA.
The primes continued every few laps until the Downer Super Prime with a few laps to go. A $2,000 gambler’s prime was launched with two laps to go, and after Odette Lynch took home the cash, the field reset for the final sprint. HigherDOSE RENOVA had controlled most of the race, but the fatigue began to show as the field hit one lap to go. Coming out of the final turn, Skylar Schneider looked to be in the perfect position. She was sitting third wheel, the same spot where she had launched to win Tulsa Tough, but this time she was beaten to the line by the overall leader of the Tour of America’s Dairyland, Bryony Botha. The New Zealander took a huge win one spot ahead of Skylar, while Kiwi Crit National Champion Kyra Marett (1000 Flips) rounded out the podium in third.
“I don’t think my dad’s gonna believe me when I tell him I won a sprint!” Botha said after the race. “The team is just amazing, we’ve got so much chemistry on the bike and off the bike…Our team DS is everything. He is our photographer, chef, driver…he’s just amazing.”
Botha was blown away by the amount of money on offer each day at the Tour of America’s Dairyland, especially in four-figure primes. “It’s honestly so overwhelming to hear a thousand dollars, in New Zealand it’s like double, so it’s crazy!”
Pro Men’s Race
145 pro men lined up for the Café Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic p/b ISCorp, one of the biggest fields in American crit racing. For 75 minutes, they went round-and-round the classic course, attacking one-by-one in search of primes and glory. Just as in the women’s race, hundreds and thousands of dollars in primes were on offer throughout the race. At times, it seemed like there was a prime every other lap.
Prime after prime, the field would split, settle down, split again, string out, and then split again. But as the race reached its midway point, the field was all together for the ACC Mid Race Sprint. Identical to the women’s race, the pro men’s race saw another 1-2-3 in the ACC Mid Race Sprint. This time it was Chaney Windows and Doors Big Shark who took the honors, with Owen Gillot crossing the line in first and taking the lead in the Davis Phinney Foundation Sprint Prime competition.
It wasn’t long before Luke Fetzer launched a series of counter moves, leader of the Lowlands Sprint Competition at the Tour of America’s Diaryland, and also a certified prime hunter. Thousands of dollars came and went as the sun set over Downer Avenue.
The Downer Super Prime was next, and with five laps to go, that bell was rung. Project Echelon Racing led it out, but there was chaos coming around the final corner. Fetzer launched with 200 meters to go, but in the final few pedal strokes, Garrett ”pinky winkie” Beshone, as the kids of ToAD were calling him, came around Fetzer to take home the massive wad of cash.
The field reset for the final time following the gambler’s prime, and it was all together with one lap to go. One rider that we haven’t mentioned yet, but who deserves the most amount of attention, is George Jackson (Whoosh–NZ Cycling Project). The Kiwi rider has led the overall classification of the Tour of America’s Dairyland since Day 1, and he kept his powder dry all night at Downer. Rounding the final corner, Lucas Bourgoyne (Team Cadence Cyclery pb Waldo Racing) looked to have the jump on Jackson, but the Kiwi had enough to hold off both Bourgoyne and the new US Crit Champion Luke Elphingstone (Project Echelon Racing).
It was a Kiwi sandwich on the Pro Men’s podium, with the former and current US Crit Champions in 2nd and 3rd, and Jackson taking the win in the second round of the ACC.
“We thought it would probably come down to a field sprint, we knew there was so much cash on the line, so we knew it was going to be a hard one.” The primes didn’t deter Jackson and his teammates from saving plenty of energy for the final lead out. With a long backstretch between Turns 2 and 3, there is a lot of time for a team to dominate the front with a well-drilled leadout train.
After the finish, Jackson said, “I’m so confident with these two teammates in front of me, feels like you’re goin’ probably 80k an hour down that back stretch…Such a good feeling.”
“The team has been coming here for 18-19 years, and we’re getting better and better each year. New Zealand is a small country and we’re far away, so we don’t have races like this…We love coming here, the crowds were insane, everyone’s insane…it’s so much fun.” Just like Dario Rapps said at Tulsa Tough, Jackson couldn’t help but point out the craziness of the crowds at every stop on the ACC calendar. That energy, drama, and action continues in just two weeks with Race 3 of the American Crit Cup: Bailey & Glasser LLP Twilight Crit in Boise, Idaho.