American team riding strongly in Californian event
The HTC Highroad team clocked up yet another early-season win on Thursday, with Amanda Miller sprinting to victory on day one of the Merced Cycling Classic in California. The young American rider bided her time early on while team-mate Ina Yoko Teutenberg went in an early solo move and was clear for over an hour. She and Ally Stacher waited while the rest of the peloton chased, then threw down the gauntlet once she was caught.
“I attacked on the first hill after catching Ina, but I didn’t get anywhere so I pulled back and waited for the finish,” says Miller. “Then Ally and Ina kept the pace high until the final climb at about four kilometres to go.
“It was a climb to the finish, and a Peanut Butter girl attacked and got ahead. I stayed on her wheel but had to be careful since I was the only HTC-Highroad rider up front, and Peanut Butter had nine riders out there to our three.”
Miller then launched at exactly the right time, timing her sprint move perfectly to win the stage. She holds the leader’s jersey heading into today’s time trial. The event is longer this year than before, being four days in length.