By Cynthia Lou

Kristin Armstrong opened the last U.S. stage race of her career with a victory, blazing up the finishing hill of the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial. Close behind Armstrong’s 13’ 48.55“ on the rainy six-mile time trial course is current U.S. Time Trial champion Allison Powers (Team Type 1), at 14’ 01.14” and 12.59 seconds back. Erinne Willcock (Webcor Builders) finished third 48.4 seconds behind at 14’ 36.95“.

”This is one of my favorite races,“ a beaming Armstrong said..”Minneapolis is very welcoming,” noting that the community and fan support at the Nature Valley Grand Prix helps her prioritize this race over others when deciding her racing schedule.

That she gets to start off the race with her strongest discipline is an added bonus.

”We’re looking forward to tonight’s crit, where there are 30 seconds worth of time bonuses,“ said Allison Powers (Team Type 1). ”We have a full team of eight, and we’re a strong crit team.“

Although Kristin Armstrong lacks teammates, she is not alone, ”There are others who might also be riding alone, who are looking towards the top 10 spots. Hopefully we can work together.“

”If it’s still raining tonight,“ she adds, ”my strategy will definitely be to stay in front!“

Rounding out the leaders jerseys are Alexis Rhodes (Webcor Builders) with the Best Young Rider Jersey, and Kate Veronneau (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team) with the Best Amateur Rider Jersey.

With the teams fighting for the time bonuses, tonight’s Downtown St. Paul Criterium is sure to be exciting. Will Kristin Armstrong maintain her lead? Will Allison Powers and Team Type 1 take the yellow jersey? How is the podium shuffle around?

Catch the action at http://www.Twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or http://www.minnbikefestival.com/, link ”Live Updates“ to follow the action live!