San Dimas, CA – Cycling can be an unpredictable sport. And even with a stage that would seem unlikely to shake up the overall classification – in this case, a mostly flat, 55-minute criterium – a race can turn upside down.

Meredith Miller of Team TIBCO/To the Top, whose stars and stripes jersey is proof enough of her ability to seize an opportunity and make the most of it, covered what turned into the winning break, which not only determined the stage victory, but also turned the overall classification on its head.

Less than halfway through the 55-minute race, Ina Tuetenberg (HTC-Columbia), put in a strong attack that Miller covered.

“I was thinking of going, and then I saw Ina setting up to go and I followed her,” Miller said. “We got a good mix of people, and the gap opened up fairly quickly.”

That mix also included Robin Farina (Vera Bradley Foundation), who came into the stage in 3rd overall, Carmen Small (Colavita/Baci), sitting 5th overall and Katharine Carroll (Peanut Butter & Co.), who was 9th overall but essentially in the break to cover for her teammate and race leader, Mara Abbot.

“I was definitely not thinking about the overall classification but the stage result,” said Miller, who came into the stage sitting 13th overall, 1:40 behind Abbot. “But Ina was on a mission and she was looking to us for help.”

The break worked smoothly together, with everyone taking strong pulls except Carroll, who was only there to keep an eye on things for Abbott. But as the gap continued to go out and Abbott’s lead became threatened, Carroll dropped back to the peloton to help pull for her teammate. Shortly thereafter, Farina flatted and it was down to Miller, Small and Teutenberg.

With just over five laps to go, Teutenberg decided it was time to make her move. “When Ina went, she went so hard I couldn’t follow. I had just finished taking a pull and she timed her attack well. I looked at Carmen and she couldn’t go either, so we agreed to work together until the finish because we still had a good gap on the field.”

Teutenberg motored away from the duo and proceeded to open a sizeable gap. Behind her, Miller and Small were setting up to dual for 2nd place on the stage.

“On the final lap, I tried attacking on the slight uphill on the back side of the course and got a small gap but Carmen closed it,” Miller said. “But I thought that if I could get through the last corner first and had a good chance to take second.”

Which she did, coming across the line 0:38 behind Teutenberg. The peloton came through a further 0:33 later, and with bonus time earned from an intermediate sprint and the stage finish, Teutenberg put herself atop the general classification, while Miller vaulted up to 6th overall with the gap to the peloton, combined with bonus time for the finish.

Team TIBCO/To the Top’s Rebecca Much (at left) maintained her 10th overall position and won the U25 category. Amanda Miller held on to 15th overall, while Devon Haskell finished 18th, giving Team TIBCO/To the Top four riders in the top 20 overall.

“The girls raced really well again today,” said team directeur sportif Emma Rickards. “They were in every move, and the one with Meredith finally stuck. We’ve had two awesome days of racing and you can see that things are really coming together. It bodes well for Redlands next weekend.”