Cantwell cracks top five in NRC overall standings with big payday in Elk Grove; Amaran extends lead

Elk Grove Village, Ill. — USA Cycling continued its 2010 National Racing Calendar Friday-Sunday (July 30-Aug. 1) with a men’s stage race at the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove.

Jonathan Cantwell (AUS/Fly V Australia) moved into fifth place in USA Cycling’s NRC standings on the strength of his win in Elk Grove, while Luis Amaran (CUB/Jamis Sutter Home-Colavita) widened his overall lead over Rory Sutherland (AUS/United HealthCare p-b Maxxis). David Veilleux (CAN/Kelly Benefit Strategies) moved up to third overall after a runner-up finish in Illinois, while Ben Jacques-Maynes (Watsonville, Calif./Bissell Pro Cycling) moved into the No. four spot. Cantwell won $18,000 for his victory, the top prize in a $150,000 purse that is the richest of any three-day, three-stage men’s professional cycling race in the world.

In the team standings, Cantwell’s win allowed Fly V Australia to move into the overall lead, 16 points ahead of Amaran’s Jamis Sutter Home-Colavita squad. Sutherland’s United HealthCare team stands third, 50 points behind the leaders.
Since the Tour of Elk Grove did not count toward the women’s NRC overall standings, they remain unchanged. Cath Cheatley (NZL/Colavita-Baci p-b Cooking Light) leads Alison Powers (Pinecliffe, Colo./Team Vera Bradley Foundation) by 150 points, while Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12) stands third. In the women’s team competition, Cheatley’s squad holds a 27-point advantage over Powers’ team, while TIBCO is in third.

Men’s Individual Standings
1. Luis Amaran (CUB/Jamis Sutter Home-Colavita) 1073
2. Rory Sutherland (AUS/United HealthCare p-b Maxxis) 805
3. David Veilleux (CAN/Kelly Benefit Strategies) 743
4. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Watsonville, Calif./Bissell Pro Cycling) 632
5. Jonathan Cantwell (AUS/Fly V Australia) 615

Women’s Individual Standings
1. Cath Cheatley (NZL/Colavita-Baci p-b Cooking Light) 977
2. Allison Powers (Pinecliffe, Colo./Team Vera Bradley Foundation) 827
3. Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12) 732
4. Shelley Evans (Scotts Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) 529
5. Erinne Willock (CAN/Webcor) 526

Men’s Team Standings
1. Fly V Australia 2146
2. Jamis Sutter Home-Colavita 2130
3. United Health Care p/b Maxxis 2096
4. Bissell Pro Cycling 1810
5. Kelly Benefit Strategies 1651

Women’s Team Standings
1. Colavita-Baci p/b Cooking Light 1957
2. Team Vera Bradley Foundation 1930
3. TIBCO 1809
4. Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12 1693
5. Webcor 1430

*For complete 2010 NRC Individual and Team Standings, visit the NRC page and select the desired 2010 standings.

At the Tour of Elk Grove, Peter Latham (NZL/Bissell) was a fraction of a second faster than Michael Friedman (Broomfield, Colol./Jelly Belly p-b Kenda) in Friday’s time trial to take the early lead. Latham’s countryman and teammate Jeremy Vennell finished a second behind the leaders to take third place after Stage 1.
Karl Menzies (AUS/United HealthCare) won the second stage to move from fourth place to the lead, holding a five-second edge over the first stage’s podium trio. Amaran was fifth in Stage 2 and held his spot at No. 5 in the general classification. Cantwell made a big move in the second stage, jumping from 33rd to seventh overall.
Cantwell leapfrogged six riders on Sunday to take the win, while Veilleux moved from sixth at the start of the day to a runner-up finish, and Menzies held on for the final podium spot. Amaran was eighth in the final standings, while Ben and Andy Jacques-Maynes finished ninth and 10th, respectively, and Zwizanski came in 16th.
Vennell and Latham paced Bissell to a dominating win in the team competition, as the squad placed seven riders in the top 14. Veilleux led Kelly Benefits Strategies to a runner-up finish, while Amaran guided Jamis Sutter Home-Colavita to third place.
The NRC continues Saturday (Aug. 7) in Charlotte, N.C., with men’s and women’s races at the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium. The women’s race will begin at 6 p.m. EDT, with the men’s race to follow at 7:30.