Race Report for Barcelona No.3

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MEN’S RESULTS

  1. Ivan Ravaioli, IT
  2. Mario Paz Duque, CO
  3. Fabio Scarazzati, IT
  4. Augusto Reati, IT
  5. Tim Ceresa, FR
  6. Zac Felpel, US
  7. Daniele Callegarin, IT
  8. Andrea Vassallo, IT
  9. William Guzman, PR
  10. Paolo Bravini, IT

1st lap (breakfast prime): Ivan Ravaioli, IT
Mid-way (dinner prime): Daniele Callegarin, IT
Fastest Lap Qualifying Time: Ivan Ravaioli, IT (01:32.29)
Rockstar Games Top Antagonist: Mario Paz Duque, CO

WOMEN’S RESULTS

  1. Kacey Lloyd, US
  2. Ainara Elbusto, ES
  3. Gretchen Stumhofer, US
  4. Alicia Gonzalez, ES
  5. Ashley Faye, NL
  6. Keira Mcvitty, UK
  7. Marion Dziwnik, DE
  8. Carla Nafria, ES
  9. Kym Perfetto, US
  10. Johanna Jahnke, DE

1st lap (breakfast prime): Ainara Elbusto, ES
Mid-way (dinner prime): Ainara Elbusto, ES
Fastest Lap Qualifying Time: Ainara Elbusto, ES (01:43.21)
Rockstar Games Top Antagonist: Fleur Faure, FR

Complete results can be found on the Barcelona No.3 results page.

MEN’S RACE REPORT

The men’s race started with Bahumer Racing Team rider Ivan Ravaioli, of Italy, positioned at the front alongside Red Hook Criterium Championship Series leader William Randy Guzman (Impulse Stage, Puerto Rico).

Ravaioli took the first lap prime away from four-time consecutive winner Mario Paz Duque, Team IRD Aw Lab Squadra Corse (Colombia). After the first lap prime, Team Cinelli Chrome went on the offensive. Thibaud Lhenry (France) established a small gap over the field. Once brought back, teammate Stefan Vis (NL) kept the pace high before Paolo Bravini (IT) attacked and established another gap.

Bravini was brought back, but the field briefly hesitated before Oscar Cycling Team rider Daniele Callegarin, of Italy, established a significant gap two turns ahead of the field to claim the mid-way prime.

The field responded to Callegarin’s move. Paz Duque attempted to bridge to Callegarin, but Ravaioli jumped across the field to Callegarin. Augusto Reati followed and Paz Duque latched onto Reati, sparking the race’s decisive breakaway.

Eduardo Colon, (Team IRD Aw Lab Squadra Corse, Puerto Rico) surged to the front of the field and stalled their momentum to maximize the break, which was immediately shuffled with hesitation by the four. Paz Duque and Ravaioli separated from the other two with seven laps remaining.

Paz Duque set the pace and pulled the pair to a 20-second lead over the field. A race-neutralizing crash occurred in the field with two laps remaining, and the race was brought to a stop. The restart gave Ravaioli and Paz Duque a 20-second lead.

Ravaioli attacked Paz Duque into turn 6 with half a lap remaining. Ravaioli stayed on the front through the hairpin and cleared turns 9 and 10. He sprinted out of turn 10 and held the lead over Paz Duque to take the win.

For his consistent presence at the front of the race, Mario Paz Duque was awarded the Rockstar Games Top Antagonist Award.

WOMEN’S RACE REPORT

The women’s feature race included 45 competitors from all over the world, who completed 20 laps on a 1.2-kilometer course. Rockstar Games rider Kacey Lloyd took first overall after outsprinting Ainara Elbusto Artega of Spain, who entered the field as the Red Hook Crit Championship series leader with 79 points.

Elbusto achieved the women’s fastest qualifying lap with a time of 1:43.21, nearly two seconds ahead of Poloandbike team rider Fleur Faure of France (1:45.31) and Lloyd (1:45.69).

The race started with Lloyd, of the U.S., on the front with sisters Lucia and Alicia Gonzalez of Spain. But Elbusto accelerated coming off the 180-degree hairpin on turn 10 enroute to winning the first lap prime and earned three points, extending her lead in the championship series.

The Gonzalez sisters attacked on the backstretch and created a slight separation during lap three. Faure, who won the Red Hook Criterium London Rockstar Games Top Antagonist award, attacked coming out of turn 10 in lap five, but crashed two laps later, bringing the race to a halt.

The race resumed with 12 laps remaining, Faure included among the competition. Dressed in her Castelli leader skinsuit, Elbusto immediately dominated in front to claim the mid-way prime.

Olympian and first-time entrant Francisca Campos, of Chile, attempted to close the competition on Elbusto. Aventon Factory Team riders Gretchen Stumhofer, a U.S. Collegiate Road and Criterium National Champion, Kym Perfetto, and Samantha Runnels attempted to soften the field strong attacks with a few laps remaining.

Elbusto remained in control in the final laps of the race with Reati and Lloyd close behind. Lloyd attacked out of the hairpin in the final lap and maintained her lead ahead of Elbusto to win the Rockstar Games Red Hook Criterium Barcelona No.3 title, her second RHC win since 2008.

Fleur Faure was awarded the Rockstar Games Top Antagonist Award for her determination to return to the field with an injury and contest the race overall.

The next and final round of the Red Hook Criterium Championship Series is Milan No.6 on October 10, 2015.