Cummins 2nd Gateway Cup - Tour de Florissant
Gateway Cup - Tour de Florissant
- Claire Abrey (USA) Team Winston Salem Flow
- Olivia Cummins (USA) UCI WCT Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28
- Holly Breck (USA) L39ion of Los Angeles
- Yarely Salazar (MEX) Caldera Medical X Aurea Racing
- Shannon Koch (USA) Kingdom Elite
- Marlies Mejias (CUB) UCI WCT Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28
The final day of Gateway Cup went out with a bang at the Tour de Florissant.
Sofia Arreola was relentless throughout the race, helping shut down dangerous moves and repeatedly stitching things back together as the pace stayed high.
Late in the race, a five-rider breakaway finally gained some daylight and dug deep to hold off a charging field with just two laps remaining. With half a lap to go, Clair Abrey launched from the break and held on to the line, with Olivia Cummins closing fast to take an excellent 2nd place.
That result bumped Olivia all the way up to 3rd overall in the Gateway Cup Omnium, a fantastic way to finish the weekend. Behind, Marlies Mejías powered to the front of the bunch to win the field sprint for 6th place. A strong, aggressive team ride from start to finish and a great way to close out four days of racing in St. Louis.
"Yesterday was the final day of Gateway Cup, and the race was active from the start with lots of attacks from the other teams. We knew a break was likely to go on this course, so Sofia, Marlies, and I made sure we were represented in every important move. Eventually, with around 10 laps to go, a break of five formed with me and four other riders, with all the main teams represented. On the last lap, one of the more unknown riders attacked and got separation from the rest of us. We closed the gap down significantly heading into the sprint, but I didn’t quite leave myself enough road to close it all the way by the finish. I ended up 2nd on the day and moved back up to 3rd in the omnium, while Marlies won the field sprint from behind to secure 2nd overall in the omnium. Gateway is always such a fun weekend and a great way to cap off a long season, and I’m so happy we were able to come back this year with our small crit squad!" - Olivia Cummins
