Hagens Berman Axeon's Michael Rice took out the stage 4 downtown Silver City criterium at the Tour of the Gila on Saturday, finishing off the work his team put in over the final laps, setting up the 22-year-old Australian to unleash his sprint. UnitedHelthcare's Lucas Sebastian Haedo finished second, with H&R Block's Marc-Antoine Nadon in third.
Race leader Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) finished safely in the bunch to maintain his overall lead going into the final stage.
This is Rice's second shot at the downtown criterium after he finished seventh behind teammate Christopher Blevins last year. The roles were reversed on Saturday as Blevins provide the final lead out for Rice and then finished fifth.
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"We had a clear plan going into the day, and we executed it perfectly," Rice told Cycoingnews in the finishing straight. "The team took control the last two, two-and-a-half laps, and everyone really pulled their weight and really make my job easy."
The Hagens Berman Axeon team swarmed to the front in the finale and set a pace up the hill on the backside of the four-corner course during the final lap and split the peloton into multiple groups. The U23 development team riders never relinquished the front and dropped Rice off in perfect position.
"The boys got me to the last corner second wheel, and I just had to finish it off in the last 200 metres on the sprint," he said. "I think when the team rides like that, I put a little bit of pressure on myself to do the job for them. They work really hard, so it's a good day. I think we're all very happy.
How it unfolded
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-the-gila-2018/stage-4-men/results
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