With the UCI Road World Championships left, the domestic road season came to a close with the Connecticut Cycling Festival in Hartford, CT. Besides our last race with Colavita|Bianchi for 2015, it was also Mary Zider’s final race of her career before she transfers to the Director Sportif position full time.
Coming off the win in Boston the day before, the ladies were out to double up on the weekend. Colavita again drove the race and controlled it for the most part. Instead of attacking as they had the day before, they marked moves and made only a few attacks. As the laps ticked down, they moved to the front to get Gretchen Stumhofer. Each of the Colavita|Bianchi riders took a turn at the front in the lead out train, and then pulled off when their job was done. As they approached the line for the final time, Stumhofer was caught out, and ended up crashing out to the right side into the barriers. National Criterium Calendar leader, Sam Schneider (ISCorp) took the win and cemented her overall victory in the series.