Megan Guarnier came to Chattanooga hoping to reclaim the stars and stripes. The 30-year-old native of Glens Falls, New York, last wore the jersey of national champion in 2012 as she rode across Europe as a member of the Rabo-Liv women’s Team.
Signing for Boels-Dolmans in 2014 was a step up for the American, out of the shadow of former team leader Marianne Vos and into a leadership role of her own. But being the sole American on a Dutch team doesn’t make for easy going at the U.S. national road race, where Guarnier had been outnumbered for the past two years, the only rider in her jersey facing dangerous team combinations.
On Sunday in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that script was flipped, in the form of her new teammate, Evelyn Stevens. After Stevens was reeled in from a late-race solo flyer, Guarnier narrowly outsprinted UnitedHealthcare’s Coryn Rivera from a small group to win a second national road title at the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road Championships. Velocio-SRAM’s Tayler Wiles took the podium’s third step.
For the new American champion, her third time in Chattanooga was clearly the charm.
“I finally figured out this course, I guess,” Guarnier told VeloNews. “The first year the race was here I was dealing with a lot of asthma and allergy problems, that was kind of a wake-up call that I needed to look into my health. Last year I was doing better, but I was the only one on the team. Clearly having Evie here made a big difference today.”
Stevens’ audacious 15km solo attack put panic into the lead group, consisting of Guarnier, Rivera, Wiles and Amber Neben (Visit Dallas Cycling).
“Megan, Tayler and I were working, but Coryn and Amber were just sitting on. So there was really no point in [our doing all that work]. Coryn’s a really good sprinter and I didn’t really want to take her to the line,” Stevens explained of the duo’s two-pronged strategy. “I felt good going up Kent Street, so I thought why not gamble and go for it so Megan could sit on and be able to finish.”
Stevens’ move almost proved successful, which Guarnier says would have been just fine with her.
“You’ve seen it the past two years, where somebody can go solo,” Guarnier said of the race. “If Amber or Tayler had hesitated one bit [in their pursuit of Stevens], I think Evie would have been gone. It was a really good move. This year it didn’t work out for a solo finish like the past years, but it really could have worked. When it didn’t it was a little bit nerve-wracking for me, because then I really felt the pressure to finish.”
And finish she did. Barnstorming into the final turn with national criterium champion Rivera on her wheel, Guarnier turned on a massive sprint and managed – just barely – to beat her rival to the line. The finish was so close the Guarnier was uncertain of the result as she rolled through the start/finish in downtown Chattanooga.
“You know it was a long sprint and there was a headwind,” Guarnier explained. “I don’t get too many opportunities to sprint, so I kind of had to go by feel. I knew Coryn was coming up in those final couple hundred meters. Even at the line I really wasn’t sure what had happened.”
Taking Rivera to the line was definitely not part of the plan for the Boels-Dolmans pair. Better known as a sprinter, her competitors each expressed surprise that the United Healthcare rider had managed to hang with the lead group as it ascended Lookout Mountain.
“Lookout was where we lost most of the peloton,” noted Stevens, recounting her efforts to inventory the pack’s remaining riders after the climb. “It was pretty much the group I expected, except for Coryn. I said to her, ‘Whoa, when did you start climbing so well?”
After the race Rivera seemed a little unclear, herself.
“My coach and I have been putting a lot of work in…but nothing really focused on climbing, in particular,” Rivera said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but whatever it is, it’s working out.”
The winner of the inaugural Strade Bianche women’s race in March, Guarnier says the win in Chattanooga ranked right up there among the most special days of her career.
“I don’t want to say today was better, exactly, but my family was here today and saw it. So that was really amazing. I got to speak to my grandparents immediately after.”
With the win, Guarnier will have not only the opportunity to wear the stars and stripes of her nation for the next twelve months, but get to wear them on home soil as she lines up for the UCI world road championship in Richmond, Virginia this September.
“It’s really exciting,” Guarnier said of the chance to represent the U.S. at worlds. “And now I get to start on the front line so that’s even more exciting.”
“It’s an honor to be able to wear the stars and stripes over in Europe. Every time I’m over there it’s an honor to represent the United States, but to wear the jersey over there is really something. Hopefully it will raise my game even more.”
The post Anatomy of a national title: Megan Guarnier’s perfect race appeared first on VeloNews.com.
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