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Joan Thomas

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For Immediate Release

Texas-size rivalries make the

AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium a must-see event

Photo by Rick Kent - RedBud Sports © Enduro Photo

                Atlanta, Ga.  (June 18, 2008) - A veritable Who's Who of professional cyclists is heading to Austin, Texas on Saturday for the 4th leg of the USA CRITS Series. The racers are ready to do battle for themselves and their teams in the second annual AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium presented by AMLI.

 In the men's competition, cyclists such as Italy's Luca Damiani (Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light), who won the CSC Invitational, and the USA's Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing), who missed winning his second, 2008 USA CRITS race by a whisker last Sunday at the Harlem Skyscraper Classic, will be going wheel-to-wheel against the likes of Cubans Yosvany Falcon and Frank Travieso (TOSHIBA-Santo presented by Herbalife),  Australia's Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United), his brother Jonny, and teammates Cuba's Ivan Dominguez and Australia's Henk Vogels. Vogels has a few wins under his belt already this year, including the Scott Kornfield Coal Miners Classic and Stage #4 at Tour of the Gila.

Even though the field is full of Texas-size rivalries, hometown favorites Texas Tough/Hotel San Jose are not just going to sit back and allow teams like Rock Racing, TOSHIBA-Santo, and Toyota-United to steal the limelight unchallenged. Led by Columbia's Carlos Vargas, the Lone Star state's 2007 rider of the year, Texas Tough/Hotel San Jose is ready to press their home court advantage.

In the women's competition, the formidable Tina Pic (Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) will continue her rivalries with USA CRITS stalwarts, Kelly Benjamin, Laura Van Gilder, and Allyson Brandt (Cheerwine), Erica Allar and Rebecca Larson (Aaron's), and Jen McRae (Team Advil-ChapStick).  Pic, the US National Criterium Champion, is also the current USA CRITS 2008 Speed Week Champion.  She will arrive in Austin fresh from winning the Cannon Falls Road Race and taking second place in the Minneapolis Downtown Classic.  Also grabbing headlines is Pic's Colavita teammate Kristin McGrath, who is also heading to Austin after just being named BOOST Best Rider at the six-stage Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota.

The overall individual leaders in the USA CRITS Series are as follows:

The competitions for the top team titles are just as exciting as the individual matchups. The overall team leaders are as follows:

Altogether, $30,000 is up for grabs at the AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium presented by AMLI.

For more information visit, www.attcrit.com

About USA CRITS

USA CRITS National Criterium Series has been developed to feature a brand of cycling unique to the United States, the criterium. Criteriums are historically run on short laps through city streets. They offer spectators the opportunity to watch Olympians, world and national champions up-close as they ride at top speed. This has made the criterium format the most spectator-friendly form of cycling entertainment. Events on the USA CRITS series have the ideals that have made criterium racing an American legacy: Challenging courses that showcase arts and entertainment districts; a large and energized base of spectators; broad community support; and strong marketing opportunities for sponsors. For more information, visit www.usacrits.com.