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For Immediate Release

CLARKE GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT SPEEDWEEK

Australian fast man Hilton Clarke (Toyota-United) won his second USA CRITS Speed Week event in as many days by out sprinting Colavita/Sutter Home's Sebastian Haedo and Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefit Strategies) in yesterday's Downtown Walterboro Criterium. Clarke timed his final effort around the long straightaways of the city's course to perfection and proved once again that he remains one of the best criterium specialists racing in the U.S.

"Personally I was tired the entire race." Clarke said afterwards. "But since there weren't any breakaways that could get anything more than 100 meters from the field before they gave up, I just waited and did nothing."

Throughout the race, riders went full throttle around the 1 kilometer course, looking for advantages that simply never materialized. With speeds high and the desire to snare a victory growing with each installment of the series, the level on competition appears to be only increasing day by day.

For Clarke, who won several major criteriums last year, including the classic Tour of Somerville, his back-to-back victories at Speedweek bode well for the remainder of 2008.

"Last year I had some real problems with my pelvis, and Toyota-United was just great in the way they helped in my recovery. During the Tour De Georgia, I just felt like I was getting better and better every day. So even though I was tired last week, last night's win just gave me the confidence that I could win again."

If last night's men's event in Walterboro was a stalemate of the strongmen, the women's race was a hotly contested affair that featured plenty of nail-biting drama.

A group of six women that included Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine), Tiffany Cromwell (Vanderkitten), Anna Lang (Aaron's), Holli Steelman (Juice Plus), Shontelle Gauthier (Colavita/Sutter Home), and Benjamin's teammate Ally Brandt, broke away from the field and began to methodically scoop up the bonus prize money being offered on special "preme" laps.

The escapees built up an advantage of 20 seconds on the chasers, which turned out to be a sustainable gap. And, because the group of six included riders from most of the major teams that lined up at the Walterboro start line, the field were content to let it remain off the front of the race throughout the course of the event.

With two laps to go, Cromwell decided to make a bid for the win and leapt out of the breakaway. She was chased down and brought back to the group unfortunately by Brandt, who expended a tremendous amount of energy in making that catch. That left Benjamin, Cheerwine's other card in the race, extremely well-placed for the final sprint and the victory. It was Benjamin's first win in the week-long series, and puts her in third place behind 2008 Athens Twilight Champion Rebecca Larson (Aaron's), and the reigning Women's National Criterium Champion Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home).

Downtown Walterboro Criterium - Results

Pro Men

1. Hilton Clarke (Aus), Toyota-United, 1:19:47.300
2. Sebastian Haedo (Arg), Colavita/Sutter Home, +0.000
3. Alex Candelario (US), Kelly Benefit Strategies, +0.300
4. Jake Keough (US), CRCA/Sakonnet Technology, +0.900
5. Peter Dawson (US), Rock Racing, +1.300
6. Kyle Gritters (US), Health Net, +1.900
7. Emile Abraham (US), Team Type 1, +1.900
8. Keith Norris (US), TOSHIBA-Santo, +1.900
9. Kyle Wamsley (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, +2.200
10. Dave Guttenplan, TIME Pro Cycling, +2.400

Pro Women

1. Kelly Benjamin (US), Cheerwine, 53:39.500
2. Shontelle Gauthier (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, +0.300
3. Holli Steelman (US), Juice Plus/NC cycling, +0.700
4. Anna Lang (US), Aaron's Professional Women's, +0.700
5. Tiffany Cromwell (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, +0.800
6. Allyson Brandt (US), Cheerwine, +3.300
7. Tina Pic (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, +17.700
8. Laura Van Gilder (US), Cheerwine, +18.000
9. Jenny Trew (US), Vanderkitten Racing, +18.400
10. Sarah Caravella (US), Tibco, +19.100

USA CRITS Speedweek Overall Leader (Men)

1. Kyle Wamsley (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, 713
2. Sebastian Haedo (Arg), Colavita/Sutter Home, 712
3. Jake Keough (US), CRCA/Sakonnet Technology, 657
4. Kyle Gritters (US), Health Net, 626
5. Kenneth Hanson (US), California Giant, 569
6. Keven Lacombe (Can), Kelly Benefit Strategies, 566
7. Alex Candelario (US), Kelly Benefit Strategies, 537
8. Rahsaan Bahati, Rock Racing, 530
9. Oscar Henao, Clinica Union, 517
10. Hilton Clarke (Aus), Toyota-United, 501

USA CRITS Speedweek Overall Leader (Women)

1. Tina Pic (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, 713
2. Rebecca Larson (US), Aaron's, 698
3. Benjamin Kelly (US), Cheerwine, 686
4. Van Gilder Laura (US), Cheerwine, 672
5. Tiffany Cromwell, (US), Vanderkitten Racing, 659
6. Anna Lang (US), Aaron's, 654
7. Shontelle Gauthier (US), Colavita/Sutter Home, 651
8. Catherine Cheatley (NZ), Cheerwine, 618
9. Jennifer Wilson (US), Vanderkitten, 608
10. Ally Brandt, Cheerwine, 576

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