TIME
 PRO 
Cycling’s 
Daniel
 Ramsey 
took 
the
 next-to-last 
leg 
of 
the
 2008
 USA
CRITS 
Series 
in
 San
Francisco Sunday at 
the 
inaugural
 running
 of
 the 
San 
Francisco
 Twilight
 Criterium.


Ramsey,
 one
 of
 the 
more 
experienced
 members 
of
 the
 TIME
 squad,
 was 
the 
beneficiary 
of 
a

mechanical 
that
 
took third 
place 
finisher 
Jorge
 Alvarado 
(Kahala/Lagrange) 
out 
of 
the
 final
 moments

of 
competition.



“I
 was 
just 
trying
 to 
keep 
pressure 
on
 the 
other 
teams
 so
 mine 
could 
make 
a 
move. 

I 
bridged 
u
p on 
the
 final 
break 
and
 no 
one 
came
 with 
me. 

Alvarado 
and 
I 
started
 working 
well 
together.
 He’s 
a 
strong
 rider
 but 
he 
broke 
his 
saddle ... unlucky 
for
 him. 
He
 told
 me
 to 
go 
ahead. 
So 
the
 win
 was 
easy.”


Women's Race

The 
women’s
 race 
fielded 
some 
of 
the
 strongest 
talent 
in
 American 
cycling,
 including 

veteran Laura 
Van
 Gilder 
of 
the
 Cheerwine 
squad, 
two‐time 
Olympian
 and
 2004
 National 
U.S.
 Time 
Trial
 Champion
 Christine
 Thorburn 
(Webcor),
 and
 Canadian
 Olympian 
Gina 
Grain 
(Webcor).




But 
the
 night 
belonged
 to
 PROMAN
 Professional 
Cycling 
Team’s
 Shelley 
Olds. 
Throughout
 the 
course 
of the 
race, 
several 
breakaways 
threatened 
to
 permanently 
split 
the 
field 
of
 58
 riders. 
Kat 
Carroll 
of 
the
 Aaron’s 
squad
 put
 in
 one 
aggressive 
effort 
after 
another
 in
 the 
hopes 
of 
putting 
the 
race 
away
 early.




With
 only 
six
 laps 
left 
to 
go
 Carroll 
made 
one 
last 
effort 
that 
brought 
Van 
Gilder, 
her 
teammate
 Sarah
 Bamberger, 
Christine 
Thorburn 
and 
Chrissy 
Ruiter 
(ValueAct) 
along
 with
 her. 
Carroll 
attacked
 again
 and
 put 
15
 seconds 
between 
her
 and
 the 
other 
members 
of 
the 
momentary
 break
 and 
an 
entire 
40
 seconds
 on 
the 
peloton.



The 
field 

came 
together 
with 
two 
laps 
remaining
 and 
Olds 
pulled 
off 
the
 formidable 
task 
of 
besting
 not
 only 
Van 
Gilder, 
but 
series 
leader 
Kelly 
Benjamin 
(Cheerwine)
 for 
the
 lion’s 
share 
of 
the 
$5,000
 purse.



“Laura 
Van
 Gilder 
attacked 
on
 the 
top
 of 
the 
hil l
 and 
I 
just 
stuck 
on 
her 
wheel,” 
Olds 
said afterward of
 the 
finish.


“It 
was 
great 
to 
have 
a 
wheel 
right 
here; 
it 
was 
really 
windy. 
I 
grabbed 
her 
wheel 
and 
made
 it

around
 her.”


 

The
 series 
now
 heads 
to 
its 

conclusion 
at 
the 
USA
 CRITS
 Finals 
in 
Las
 Vegas on
 September
25th at the
 Mandalay 
Bay 
Resort.