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Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24 went 1-2 on stage 3 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic as Emily Ehrlich won the Toyota of Redlands Lake Perris ITT, 44 seconds faster than her teammate Marlies Mejias. Alia Shafi (Fount Cycling) was third, a further six seconds back.
Defending champion Ehrlich was the only rider to crack the 25-minute mark on the technical 11.7-mile loop at Lake Perris State Park, and claimed the time trial stage win for the second year in a row.
“It was good. I’m really glad I got to ride the course a few times. It’s just a course where if you know it well, you can gain a lot of time,” said Ehrlich who enjoyed that she couldn’t get into a rhythm.
“That’s the fun part, you don’t get into a rhythm. You just kind of got to know where to get the speed.”
The relatively flat technical loop included a pair of sharp left-hand corners near the start and then two out-and-back sections near the finish as the route navigated around the lake in a counter-clockwise direction.
“It was good. It was a little scary around those corners, but I just pushed it where I felt like I could and was safe,” commented Shafi. “It was awesome to turn out on the podium.”
Following a fast start to her 2024 season with a GC victory at Valley of the Sun stage race followed by two gold medals at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships, Ehrlich has not been feeling well and lost 15 minutes on stage 1.
“I’m just still taking it day by day. I’m still recovering a little bit I still have a little bit of a cough, but I’m mostly better, so I’m looking forward to the next two days working for my team and seeing what we can do,” Ehrlich added.
Nadia Gontova (DNA Pro Cycling) finished 11th on the stage and retained the lead in the general classification with two stages to go in the 38th edition of the five-day stage race. Shafi jumped up three spots to second overall, 50 seconds down, while Natalie Quinn (USA Cycling Devo) moved up one spot to third place at 1:25.
Racing continues on Saturday with the Arrowhead Orthopaedics Criterium in downtown Redlands. There are nine corners on the clockwise 1-mile course, with three sharp corners hitting on the approach to the finish on East Citrus Avenue. The women will start at 2 p.m. for a 75-minute race.
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