Tour of Utah Women’s Edition announces preliminary roster with last year’s top 3: Rivera, Heintz, and Miller

Inaugural Tour of Utah Women’s Edition podium (l-r) Mandy Heintz 2nd, Coryn Rivera 1st, Meredith Miller 3rd

The preliminary roster for the Tour of Utah Women’s Edition includes the returning 2014 winner, 22-year-old American Coryn Rivera of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team. Rivera has 68 national titles so far in her career covering three disciplines (road, track, cyclocross). She is currently ranked fifth in the individual standing of the USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar (NCC).

Last year’s second and third place finishers, Mandy Heintz (Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing) and Meredith Miller (Pepper Palace Pro Cycling presented by The Happy Tooth) are also expected to compete.

The 2015 Tour of Utah Women’s Edition: Criterium Classic is an omnium-style competition that will take place over two days – Aug. 3 in Logan and Aug. 4 in Ogden. It is sanctioned by USA Cycling as part of the NCC.

All of the women’s professional teams currently ranked in the Top 11 of the NCC are confirmed to race in the 17-team field. In addition, the Top 10 riders on the NCC individual rankings will compete.

Rivera will be joined by NCC points leader Erica Allar, racing for LA Sweat; Samantha Schneider of ISCorp presented by Smart Choice MRI (second overall); Tina Pic of Pepper Palace Pro Cycling presented by The Happy Tooth (third); Skylar Schneider of ISCorp presented by Smart Choice MRI (fourth); and Kendall Ryan of Team TIBCO-SVB (sixth), who will wear the stars-and-stripes jersey as the U.S. national criterium champion.

Sprint specialist Allar has won the individual NCC title for four consecutive seasons. This year she has 11 podium finishes, including a third place at one stage of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Edition and the Omnium title at the 2015 Saint Francis Tulsa Tough. Pic, a Bountiful, Utah resident, is a six-time U.S. national criterium champion and four-time NRC champion.

The ISCorp, a Domestic Elite team from Wisconsin, leads the NCC team standings by 472 points over UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling. This top team is led by the Schneider sisters. Twenty-four-year-old Samantha holds 11 U.S. national titles (U23 & Junior) and has two NCC event wins this year (Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix). Skyler, 17, won the 2014 USA Cycling Junior Criterium national championships and has three podium finishes this season.

(l-r) Coryn Rivera and Lauren De Crescenzo finish 2nd and 3rd in women’s p-1-2 at the Morgul-Bismark Road Race, day 3 of the Superior Morgul Classic in Colorado

Two Utah-based teams will fight for top honors as well.

DNA Cycling p/b K4 brings a roster including Lauren De Crescenzo and Breanne Nalder. Nalder won the most aggressive rider prize in 2014. De Crescenzo recently returned from racing in Europe.

Canyon Bicycles-Shimano fields a team led by Mindy McCutcheon, the current Utah state time trial champion.

Coryn Rivera wins the inaugural Tour of Utah Women’s Edition. “[Winning] is special because we’re here for the first women’s edition race.”

Team Presentation
For the first time, all the men’s teams will be joined by the women’s teams at a special event for cycling fans on Saturday, Aug. 1. The Team Presentation, hosted at the Logan Golf and Country Club, will take place at 7 p.m. The event provides free general admission seating for all spectators, and cameras are welcome.

The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah continues to be free to all spectators, making professional cycling one of the most unique professional sports in the world today. Read details about the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah by visiting www.tourofutah.com, as well as social channels Facebook (tourofutah), Twitter (@tourofutah #TOU15, #TOUWE15), Instagram (thetourofutah) and YouTube (Tour of Utah).

About the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah
The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, referred to as “America’s Toughest Stage RaceTM,” is a week-long, professional stage race for the best men’s cycling teams in the world. The 2015 event, Aug. 3-9, has been elevated to a 2.HC-rated UCI stage race, making it one of the premier events in North America. For women’s professional and elite teams, a two-day Tour of Utah Women’s Edition: Criterium Classic, Aug. 3-4, is sanctioned by USA Cycling on the National Criterium Calendar.

Host venues for 2015 are Logan, Tremonton, Ogden, Antelope Island State Park, Bountiful, Soldier Hollow/Heber Valley, Salt Lake City, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, and Park City. In 2014, the Tour of Utah expanded to seven days of racing and community festivals. The 2015 Tour of Utah covers 712 miles of racing and 51,442 feet of climbing. A total of 16 men’s professional teams will compete, bringing more than 120 athletes from 20 countries. American Tom Danielson of Team Garmin-Sharp claimed the overall men’s title for the Tour of Utah for a second year in a row. The inaugural Tour of Utah Women’s Edition was won by American Coryn Rivera of UnitedHealthcare. For more information visit www.tourofutah.com.