Athens Twilight: Alexis Magner repeats win, Thomas Gibbons swipes men’s victory after restart

Alexis Magner (neé Ryan) secured the pro women’s title in Athens, Georgia for a second consecutive year while Thomas Gibbons (Automatic-ABUS Racing) scored the biggest win in his 13 seasons of elite racing in the pro men’s division at the Athens Orthopedic Clinic Twilight Criterium p/b Michelob Ultra.

Both Magner and Gibbons, now Georgia residents, received huge ovations from massive crowds for ‘local’ riders winning the anchor event of the USA Crits series, in addition to points on the line for USA Speed Week.

Magner rocketed across the line for the win ahead of Coryn Labecki (EF Education-Cannondale) in second and Harriet Owen (DNA Pro Cycling) in third. Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) finished fourth and Kiara Lylyk (Boneshaker Project presented by Roxo) was fifth, just ahead of Andrea Cyr (Texas Roadhouse).

Gibbons earned his first win in 11 months, improving from a fourth-place finish at last year’s Athens Twilight Criterium. Danny Summerhill (REIGN Storm Racing) repeated for second place, his fourth time as a runner-up in Athens, while Robin Carpenter (L39ION of Los Angeles) went back-to-back in third place.

“This is the only bike race in American that I care to win. I can’t believe it,” an emotional Gibbons told the cheering fans at the finish line in downtown Athens.

The pro races saw a number of early attacks fly and fail across the four-corner, 1km  course, and both were marked with neutralisations and restarts. While the women’s race allowed organisers to clear the course of debris from several riders doing down with seven laps to be completed, the men’s race was clouded with an odd restart with 30 laps to go.

“Unbelievable” is how Carpenter described the turn of events, which went from a full-on breakaway of six riders with 32 laps remaining, to a confused mass of riders stopped at the start-finish two laps later, and back to a restart with the six given a 10-second advantage to figure out the final 29 laps.

“Danny (Summerhill) and I are bridging to make contact [with four leaders] and I see the moto waving the sign for neutral, hands down. We’re slowing for a lap, the field catches us and then the lead moto drives away, which is untenable. And I didn’t see a single rider on the ground, so I don’t understand. It reset the race in a way that’s not fair, because people take a break,” Carpenter told Cycling News at the finish about the race reset.

Race officials met with riders during the stoppage for almost four minutes, as organisers looked at the gap the breakaway had in place when the pack was slowed. The six riders were then allowed to restart 10 seconds ahead of the peloton, after much consternation.

“We got everything back together in a way that made sense, and I thought it was fair. I thought we got the gap that we had,” he recalled.

Set in the heart of the college town adjacent to the University of Georgia campus,  the 44th edition of the Athens Twilight Criterium included rock music and strobe lights to add to the intensity set by the high-speed races. The pro women raced 40 laps while the men took on 80 laps, both fields moving in a counter-clockwise direction like the original circuit.

Women’s race

The women began before sunset, Fearless Femme Racing’s Sophie Sutton striking for a solo attack 20 minutes into racing. The DNA Pro Cycling squad, riding for sprinter Harriet Owen, reeled her back and the pro women then marked each other for the next 20 laps. 

A crash on turn two with the pack headed to 6 to go took down a number of riders, including Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles) and officials neutralised proceedings. After a few minutes to regroup on Washington Street, the race restarted with the 6 laps to go, Ryan rejoining teammates Magner, Yarely Salazar and Llori Sharpe.

Cynisca’s Claire Windsor struck for a two-lap solo attack and then riders from Goldman Sachs ETFs Racing, ButcherBox and Miami Blazers went to work at the front of the race. Also at the front with four to go were two major threats riding without teammates, Cyr and US Pro Criterium champion Labecki. 

The bell rang with 2 to go for the final intermediate sprint, DNA Pro Cycling fighting for position with L39ION and Labecki leading the way for the Gambler prime. Lighting struck for L39ION around turn four as Magner ignited from the front group when Samantha Schneider (Miami Blazers) launched an early sprint.

“It was a little bit messy coming into the final. Sam jumped early, and she had a gap coming out of the corner. I just knew that it was a long sprint from last year, so I had a little bit of time, but I had to hustle to catch back up to her,” Magner told Cycling News.

“This year there was a lot more competition, so that made it even more nerve-racking,” Magner said about taking back-to-back wins. “[A second win] comes with the pressure of knowing you’ve done it before and hoping you can do it again. This year was a lot more chaotic.”

Men’s race

Gibbons, in his 13th year of elite racing, exploded from the field for a solo attack in the first 30 minutes of the race. He rode alone in his bright orange kit at the front for almost 20 laps until Michael Garrison (MGR p/b NICH SpeedClub) made the catch with 42 circuits to go. Just after the mid-race sprint, Cole Davis (Riobble Rebellion) joined the party at the front. 

With 35 laps to go, the second Ribble rider Matt Bostock, bridged across, and then another lap later Summerhill and Carpenter made contact, the field just 10 seconds back. The six riders had the momentum to launch another turbo-charged surge, but then the power supply was cut off. 

Race officials said a neutralisation was needed due to reports of crash behind the main group and the race suddenly came to a halt. A few of the breakaway riders completed another lap off the front as the signal to stop was not clear. After the long pause, the six leaders were allowed to move out with the 10 seconds they had earned – Gibbons, Summerhill, Carpenter, Garrison and Ribble duo Bostock and Davis.

The 10 seconds grew to 20 second and then to 30. With 13 to go, the leaders were only 25 seconds away from catching the field. Then with 11 to go, Carpenter surged on a full-gas attack and gained a six-second advantage, Davis the first chaser to fade. Behind, REIGN Storm led the field of chasers.

Carpenter stayed away until 2 laps to go, and with his match burned, the group of five seemed indecisive until Gibbons found a second wind and launched a long-range attack with over a full lap to go.

“No one reacted when Gibbons went. They just let him roll away. “What are we doing here? Tactically you want to be careful, you want to feather it,” Carpenter said at the end. “I mean, I’m still happy to be on the podium. That was hard.”

Gibbons crossed the finish line nine seconds clear of Summerhill and Carpenter, and then Bostock and Garrison completing the top five. Davis finished 28 seconds back, while Danny  Estevez (L39ION of Los Angeles) led the field sprint, 42 second behind Gibbons.

“I moved here in 2016, moved away, moved back, and moved away and moved back. It’s a special place and I know this race, this event, means so much to the commuinity,” said Gibbons, having taken the microphone away from race announcers to address the huge crowd.

“So to win this race, honestly, when I was putting my hands up [at the finish to win], I’m like, ‘you’re an idiot. You’re about to wake up in your bed, this isn’t real’. 

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