Villumsen, Cheatley Enjoy Strong Cycling Results in USA

Commonwealth Games hopefuls Linda Villumsen and Cath Cheatley have grabbed top six finishes at the Nature Valley Grand Prix that finished in Minneapolis, USA today.

Villumsen, riding for her HTC Columbia team, finished fifth overall and Cheatley (Colavita-Baci) sixth in the week-long tour.

The pair are included in the short list squad for the Delhi Commonwealth Games along with Christchurch’s Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO) who finished 23rd on general classification.

Villumsen took the leader’s yellow jersey into today’s final stage criterium after a stunning ride to finish second on stage four when she drove a two person breakaway for 56km. She took an 11 second overall lead into today’s criterium, with her team-mate Evelyn Stevens going with the break before grabbing the win on the challenging circuit.

American Shelley Evans took out the overall honours from Stevens with the Kiwis enjoying strong performances finishing fifth and sixth.

"I was really happy about gaining the yellow jersey", said Villumsen. "I had hoped to defend and win this race overall. It was a very interesting criterium and I was just as happy for Evelyn to go for the win.”

"The team has had an outstanding week in Minneapolis, with three stage wins and Linda [Villumsen] taking the lead Saturday," said Sports Director Rene Wenzel. "We are really satisfied with the result."

Auckland teenager Taylor Gunman was the best of the New Zealand men, finishing 15th overall 1m22s behind the winner for his US-based Rubicon-Orbea team.