Need to Know
Results: Complete Results
Location: Central, South Carolina

Central, SC - Experiencing perhaps one of their most successful weekends outside of a National Championship event, the Piedmont College cycling teams saw all riders competing at this past weekend's Upstate Cycling Classic pick up wins in their criteriums as PC ramps up for Road Nationals in April.

On Saturday, the Lions lined up for a road race in Central, South Carolina, a course that was a challenging, 13 mile loop with 1000 ft of climbing per lap.

CONLEY WILHELM and TANNER BATSON competed in the men's c/d category, racing two laps. Wilhelm attacked up one of the first climbs to initiate a break away where two other collegiate C/D riders joined him. Staying away for the duration of his event, Wilhelm sprinted to 2nd place.

In the men's A road race, DYLAN CANTRELL lined up with a stacked field full of teams from established programs like SCAD Atlanta, Milligan and Lees McRae. From the whistle, Cantrell dug deep and attacked on the first climb of the 65 mile road race.

Spending the first two laps solo, Cantrell was soon joined by a  Lees McRae rider. The two would spend another lap together before being caught by the remaining field.

In the women's A road race, ERICA ALLAR would complete the 52 miles of the rolling course. Allar would go on to win the road race from a reduced field earning Piedmont College's second podium of the day.

On Sunday, Piedmont's hard work under the direction of 1st year Head Coach Jame Carney came to the top as PC took on a 0.8 mile loop included sweeping turns with a challenging hill. Windy conditions played a factor but did not deter Piedmont from animating the races.

CONLEY WILHELM and TANNER BATSON kicked off the day with aggressive racing and smart tactics. Holding position and staying out of trouble, the C/D mens' crit would finish in a field sprint where Wilhem and Batson earned 1st and 2nd respectively, Batson's first collegiate race podium.

In the women's A criterium, ERICA ALLAR attacked from the whistle and put pressure on the women's field. After spending a short time in a solo breakaway, Allar was soon joined by a rider from Brevard and two from Milligan. With an additional Brevard rider and two more Milligan riders chasing and the odds stacking against her, Allar attacked again and broke away solo to lap the main field and win the race.

DYLAN CANTRELL proved his break away attempt in the road was no fluke staying active during his 60 minute criterium, making several key moves and holding great position before eventually making the winning break away with two additional riders, one representing SCAD and the other King University.

Despite being the only Piedmont rider in the race, Cantrell benefited from SCAD's full team. The 3 person break away maintained their gap and Dylan out-sprinted SCAD's Andy Scarano for the win. This is Cantrell's' first podium and first victory representing Piedmont College.

Standout Performances
--CONLEY WILHELM and TANNER BATSON went 1/2 in their crit races, the C/D men's race held on Sunday of the two-day event.

Coach's Corner
--Piedmont Head Cycling Coach Jame Carney on his team's success over the weekend..."Wins are obviously great and we are grateful for when they come but doing the best with what we have is all that we can control. I couldn't be more proud of everyone. All of our riders stepped it up another notch at Clemson. Physically, we are getting stronger each week but how we use that new energy is even more critical. They did a fabulous job and they all learned from each other. We're on a great path going the right direction." 

News & Notes
--The weekend for PC was perhaps its most successful since a multi-national championship day back in the fall as each Lion and Lady Lion won their respective criterium race.

Up Next
A two day event hosted by Brevard College and Warren Wilson College beginning on Saturday, March 18 in North Carolina.  For event information, click here.

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