HIGHLAND, California (April 12, 2023) — Denver Disrupter’s Noah Granigan out-sprinted Robin Carpenter in his debut racing with L39ion for Los Angeles, to earn the first yellow jersey in the Redlands opening stage in Highland. The duo had been in the winning break of six riders that had established late in the opening stage. The field was apprehensive, keeping a tight leash on anything that attempted to escape. The winning break would gain up to a minute ahead of the field before Carpenter and Granigan took over the front of the group to battle for victory. Ricky Arnopol finish third on the line for Project Echelon.
“It was a good situation,” Granigan said following his win. “No one was attacking [in the final lap] until we got to the bottom of the hill. It was just about being patient, until you can see the banner to really open it up. The boys were good, with me in the break and we had Riley Sheehan and Reinardt (Janse van Rensberg) finish 1-2 in the field sprint.”
The Disrupters came to Redlands with a stacked squad including WorldTour veteran and 2017 Paris-Nice winner Sergio Henao, along with Sergei Tvetcov, Juan Esteban Arango, and Ulises Castillo. From the initial start as the field rolled under the finishing banner to pass kilometer zero, the field would remain compact until the intermediate bonus points and KOM battle ensued.
All the top teams remained attentive at the front with our defending champion, Tyler Stites and Team Echelon making sure they wouldn’t miss a dangerous move. Toronto Hustle, CSVelo, and Aevelo were also in the mix. It was the former Mexican Road Champion, Eder Frayre that took the initiative in the final 10 laps to start splitting the field for L39ion. Arnopol was there for Project Echelon to follow, as the break made their escape, increasing the gap with each lap before securing the win.
“We went pretty late in the race,” Arnopol said after a tough opening day. “We were kept on a tight leash. We were working really well together and then it was just a drag to the finish.”
Looking ahead for tomorrow, Arnopol and Team Echelon are ready for the challenge.
“I think we’re in good shape,” he added. “It’s going to be a super hard day.”
L39ion is also eager for the GC day ahead of them. Current US National Road Champion, Kyle Murphy spent the day in the field, along with many of the GC favorites saving their reserves for Oak Glen.
“Redland’s is our first race with the team together,” Carpenter said, returning to Southern California since last racing Redlands in 2017 with Hincapie. “It’s fun to be back, to be racing. It’s a hard one. Last time I was here, we won with TJ Eisenhart. I would have rather won, but also going into tomorrow defending would have been a lot. It seems like the peloton let Echelon race it out like the old Hincapie style.”
