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Rob Britton tames Tour of the Gila with overall win

Team SmartStop's Rob Britton claimed the best overall men's performance in the Silver City Tour of the Gila on Sunday. In a high-grade pass during the final climb of the race's fifth stage—one of three road-riding stages of the race that lend it the "Gila Monster" moniker—Britton eclipsed Colombia's Rafael Montiel to take the overall lead. After spending much of the day in second place, 24 seconds behind Montiel, the 30-year-old Canadian also passed Daniel Jaramilo Diez by a similarly tight margin, with Gavin Mannion of team Jelly Belly-Maxxis coming in third.

Rob Britton Tour of the Gila
Rob Britton overcome after "the biggest win of his career" at the Silver City Tour of the Gila. (Image: Instagram)
Rob Britton overcome after “the biggest win of his career” at the Silver City Tour of the Gila. (Image: Instagram)

Team SmartStop’s Rob Britton claimed the best overall men’s performance in the Silver City Tour of the Gila on Sunday. In a high-grade pass during the final climb of the race’s fifth stage—one of three road-riding stages of the race that lend it the “Gila Monster” moniker—Britton eclipsed Colombia’s Rafael Montiel to take the overall lead. After spending much of the day in second place, 24 seconds behind Montiel, the 30-year-old Canadian also passed Daniel Jaramilo Diez by a similarly tight margin, with Gavin Mannion of team Jelly Belly-Maxxis coming in third.

Michael Woods, meanwhile, took fourth overall in at the annual five-day race through the deserts of New Mexico, while claiming a first-place finish in Stage 5. The Ottawa native finished ahead of Jaramillo Diez, claiming the final stage of the Monster’s unforgiving road race component. Robinson Chalapud Gomez came in third. “The team was the reason I got the win today,” Woods said. “Will Routley did a great job of getting into the first split of the day, taking the pressure off of the rest of the team having to work to close the gap.”

“I have been having a great season so far,” he added, “and the entire team—the staff, and the riders—has been responsible for these results.”

Jasmin Glaesser, also a member of the Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, had a strong performance at Gila. Racking up a fourth-place finish, Glaesser left the competition with the best young rider jersey—like Woods, seconds from the podium. “Jasmin is maturing as a road racer and GC rider,” said performance director Patrick McCarty. “I think she showed this week that she will be able to win these races in the future.”

Looking ahead to the Tour of California, Glaesser is optimistic, even enthusiastic, about her team’s chances. “Having raced five hard days at altitude will certainly set everyone up to go into the Tour of California super fit,” she noted. “As for me, I’ll be cheering for the team and hoping to have a good ride in the time trial in Big Bear a few days after the stage race.”