Columbia-Highroad’s Ina-Yoko Teutenberg won her third Liberty Classic Saturday with the help of fellow teammates who controlled the race around the 23-kilometer circuit through the streets of Philadelphia.   

Crediting her teammates for her 17th win this season, Teutenberg called today’s win a “full-on team victory.  The girls did pretty much everything today.  They worked like motorbikes throughout the race.  All day we controlled the race, with Kate (Bates) and Ellen (Van Dijk) doing the early work, constantly chasing breaks.  Mara (Abbott), Kim (Anderson) and Judith (Arndt) did a perfect job on the hills. Nuernberg attacked hard all day but our girls were always in control.  Being up on top of everything, we could neutralize all the breaks.”

The women raced at such a fast pace as to catch the men racing on the same circuit, forcing race officials to neutralize the men’s race so the women could compete uninterrupted. “Today was a bit different than usual.  It was a lot more aggressive than usual, so I think everyone was tired at the end.”

In today’s win, Teutenberg and three other Columbia-Highroad women were part of a 12-rider group who went clear on the last lap.  The four teammates including Abbott, Anderson and Arndt worked the break to deliver Teutenberg to a long sprint finish.  

Teutenberg concluded, “On the last lap we really took the initiative.  The other big sprinters weren’t riding too hard up on the hills, and then we took control.  It was a complete team victory today.”