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Minneapolis (Aug. 11, 2010) – Coming into the last event for the 2010 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 held all of the jerseys and the team classification. However, they let the sprinter’s jersey slip from their grasp, just missing the clean sweep.

U.S. national road champion Mara Abbott won both the individual title and the best young rider category. Abbott pulled away from individual runner-up Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) by winning the final event of the four-race series. In the Best Young Rider (under 26) standings, Abbott easily out-distanced Amanda Miller (TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team). Abbott will turn 27 next year, making 2010 her last year of Best Young Rider eligibility.

Mara Abbott shows off her best young rider jersey, to go along with the top individual honor of the Women's Prestige Cycling Series. (Jonathan Devich/Epic Images)

In the team standings, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 took the lead after the first Women’s Prestige Cycling Series race and never relinquished it. Colavita/Baci presented by Cooking Light finished second.

Women’s Prestige Cycling Series co-founder David LaPorte, who also directs the Nature Valley Grand Prix, said Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 showed an incredible depth of talent.

“They have so many strong riders that you never know who to watch,” LaPorte said. “It’s fascinating for the fans, but must be very frustrating for the other teams. They can’t mark all of the potential threats.”

In the sprint classification, Carla Swart (Team Vera Bradley Foundation) vaulted from fifth to first to keep Shelley Evans and Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 from earning a clean sweep of the Series. Swart is a multi-time collegiate national champion from South Africa who is a 2008 alumna of the Nature Valley Grand Prix’s Collegiate All Stars team.

Swart’s team director, Lisa Hunt, said she was thrilled that her rider was able to show off her sprinting ability.

“When she won the sprint jersey after the criterium at Cascade, the team’s goal was to keep her in the jersey and win the overall,” Hunt said. “It demonstrates her strong sense of commitment, coupled with the fantastic support of her teammates.”

The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series is the only national bicycle racing series solely showcasing the country’s top female cycling talent. Its four events in 2010 were the Redlands Bicycle Classic in California, the SRAM Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, the Nature Valley Grand Prix in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin and the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

For more information about the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, visit the official website, www.WomenCyclists.com, or send an e-mail to: wpcs2010@womencyclists.com.

INDIVIDUAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Mara Abbott, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 – 580.
2. Alison Powers, Team Vera Bradley Foundation – 440.
3. Catherine Cheatley, Colavita/Baci presented by Cooking Light – 396.
4. Erinne Willock, Webcor Builders – 378.
5. Meredith Miller, TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team – 300.

BEST YOUNG RIDER (UNDER 26) CLASSIFICATION

1. Mara Abbott, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 – 825.
2. Amanda Miller, TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team – 451.
3. Carla Swart, Team Vera Bradley Foundation – 385.
4. Joelle Numainville, Webcor Builders – 363.
5. Rebecca Much, TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team – 356.

SPRINT CLASSIFICATION

1. Carla Swart, Team Vera Bradley Foundation – 418.
2. Shelley Evans, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 – 385.
3. Carmen Small, Colavita/Baci p/b Cooking Light – 289.
4. Brooke Miller, TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team – 286.
5. Joelle Numainville, Webcor Builders – 275.

TEAM CLASSIFICATION

1. Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 – 1,687.
2. Colavita/Baci presented by Cooking Light – 1,106.
3. Team Vera Bradley Foundation – 1,022.
4. TIBCO/To the Top Pro Cycling Team – 815.
5. Webcor Builders – 778.

About the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series

The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series was created following input at the 2003 Women’s Cycling Summit Conference, hosted at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The inaugural edition of the Series was held the following year. The goal of the Series is to promote women’s racing by giving them a spotlight that they do not have to share with men. The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series is considered the heir apparent to the HP International Women’s Challenge, a fabled women’s stage race that ended its 19-year run in 2003.

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