Austin Killips (Amy D Foundation) won the fifth and final stage of the Tour of the Gila women’s race on Sunday, sealing the overall victory in the process.
Already wearing the leader’s jersey to start the stage, Killips broke clear of the peloton in a small group in the final few minutes of racing on the “Gila Monster” stage, which took riders 110.9 km (65.9 miles) from Silver City to Piños Altos.
Killips then surged away to win the stage at the top of the third-category finishing climb.
Marcela Prieto (Pato Bike BMC), who won the opening stage and wore the leader’s jersey until Killips moved into the lead after the stage 3 time trial, settled for runner-up honors on the final stage. Killips’s Amy D Foundation teammate Cassandra Nelson took third on the day.
The stage win extended Killips’s overall advantage and secured the GC victory. Emily Erlich (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24), who won stages 3 and 4, finished fourth on the day to hold on to second overall, while Prieto’s performance moved her onto the final podium.
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