Day two of the THF Realty Gateway Cup held around the Francis Park in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood was a case of déjà vu. Big Shark Bicycle Company sponsored the day’s racing and the locals turned out in force to cheer on the racers of all categories.

The Tour of Missouri Women’s Series stayed gruppo compacto for nearly the first half of the race before a group of four escaped briefly but Team Tibco brought things back together. Shortly afterwards St. Louis local Maggie Conley, a triathlete by background, began making aggressive moves challenging the seasoned veterans. Here attempts break away were unseccsful and Kori Seahafer then took her turn at getting away from the strong field. Colavita closed things down entering into five laps but Maggie Conley was not willing stay idle as she attacked again with four others. They stayed away for a couple of laps but Colavita pulled the field back together with two laps remaining in attempt to setup a win for Kelly Benjamin but Team Tibco’s Brooke Miller remained too strong to beat in the final dash for the line. Kelly Benjamin finished second and Samantha Schneider of Team Type 1 finished third.

With only one race earlier in the day not finishing in a field sprint the Pro/Elite men looked to be setup for the same outcome. The breakaway specialists were not content in letting Dan Schmatz have an easy victory. Breaks started to emerge 20 minutes into the racing with groups of 4 to 8. Scott Moninger with Big Shark played a key role marking most of the breaks. With a few laps to go a strong group of Brian Jensen, Dave Henderson, Jeff Hartman, Keith Harper and Duane Dickey escaped with a 15 second advantage. The gap held steady and looked to be a solid move with one lap remaining however the escape was caught just before the last corner and the field made a mad dash for the finish. Cole House of BMC made a strong run but Big Shark’s Dan Schmatz was able to hold his sprint for the line and take the victory. Chad Hartley of Team Geargrinder took third place on the day.

MENS RESULTS

1 SCHMATZ, Daniel --- Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Rac

2 HOUSE, Cole --- Bmc Racing

3 HARTLEY, Chad --- Team Geargrinder

4 TILFORD, Stephen --- Trek

5 BUSH, Robert --- Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team

6 BURDZILAUSKAS, Chad --- Uci Ct: Kenda Pro Cycling Pres

7 CARTER, Joshua --- Abd Cycling Team

8 CAGLE, Chad --- Mercy Cycling

9 HARPER, Keith --- Big Shark Racing

10 STOLTE, William --- Tradewinds Engery/Trek Stores

11 HANLIN, Brent --- Michelob Ultra/big Shark Racin

12 SMITH, Shadd --- Tradewind Energy/trek Midwest

13 STEMPER, James --- Team Geargrinder

14 HARTMAN, Jeff --- Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Rac

15 SNODGRASS, Phillip --- Metro Volkswagen Cycling Team

16 THRASHER, John --- Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Rac

17 ALLISON, Zack --- Rocky Mountain Bicycles Elite

18 NORRIS, Tim --- Lindenwood University

19 PIRTLE, Eric --- The Hub Bike Shop / Giant

20 GILES, John --- Epic Bike & Sport

WOMENS RESULTS

1 MILLER, Brooke --- Team TIBCO

2 BENJAMIN, Kelly --- Colavita

3 SCHNEIDER, Samantha --- Team Type 1

4 LARSON, Rebecca --- Value Act Capital

5 VAN GILDER, Laura --- Mellow Mushroom

6 CARAVELLA, Sarah --- Alan

7 MANDERFIELD, Kacey --- Lip Smacker

8 WALBERG, Catherine --- Team Kenda

9 LASASSO, Kristen --- Mellow Mushroom

10 SEEHAFER, Kori --- Team Type 1

11 6 BREMS, Karen --- Webcor Builders

12 WILSON, Jennifer --- Vanderkitten Racing

13 FARINA, Robin --- Value Act

14 MILLER, Amanda --- Lip Smacker

15 BROWN, Sydney --- Mercy Cycling Team

16 SANDERS, Kristin --- Value Act Capital

17 MESHBURG, Kristen --- Team Bh

18 CARROLL, Katharine --- Tibco

19 MCGUIRE, Amy --- Hub Racing

20 MORSE HILL, Elizabeth --- Hub Racing