The Verizon u25 team got the biggest win of its inaugural season tonight when Ryan Freund won the Shorewood Criterium to kick off the Tour of America’s Dairyland.

Freund got in a small break with four to go. With the pack bearing he won a two-up sprint against defending champion Chad Hartley (Kenda), followed by Rahsaan Bahati (Bahati Foundation), who won the field sprint for 3rd.

After earning the first overall jersey of ToAD, Freund used his Droid to Tweet that he now just needs to get permission to skip work in order to defend it Friday in Thiensville, Wis.

Full results.

Race reports
Nat Bricker (University of Florida; P/1/2): “It was definitely good just to get into the swing of things on day one and finish the race.”

Patrick Haley (Velo Trocadero; P/1/2): “I went to what my bro calls ‘The Dark Place, ‘where you have dug as far as you are gonna dig and you gotta decide if you are a man or a boy, a storm trooper or an Ewok, a grizzly bear or a dude with a bell.”

James Pradun (GDVC; P/1/2): “The yo-yo effect was terrible, having to accelerate from 10-35 mph between every turn and straight.”

Verizon u25 (P/1/2): “‘The whole time I was just thinking, “How am I going to beat Chad?” ’”

Photos
Peloton-Pix
Verizon u25