Kilun wins final stage, takes 2nd overall at Ventura County Stage Race

Ventura, CA - Roman Kilun won the final stage and finished 2nd overall at the two-day, three-stage Ventura County Stage Race this past weekend.

The final stage was a hilly, 62-mile circuit race run over a 5.7 mile course around Ojai. “It was a hard stage,” Kilun said. “It was also really hot.”

Going into the stage, Kilun had to make up nearly a half-minute on 1st place overall Neil Shirley (Kelly Benefits Strategies), who had won the cirterium the day before in a solo effort.

The hilly circuit took its toll on the rest of the field, which was made up of a typically strong SoCal contingent. By the final lap, however, it was a two-man battle for the stage win, with Kilun trying to shake Shirley to make up the time gap, but the KBS rider handing tough to secure the win.

The first day of the race featured a 1.7-mile morning prologue and an afternoon criterium, both in downtown Ventura. Kilun finished 5th in both races Saturday.

“The criterium course was hard, with a good hill in it,” Kilun said. “Shirley kept attacking and we finally let him go but never quite got him back.”

He ended up finishing 10 seconds ahead of the chasing field, and a 15-second time bonus gave him the cushion he needed going into the final stage.

“Overall, the organization did a really good job with this race,” Kilun said. “Ventura County provided strong support for it as well. It was really cool to be able to do the prologue right in the middle of town. The crowds were good. It was really well done for a first year race.”

Photo: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us