A former Pro Tour rider took the day, but a national champion took the weekend at the Gateway Cup cycling finale Monday.

Jason Donald of Westside Cycling in Denver won the final race, the Benton Park Classic, in a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes, 8 seconds. Donald, who spent three productive years with the team now known as Garmin-Transitions, finished 8 seconds ahead of Daniel Holloway of the Bissell Cycling team.

"I raced here before in 2006, when I was an amateur," Donald said. "Come to think of it, I'm an amateur again."

Donald was a prominent member of the Garmin team when he finished second in the prologue at the 2007 Tour of California, then wore the yellow jersey after the first stage of the 2008 Tour of Utah. Donald's contract expired last year, and he joined the Bahati Foundation team. He suffered a broken collarbone in May, just before the Bahati team dissolved.

Holloway, the U.S. Pro Criterium champion, earned the Gateway Cup omnium, the criterium equivalent of the yellow jersey in a stage race. Unlike a stage race, in which the overall leader has the lowest total time, the omnium goes to the rider with the best placements in a series of criterium races, conducted over many laps of a short circuit.

Holloway finished first on the opening night of competition, the Tour de Lafayette, and fourth in races Saturday and Sunday at Francis Park and on The Hill. Holloway said that unlike the other races, staged on shorter, rectangular circuits with four left turns, the figure-eight layout and temperature in the low 90s played to his strengths.

"I love hot races," said Holloway, who won the Tour de Winghaven in 2008, when the temperature reached 100. "I have no problem with the heat or a technical course."

Donald and Holloway were in a group of seven riders who broke away from the pack of 116 about halfway through the race, held on a 1.77-mile course that snaked around Benton Park and the Anheuser-Busch InBev complex. The group built a 50-second lead with three laps left and held together until the final lap. Jonathan Jacobs, who won the races at Francis Park and on The Hill, attacked first, stringing out the group. Donald was sixth midway through the lap and attacked with two turns left.

"I got a great jump," he said. "My fitness got better over the four days, so I figured I could hold them off."

Lauren Hall of Team Vera Bradley won the women's omnium, finishing third at Benton Park behind Samantha Schneider of Team Tibco and Shontell Gauthier of Colavita. She had finished third at Lafayette Square, second at Francis Park and fifth on The Hill.

"I love the technical turns on this course," said Hall, a native of Mississippi who lives in Colorado. "It's a good time of the season. I've worked for my teammates to this point, but this race gives me a chance to spread my wings."

Benton Park made its debut as part of the four-race series and, given the size of the crowd, probably will return as one of the venues next year.

"This is a wonderful setting," race director Mike Weiss said. "It's tougher than the other venues because of the turns, but the people came out in nice numbers. You can't tell it's a first-time race from the size of the crowd."