Amber Neben

  
  


Amber Neben
Amber Neben
Date of Birth: February 18, 1975
Height: 5'4"/1.6 m
Weight: 115 lbs./52.2 kg./8.3 st.
Place of Birth: Irvine, California
Hometown: Irvine, California
Residence: Irvine, California
Teams: Specialized-Lululemon (2012), HTC-Highroad (2010-11), Webcor Builders Cycling Team (2010), Nurnberger (2009), Flexpoint (2005-08), T-Mobile (2002-04)
Education: University of Nebraska (B.S. Biology), University of California—Irvine (M.S. Biology)
Website: www.amberneben.com

Olympic Experience/UCI World Championships Results

  • 7th place, time trial; 4th place, road race — 2012 UCI Road World Championships, Limburg, The Netherlands
  • 2012 Olympic Games — road race (36th), time trial (7th), London, England
  • 8th place, time trial — 2011 UCI Road World Championships, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 4th place, time trial — 2010 UCI Road World Championships, Melbourne, Australia
  • 6th place, time trial — 2009 UCI Road World Championships, Mendriso, Switzerland
  • 1st place, time trial — 2008 UCI Road World Championships, Varese, Italy
  • 2008 Olympic Games — road race (33rd), Beijing, China
  • 4th place, time trial — 2007 UCI Road World Championships, Stuttgart, Germany
  • 5th place, time trial — 2005 UCI Road World Championships, Madrid, Spain

National Championship Results

  • 2012 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships, Augusta, Ga. — 1st place, time trial
  • 2011 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships, Augusta, Ga. — 2nd place, time trial
  • 2010 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships, Bend, Ore. — 2nd place, time trial
  • 2007 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships — 2nd place, time trial; 3rd place, road race
  • 2006 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships — 2nd place, time trial
  • 2004 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships — 2nd place, time trial
  • 2003 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships — 1st place, road race

Career Highlights

  • 1st place time trial — 2012 Pan American Continental Championships
  • 1st Overall — 2011 Nature Valley Grand Prix, Minnesota
  • 1st place — 2011 Chrono des Nations
  • 1st Stage 4 (TT), 2nd Overall — 2010 Tour of New Zealand
  • 1st Prologue, 4th Overall — 2010 Redlands Bicycle Classic, Redlands, California
  • 1st place — 2009 Giro d'Italia Femminile, Stage 2 (time trial), Pontedera to Santa Maria a Monte, Italy
  • 1st Overall — 2008 Tour de Ardeche, France
  • 2nd Overall — 2008 Giro d'Italia Femminile, Italy
  • 2nd Stage 1 — 2007 Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen, Thuringia, Germany
  • 1st Overall, 1st Prologue — 2007 Redlands Bicycle Classic, Redlands, California 
  • 1st place — 2006 Pan Am Championships Time Trial, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • 1st Overall — 2006 Tour de l'Aude, France
  • 1st Overall, 1st Stages 1, 3 — 2006 Redlands Bicycle Classic, Redlands, California
  • 1st Overall — 2005 Tour de l'Aude, France
  • Stage win — 2004 Giro della Toscana, Italy

Points of Interest

  • At age four, Amber survived spinal meningitis after being in a coma for three days. Doctors told her parents that she would probably die, and that if she did live she would likely be brain damaged and deaf.
  • Amber is also a cancer survivor. She was successfully treated for melanoma (a potentially deadly skin cancer) in 2007.
  • Amber is a dedicated Christian and credits Jesus as the foundation for her personal and professional accomplishments.

Personal

On September 24, 2008, Amber Neben won the time trial world championships, becoming the fourth American woman to do so. The race was held just six weeks after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Amber competed in the Olympic road race, but came in 33rd after fighting a mechanical problem. She also took back-to-back wins (2005 and 2006) in one of the most prestigious international women's stage races, the Tour de l'Aude in France.
 
In high school in Orange County, Calif., Amber competed in soccer, track, and cross country, but she suffered from frequent stress fractures. Later, she attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln on a track and field scholarship, but the stress fractures eventually sidelined her from active competition.
 
She began serious cycling while she was studying for a PhD in molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry at the University of California in Irvine. After a top-10 finish in the collegiate national championships, Amber decided to cut her doctoral studies short — taking a master’s degree in biology instead — and enter professional cycling.

Amber has won major races all over the world riding with some of the most successful women's cycling teams in the world. Her husband, Jason Neben, is an assistant professor of education at Concordia University Irvine.



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