Costa, Stevens power to podiums at Road Worlds
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Adrien Costa on the podium for the juniors men's time trial. (photo by Casey B. Gibson)
Costa, 17, was fastest through all the checkpoints of the 29.5-kilometer course and crossed the line with a time of 36:58.15, the best on the board at that point. He enjoyed his time in the hot seat until Germany's Lennard Kamna scorched through with a clocking of 36:13.49, but Costa's time held up for the silver medal. Australia's Michael Storer earned the bronze medal, 58.11 seconds behind Kamna.
"Right away, when we did some course recon, I really loved the course," said Costa. "It had some nice, open, straight sections that I knew suited me because I could just motor along those. Not too many technical parts and obviously the climb helped me. I was definitely very excited. I had some pretty high expectations for this and I'm happy with the result. I think it was one of my better TTs ever so I don't really have any regrets. "
Costa is already looking ahead to improving on his performance in the junior ranks next year when the world comes to Richmond, Virginia, for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
"I'm going to work hard for it. With it being in the U.S. it's going to be even more motivation for me to match or improve this result, so I'm really looking forward to it."
Defending world bronze medalist Zeke Mostov (San Francisco, Calif./Hagens Berman U23) finished fifth, one minute and 19 seconds off the winning pace.
Bronze medalist in the individual time trial, Evelyn Stevens, at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships. (photo by Casey B. Gibson)
Powers went early in the start list and posted the time to beat, crossing the line in 40:02.33 for the 29.5-kilometer course. She would eventually finish in eighth place.
Stevens, who a year earlier missed out on the podium by just 0.04 seconds, was one of the final riders to roll out on to the streets of Ponferrada. When she completed the circuit in 39:09.41, it was the second-fastest time behind that of Ukraine's Anna Solovey. However, both their times were soon usurped by Germany's Lisa Brennauer, who claimed the world title with a time of 38:48.16, over 18 seconds faster than Solovey.
"I came into this year just with the mindset of wanting to execute the best race I could today, and I think I did that," Stevens said. "Last year I was so close to the podium so it's nice to get on there this year. It was a really nice course. You didn't know the weather conditions, but you control what you can control and go for it."
Stevens also took pride in racing for Team USA at the world championships.
"It's the highlight of the year. The team time trial is the highlight of your trade season, and then when you get to put on your nation's colors and represent, there's nothing like it. You get the Olympics and this, it's the best."
It marked the second individual world championship time trial medal for Stevens, having won a silver medal in 2012. Like Costa, Stevens is also looking forward to the U.S. hosting next year's world championships in Virginia.
"I got bronze, I got silver. So I'm just actually waiting to get gold on home soil. I'm so pumped about it. Especially for cyclists, we spend most of our time here in Europe so it's going to be great to have all the Europeans have to come and race where we're from. I can't wait."
On Wednesday, the elite men's time trial steals the spotlight in Ponferrada with Tejay van Garderen (Boulder, Colo./BMC Racing Team) and Andrew Talansky (Napa, Calif./Garmin-Sharp) competing for the United States.
2014 UCI Road World Championships
Ponferrada, Spain
Sept. 21-28, 2014
FULL RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
Juniors Men's Time Trial (29.5km)
1. Lennard Kamna (GER) 38:13.49
2. Adrien Costa (Los Altos, Calif./Hagens Berman U23) +44.66
3. Michael Storer (AUS) +58.11
5. Zeke Mostov (San Francisco, Calif./Hagens Berman U23) +1:19.13
Elite Women's Time Trial (29.5km)
1. Lisa Brennauer (GER) 38:48.16
2. Anna Solovey (UKR) +18.68
3. Evelyn Stevens (Dennis, Mass./Specialized-lululemon) +21.25
8. Alison Powers (Pinecliffe, Colo./UnitedHealthcare) +1:14.17
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This Article Updated September 23, 2014 @ 06:39 PM For more information contact:
