Craddock lands bronze at Jr Worlds Time Trial; Rivera takes 10th

Offida, Italy (August 6, 2010) — Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas/Hot Tubes) reached the podium of the UCI Junior Road World Championships for the second year in a row, finishing third in Offida, Italy, on Friday in the time trial. On the women's side, Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY 12) finished 10th.

Clocking in with a time of 40:34.71, Craddock finished just over 28 seconds behind winner Bob Jungels of Luxemburg and less than a second behind second place Jasha Sütterlin of Germany. Craddock, who posted the fastest split of the day at the first checkpoint, is the reigning junior men's 17-18 national champion in the time trial, road race and criterium.

Eamon Lucas warms up before taking to the time trial course in Italy on Friday.

"Anytime you get on the podium at a world championship, it's a good result," said Benjamin Sharp, USA Cycling's Junior Programs Manager. "It wasn't a course I felt suited Lawson 100 percent, and we knew it was going to be a challenge, but he paced himself well and he raced to win."

The bronze medal follows a silver he won in 2009 in the same event. "To be in the top three in the world two years in a row is outstanding," said Sharp.

The only other American to compete in the men's time trial was Eamon Lucas (Pacific Grove, Calif./Specialized), who finished in 17th with a time of 41:58.18 over the 28.5-kilometer course.

Women place two in top 15

In the women's time trial earlier in the day, Rivera pulled in a 10th place finish with a time of 23:15.83. Teammate Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycle Club) landed in 13th, covering the 15.1-kilometer course in 23:29.36.

Like Craddock, Rivera is the 2010 road, time trial and criterium national champion in the junior women's 17-18 division. She placed 16th in the Junior Worlds time trial last year. Prinner, who came in second behind Rivera at Nationals in the time trial, also improved upon her 2009 Junior Worlds experience, when she finished 21st in the time trial.

Road Race on Sunday

The UCI Junior Road World Championships will continue on Aug. 8 with both the men's and women's road race events. "Anything can happen in a road race, especially in a field of juniors this large," explained Sharp. "There is a challenging, exposed climb with a technical descent, and it finishes on the same small hill as the TT. It is a hard course, almost 130 kilometers, so whoever wins will certainly earn the victory."

In addition to Craddock and Lucas, the men's team will include Ryan Eastman (Petaluma, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift), Anders Newbury (Fairfield, Vt./Hot Tubes), Nathaniel Geoffrion (Petaluma, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift) and Paul Lynch (Colchester, Conn./CL Noonan-Bay Hill Capital-Corner Cycle).

"I'm confident in this team's ability. This is a similar team to the one we had at Trofeo Karlsberg, where we won. They are a well-rounded group, and while Lawson will be the leader on the road any one of them is capable of taking the lead," said Sharp. "If we ride smart and have the kind of day we're capable of there's no reason to think we won't be in the hunt late in the race."

In the women's race, Rivera and Prinner will be joined by Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif./VRC-NOW-MS Society) and Kaitlin Antonneau (Racine, Wis./Team Kenda).

UCI Junior Road World Championships
Time Trial
August 6, 2010

Men's Time Trial (28.5 kilometers)

1. Bob Jungels (LUX) 40:05.96
2. Jasha Sütterlin (GER) + 0:27.91
3. Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas/Hot Tubes) + 0:28.75

17. Eamon Lucas (Pacific Grove, Calif./Specialized) + 1:52.22

Women's Time Trial (15.1 kilometers)

1. Canna Solovei (UKR) 21:30.36
2. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA) + 0:05.13
3. Amy Cure (AUS) + 0:12.30

10. Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY 12) + 1:45.47
13. Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycle Club) + 1:59.00

For complete results, visit the UCI Junior World Championships website.

Photo: Eamon Lucas warms up before the time trial. Courtesy Ben Sharp/USA Cycling.

Related article: Twenty-two set to represent U.S. at Junior Road and Track Worlds

About USA Cycling's National Development Programs
One of USA Cycling's dual missions is to achieve sustained success in international cycling competition. To that end, USA Cycling maintains development programs for all disciplines of competitive cycling, including men's and women's U25 and junior road; mountain bike; track (endurance and sprint) and BMX development programs. These programs provide a structured pathway to the top tier of the sport through athlete development that begins with Junior racing series, Regional Development Camps and racing and moves through to international competition. For more about USA Cycling's Athlete Development Programs, click here.