DEVO: Cole Davis 14th at Nations Cup Peace Race

  
  


U.S. riders sign in for the 2017 Peace Race in the Czech Republic
U.S. riders sign in for the 2017 Peace Race in the Czech Republic.
(May 9, 2017) – The USA Cycling Development Program headed to the Czech Republic last week to take part in the Peace Race, a four-day UCI Junior Men's Nations Cup stage race in and around Terezin. The race began on Thursday, May 4, with a 106-kilometer hilly road stage where Cole Davis (Folsom, Calif./Team Specialized Racing) raced his way into the break and the KOM leaders jersey. He sprinted to fourth in the stage and into fifth in the general classification after the time bonuses were calculated.
 
Friday's double day consisted of a 11.2km time trial in the morning and a 57.5km road stage in the afternoon. Camden Vodicka (Carlsbad, Calif./LUX Cycling) finished fifth in the time trial, while Davis slipped down the general classification a bit after a late mechanical in the closing meters of the time trial cost him some time.
 
The afternoon's road stage was won in a field sprint by Davide Ferrari (ITA) and the GC remained virtually unchanged with Davis sitting in sixth and Vodicka in 15th.

 
Cole Davis sporting the polka dot jersey (KOM Leader) before the start on stage 2b of the 2017 Peace Race
Cole Davis sporting the polka dot jersey (KOM Leader) before the start on stage 2b of the 2017 Peace Race.
Saturday's stage consisted of 100km of rolling terrain followed by two fearsome ascents of an extremely steep climb finishing on the Zinnwald in Altenberg, Germany. Davis just missed out on the front group and was forced to chase, losing time and falling to 16th on GC. The time gaps grew to minutes after the stage, which was won by first year junior Karel Vacek (CZE) in a stellar performance.
 
Sunday’s final hilly, technical road stage of 96.4km, won by Niklas Markl (GER), was full of mishaps and crashes for the Team USA juniors, but Davis toughed it out despite a small crash within the final 200 meters to move up to 14th on the GC. Vodicka did not finish the stage.
 
“Many lessons were learned throughout the week and will hopefully translate to good performances in our next event,” said Junior National Program Director Billy Innes.
 
Also finishing the four-stage race for Team USA were Conor Schunk (Charlotte, N.C./Masters Cycling Systems LLC) in 44th, Kendrick Boots (Centennial, Colo./Groove Subaru Excel Sports) in 67th, Bjorn Larson (Duluth, Minn./Masters Cycling Systems LLC/Holowesko/Citadel p/b Hincapie Racing) in 75th, and Mark Yaroshevsky (San Diego, Calif./Swami’s Junior Development Team) in 98th.
 
Full Peace Race results.

Team USA development athletes also competed in the Pan American Continental Road Championships in the Dominican Republic last week, where U.S. riders won four medals.
 
COMING UP
 
The junior men’s squad will race in the Internationale Driedaagse Junioren (UCI MJ 2.1, NED), May 19-21.

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This Article Updated May 9, 2017 @ 03:47 PM For more information contact: