DEVO: Invaluable Experience Gained at European Classics
Email
Print (April 11, 2017) -- USA Cycling’s Development Programs put in a busy week of European racing with the U23 men’s team tackling the Ronde van Vlaanderen in Belgium, the women’s team racing in the four-stage Healthy Ageing Junior Tour (formerly known as the Energiewacht Tour) in the Netherlands, and the junior men testing their mettle on the famed cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix in France.
U23 MEN – Ronde van Vlaanderen (168k)
The highlight of the week was the top-ten performance from Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif./Axeon Hagens Berman) at the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen. The first 100 kilometers of the race were very chaotic and a breakaway never was established, keeping the race stressful with a constant battle for position at the front. Team USA’s riders held good positions over the early cobbled sections, with Curtis White (Delanson, N.Y./Rally) and Zeke Mostov (San Francisco, Calif./Aevolo) both playing key roles in keeping the team’s captains safe and protected. However, Mostov had some unfortunate luck with a poorly-timed flat requiring him to do a big chase back without the caravan.
The racing really kicked up at the 112km mark when it hit the Oude Kwaremont. Mostov, White and Ian Garrison (Decatur, Ga./AXEON Hagens Berman) each put in big turns to bring Powless, Sean Bennett (El Cerrito, Calif./Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) and Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash./Axeon Cycling) into the Kwaremont at the front. From there, the race was a series of constant re-shuffling, attacks and splits, with Owen, Bennett and Powless remaining near the front.
With 30km to go, a four-man break got off the front, led by Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar who ultimately dropped his breakaway companions and won the race solo.
Behind the breakaway, with about 15km to go, Bennett and Owen put in big turns to set up Powless for a last-ditch attack. Powless made a big move up the Eikenberg where he broke off with a group of 11 and rode that to the line in 10th place, 49 seconds back of Dunbar. Jasper Philipsen of Belgium won the sprint for second place and Jeremy Lecroq of France finished third.
Owen was third in the field sprint behind, good for 17th place (+1:19), with Bennett also finishing with that group in 36th. White was the only other American to finish, crossing the line in 84th (+7:42).
“Our major error of the day was not covering the move with Dunbar,” said Nate Wilson, U23 manager. ”By the time we got mobilized in the end, it was too late to reset the game. But the guys gave it their best effort and we’ll apply the lessons as we move forward in the season.”
Full men’s U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen results.
WOMEN – Healthy Ageing Tour
Stage 1 – Prologue - Leek (3.4k)
Summer Moak (Phoenix, Ariz./TWENTY20 Pro Cycling/Sho-Air TWENTY20 Development) raced to an 11th-place finish in the 3.4km prologue in Leek. Her time of 4:51.57 was 11 seconds back of winner Jessica Roberts of Great Britain. Behind Moak, Megan Doherty (Bellevue, Wash./Seattle Cancer Center Alliance Cycling Team) was 62nd (5:10.60), followed by Megan Heath (Alpharetta, Ga./Rally Cycling Devo) in 83rd (5:17.49) and Isabella Brookshire (Hendersonville, NC/TWENTY20 Pro Cycling/Sho-Air TWENTY20 Development) in 105th (5:31.70).
Stage 2 - Baflo (78.2k)
In the second stage, the peloton came apart in the first 7km and the gaps continued to grow from there. Moak made the front group but failed to continually get into the rotation. She was dropped with 17km to go and then got caught by the second group which included Heath. Heath finished 26th and Moak 28th, both 2:28 behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands. Doherty (+4:48) was 48th on the day and Brookshire was 74th (+5:34).
“A good learning opportunity for them all and lots to discuss prior to doing it all again tomorrow,” said women’s coach Jack Seehafer after the stage.
Stage 3 – Stadskanaal (66.5k)
The third stage saw aggressive racing from the start with a two-rider break consisting of Great Britain’s Jessica Roberts and the Netherlands’ Mylene de Zoete going away in the last 5km and holding off the field by three seconds at the line. Despite half the U.S. team hitting the pavement during the stage, Heath (34th), Brookshire (38th) and Doherty (41st) were all able to finish in the group. Moak placed 67th (+8:08).
Stage 4 – Finsterwolde (94.7k)
The final stage saw a group finish highlighted by Heath placing seventh to give the team a strong ending to the four-stage race. Moak finished with the lead group in 51st place, while Doherty was 72nd, 4:05 back. Brookshire was caught up in a crash and did not finish.
Final Classification
Heath led the team with a 29th place (+3:27) in the individual classification, followed by Doherty (+5:40) in 40th and Moak (+11:06) in 56th place. Wiebes took the victory with a time of 6:00:17. Her countrywoman Amber van der Hulst was second (+0:20) and Denmark’s Emma Norsgaard placed third (+0:21).
In the Young Riders classification, Doherty placed 17th.
Full Healthy Ageing Juniors Tour results.
JUNIOR MEN – Paris-Roubaix Juniors (111k)
The U.S. junior men’s team took on the ultimate challenge of the famed cobbles of Paris-Roubaix on April 9 and came away with many valuable lessons learned as well as an invaluable experience. Flats, small crashes and the brutal cobblestones took a toll on the team with only Sean McElroy (Palmdale, Calif./Team Specialized Juniors) was the lone U.S. rider to complete the course, finishing a very respectable 22nd, 1:48 back of winner Thomas Pidcock of Great Britain.
Other U.S. riders competing in the race were Lane Maher (Harwinton, Conn./Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team, Inc.), Sean Quinn (Sherman Oaks, Calif./LUX/Stradling p/b Specialized), Liam Flanagan, Jules Gilliam (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Team Specialized Juniors) and Evan Clouse (Park City, Utah/Hot Tubes Development Cycling).
Full Junior Paris-Roubaix results.
COMING UP
The U23 men’s team will race in the ZLM Tour Nations Cup in the Netherlands on April 15, while the junior men take part in the Ster van Zuid Limburg in Belgium, April 15-17. The junior women’s squad will next race April 21-23 at the EPZ Omloop van Borsele in the Netherlands.
U23 MEN – Ronde van Vlaanderen (168k)
Curtis White races in the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 8 (photo by Jason Ghijs).
The racing really kicked up at the 112km mark when it hit the Oude Kwaremont. Mostov, White and Ian Garrison (Decatur, Ga./AXEON Hagens Berman) each put in big turns to bring Powless, Sean Bennett (El Cerrito, Calif./Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) and Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash./Axeon Cycling) into the Kwaremont at the front. From there, the race was a series of constant re-shuffling, attacks and splits, with Owen, Bennett and Powless remaining near the front.
With 30km to go, a four-man break got off the front, led by Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar who ultimately dropped his breakaway companions and won the race solo.
Behind the breakaway, with about 15km to go, Bennett and Owen put in big turns to set up Powless for a last-ditch attack. Powless made a big move up the Eikenberg where he broke off with a group of 11 and rode that to the line in 10th place, 49 seconds back of Dunbar. Jasper Philipsen of Belgium won the sprint for second place and Jeremy Lecroq of France finished third.
Owen was third in the field sprint behind, good for 17th place (+1:19), with Bennett also finishing with that group in 36th. White was the only other American to finish, crossing the line in 84th (+7:42).
“Our major error of the day was not covering the move with Dunbar,” said Nate Wilson, U23 manager. ”By the time we got mobilized in the end, it was too late to reset the game. But the guys gave it their best effort and we’ll apply the lessons as we move forward in the season.”
Full men’s U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen results.
WOMEN – Healthy Ageing Tour
Stage 1 – Prologue - Leek (3.4k)
Summer Moak (Phoenix, Ariz./TWENTY20 Pro Cycling/Sho-Air TWENTY20 Development) raced to an 11th-place finish in the 3.4km prologue in Leek. Her time of 4:51.57 was 11 seconds back of winner Jessica Roberts of Great Britain. Behind Moak, Megan Doherty (Bellevue, Wash./Seattle Cancer Center Alliance Cycling Team) was 62nd (5:10.60), followed by Megan Heath (Alpharetta, Ga./Rally Cycling Devo) in 83rd (5:17.49) and Isabella Brookshire (Hendersonville, NC/TWENTY20 Pro Cycling/Sho-Air TWENTY20 Development) in 105th (5:31.70).
Stage 2 - Baflo (78.2k)
In the second stage, the peloton came apart in the first 7km and the gaps continued to grow from there. Moak made the front group but failed to continually get into the rotation. She was dropped with 17km to go and then got caught by the second group which included Heath. Heath finished 26th and Moak 28th, both 2:28 behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands. Doherty (+4:48) was 48th on the day and Brookshire was 74th (+5:34).
“A good learning opportunity for them all and lots to discuss prior to doing it all again tomorrow,” said women’s coach Jack Seehafer after the stage.
Stage 3 – Stadskanaal (66.5k)
The third stage saw aggressive racing from the start with a two-rider break consisting of Great Britain’s Jessica Roberts and the Netherlands’ Mylene de Zoete going away in the last 5km and holding off the field by three seconds at the line. Despite half the U.S. team hitting the pavement during the stage, Heath (34th), Brookshire (38th) and Doherty (41st) were all able to finish in the group. Moak placed 67th (+8:08).
Stage 4 – Finsterwolde (94.7k)
The final stage saw a group finish highlighted by Heath placing seventh to give the team a strong ending to the four-stage race. Moak finished with the lead group in 51st place, while Doherty was 72nd, 4:05 back. Brookshire was caught up in a crash and did not finish.
Final Classification
Heath led the team with a 29th place (+3:27) in the individual classification, followed by Doherty (+5:40) in 40th and Moak (+11:06) in 56th place. Wiebes took the victory with a time of 6:00:17. Her countrywoman Amber van der Hulst was second (+0:20) and Denmark’s Emma Norsgaard placed third (+0:21).
In the Young Riders classification, Doherty placed 17th.
Full Healthy Ageing Juniors Tour results.
JUNIOR MEN – Paris-Roubaix Juniors (111k)
Team USA gets ready for the 2017 Paris-Roubaix Juniors on April 9, 2017
Other U.S. riders competing in the race were Lane Maher (Harwinton, Conn./Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team, Inc.), Sean Quinn (Sherman Oaks, Calif./LUX/Stradling p/b Specialized), Liam Flanagan, Jules Gilliam (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Team Specialized Juniors) and Evan Clouse (Park City, Utah/Hot Tubes Development Cycling).
Full Junior Paris-Roubaix results.
COMING UP
The U23 men’s team will race in the ZLM Tour Nations Cup in the Netherlands on April 15, while the junior men take part in the Ster van Zuid Limburg in Belgium, April 15-17. The junior women’s squad will next race April 21-23 at the EPZ Omloop van Borsele in the Netherlands.
This Article Updated April 12, 2017 @ 08:35 PM For more information contact:
