DEVO: Podiums and Jerseys Abound For National Development Program Women

  
  


Leah Thomas earned the Most Active Rider Jersey on the fifth stage of the Internationale LOTTO Thuringen Ladies Tour
Leah Thomas earned the Most Active Rider Jersey on the fifth stage.
(July 18, 2017) – The USA Cycling National Development Program certainly made its presence known this past week at the 30th Internationale LOTTO Thuringen Ladies Tour held July 12-18 in Germany. Team USA riders twice reached the podium, including a victory on the final stage of the six-stage race. They also secured the Best Young Rider Jersey and earned the Most Active Rider Jersey on two stages.
 
After making her European racing debut last week with a fourth-place finish at the 30th Tour de Feminin in Krasna Lipa, Czech Republic, Leah Thomas (Boulder Creek, Calif./Sho-Air Twenty20 Pro Cycling) followed that up with another strong performance, finishing 14th overall, 2:22 behind winner Lisa Brennauer of Germany. Thomas also finished third on the penultimate stage, a 108-kilometer circuitous route in Greiz, earning the Most Active Rider Jersey for her efforts.


 
Emma White took back the Best Young Rider Jersey for good on stage 5 of the Internationale LOTTO Thuringen Ladies Tour
Emma White took back the Best Young Rider Jersey for good on stage 5.
Finishing 16th in the general classification was Emma White (Delanson, N.Y./Rally Cycling), who also took the Best Young Rider Jersey for the event. White earned the jersey after an 11th-place finish in the prologue, but lost it to Nina Buysman of the Netherlands the following day. With the help of teammates Thomas, Skylar Schneider (West Allis, Wis./Team Illunimate), Hannah Arensman (Rutherford College, N.C./Sho-Air Twenty20 Pro Cycling) and Holly Breck (Santa Ynez, Calif./Sho-Air Twenty20 Pro Cycling), White regained the jersey with a 17th-place finish on stage 4 and kept it on her shoulders by finishing 20th on stage 5 and 31st on the final stage.
 
Schneider ended the weeklong event with a bang as she won the final 75km stage in Gotha, outsprinting Alison Jackson of Canada and Rushlee Buchanan of New Zealand for the victory. She took the Most Active Rider Jersey for the final stage and was also named Best Club Rider.
 
“The goal of this race was to further expand on team unity and tactics that we worked on during Krasna Lipa,” said USA Cycling Women’s Endurance Program Manager Jack Seehafer. “We also had a chance to focus on the goal of winning Best Young Rider. This was a team effort as we had to keep other teams in check while helping Emma for the jersey. I also tasked the athletes to race for a breakaway to take pressure off while still having team representation and a possibility of winning a stage. The last stage was a success.

 
Skylar Schneider on the top step after winning the final stage of the Internationale LOTTO Thuringen Ladies Tour
Skylar Schneider on the top step after winning the final stage.
“The team leaves Europe having gained valuable race knowledge that they can bring back to their own teams and also keep building upon the foundation started here this past month.” 
 
See complete results from the 30th Internationale LOTTO Thuringen Ladies Tour here.
 
Coming Up
 
The junior men will take on a UCI Nations’ Cup event, the Tour de l’Abitibi in Canada, July 18-23.
 
The U23 team will be in action July 26-30 at the Tour of Alsace in France.
 
The women’s team will next be in action at the Boels Rental Ladies Tour in Holland, Aug. 29-Sept. 3.
 
About USA Cycling’s National Development Programs 
USA Cycling’s National Development Programs aim to achieve sustained success in international cycling competition for the United States by providing promising young athletes with a pathway to the top tier of the sport. Our athlete development programs begin with Talent ID Camps and move athletes all the way through to top international competition. Thanks to support from the United States Olympic Committee and to the generous support of our Foundation donors, we’re able to facilitate programs for junior and U23 cyclists in all five discipline of competitive cycling.  If you want to help support the future of American cycling, click here to make a donation now.

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This Article Updated July 18, 2017 @ 02:55 PM For more information contact: