Devo Wrap: Brown delivers top-10 finish in Canada

The U23 riders in USA Cycling's National Development Program (NDP) had races on their dockets in the past week. One group of riders are currently competing in Germany in the Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt U23 while another group finished contesting the Coupe des Nations Ville Saguenay in Canada. In addition, a group of U23 mountain bikers tuned up for this weekend's world cup race by racing in Switzerland in the BMC Racing Cup.

U23
Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt U23

After the prologue and first three stages of Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt U23, an eight-day road race in Germany, TJ Eisenhart (Lehi, Utah/BMC Development Team) is the USA Cycling contingent's best placed rider in the general classification in 7th place.

The USA Cycling riders started very strong as the 19-year-old Eisenhart completed the prologue in 5:00 to secure the white jersey as the Best Young Rider. Eisenhart's time was only eight seconds behind Damien Howson (AUS), who completed the time trial in 4:52. Each of the six riders in USA Cycling's contingent completed the time trial within a minute of the day's fastest time. Paul Lynch (Colchester, Conn./BMC Development Team) was the contingent's next rider, placing 47th, only 23 seconds behind Howson. Tyler Williams (Shafter, Calif./BMC Development Team) was only three seconds behind Lynch in 59th place. Alex Darville (Santa Barbara, Calif./Bontrager Cycling Team) completed the time trial 33 seconds behind Howson. Torey Philipp (El Dorado, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) was 47 seconds behind the leader while Jeffrey Perrin (Lakewood, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) was only three seconds slower than Philipp.

In stage 1, Eisenhart again was the top American in 41st place. At the end of the 170-kilometer jaunt around Erfurt, he finished in the chase group just seconds behind stage winner Lukasz Wisniowski (POL). The rest of the Americans finished as follows in stage one: Williams was 51st, Lynch 62nd, Darville 91st, Philipp 92nd, and Perrin 96th. In stage 2, which took place in Behringen, Eisenhart finished with the bunch in 29th place and was followed by his compatriots Williams in 54th, Perrin in 55th, Lynch in 84th, Darville in 100th, and Phillipp in 103rd. In heavy rain, Eisenhart finished 17th in a difficult stage three on Tuesday. He was just 17 seconds off the pace of stage winner Julian Alaphilippe. Perrin finished a minute and a half back in 37th while Williams, Philipp, and Lynch finished together in 70th, 71st, and 72nd.

The Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt U23 will continue through the week and end with stage 7 on Saturday, June 15.

Coupe des Nations Ville Saguenay

Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Bontrager Cycling Team) continued his strong riding by finishing ninth at the Coupe des Nations Ville Saguenay, a three-day road race in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Brown finished the race only 16 seconds behind the winner Sondre H. Enger (NOR) in the general classification, who completed the three-day race in 9:59:36.

Tanner Putt (Park City, Utah/Bontrager Cycling Team) and Lawson Craddock (Austin, Texas/Bontrager Cycling Team) were the contingent's next two riders, finishing 17th and 18th, respectively. Putt was 6:37 behind Enger while Craddock completed the race 9:12 behind the winner.

Tyler Magner (Athens, Ga./Hincapie Sportswear Development Team) placed 20th while Stephen Leece (San Luis Obispo, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) was 25th. Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Bontrager Cycling Team) completed the team's effort, placing 38th in the race.

MTB
A group of U23 mountain bikers competed in the BMC Racing Cup in Gränichen, Switzerland on Sunday.

Racing alongside elite men, Kerry Werner (Banner Elk, N.C./BMC U23 Development Team) produced the USA Cycling contingent's best result, pacing 28th, nine minutes behind the winner, Lukas Flückiger (SUI), who completed the race in 1:43:48.

Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo./Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Devo) and Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Factory Racing) each also finished the race, placing 35th and 39th, respectively. Kuss was 10:47 behind Flückiger while Finsterwald was 12:05 behind the winner.

Zach Valdez (Hemet, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized) was two laps down while Payson McElveen (Durango, Colo./Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Devo Sweet Elite) and Casey Williams (Big Bear City, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized) were each three laps behind Flückiger.

COMING UP
From June 14-16, the following group of mountain bikers are set to contest the UCI Cross-Country Mountain Bike World Cup #4 in Val di Sole, Italy:

U23 Men
Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Factory Racing)
Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo./Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Devo)
Payson McElveen (Durango, Colo./Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Devo Sweet Elite)
Zach Valdez (Hemet, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized)
Kerry Werner (Banner Elk, N.C./BMC U23 Development Team)
Casey Williams (Big Bear City, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized)

U23 Women
Shayna Powless (Roseville, Calif./BMC Mountainbike Development Team USA)
Deidre York (Boulder, Colo./The Gear Movement Pro Cycling Team)

Junior Women
Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Whole Athlete)

PHOTO

T.J. Eisenhart earned the white jersey as the Best Young Rider after a stellar ride in the prologue. (Photo courtesy Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt U23)

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