Devo Wrap: Costa, Binatena dominate juniors kermesses

  
  


 

Devo Wrap: Costa, Binatena dominate juniors kermesses

A pair of juniors road contingents recently completed their block in Sittard, Netherlands, with the USA Cycling National Development Program (NDP).

The USA Cycling contingent posing during La Trofee Morbihan team presentation. (Photo by Billy Innes)
The USA Cycling contingent posing during La Trofee Morbihan team presentation. (Photo by Billy Innes)
One squad of juniors enjoyed tremendous success during their stint in Europe. Diego Binatena (Playa del Rey, Calif./Swami's Cycling Club) won a pair of kermesses and placed second in a third kermesse. He also finished 13th in the final results at La Philippe Gilbert juniors on Sunday in Belgium. Binatena won the Kortessem and Kermesse Sint Lambrechts-Herk after placing second at Kermesse Herderen Riemst. Greg Ratzell (Blandon, Pa./Young Medalists) added a podium finish, placing third at Kermesse Kortessem.

Seth Veenbaas (Chino Hills, Calif./MRI-Monster Media) also enjoyed a standout block of racing, recording a pair of second-place finishes in kermesses. Veenbaas finished second at Kermesse Kortessem and Kermesse Sint Lambrechts-Herk before placing third at Kermesse Herderen Riemst.

Charlie Hough (Travelers Rest, S.C./Hincapie Development Team) added a win at Kermesse Herderen Riemst to his third-place finish at Kortessem, fourth-place result at Kermesse Sint Lambrechts-Herk and seventh place at Kermesse Geel Oosterloo.

Rounding out that group’s podium finishes is Tim Aiken (Stanford, Calif./Bear Development Team), who was the top American finisher, placing second at Kermesse Geel Oosterloo.

The group completed its time in Europe by competing in La Philippe Gilbert juniors, a 128-kilometer, rain-soaked race in Belgium, which finished on La Redoute. Each American rider but Binatena fell victim to the rain and crashed at least once.

Binatena kept himself upright throughout the race to place 13th, 2:15 behind the winner Mathias Van Gompel (BEL). Veenbaas finished just behind him in 22nd with Aiken and Ratzell finishing just behind them. Max O'Neal (Seattle, Wash./Herriot Sports Performance) also competed in that group of juniors riders.

Gage Hecht enjoying the spoils of winning the Best Young Rider at the West Flanders Tour. (Photo by Billy Innes)
Gage Hecht enjoying the spoils of winning the Best Young Rider at the West Flanders Tour. (Photo by Billy Innes)
Another juniors contingent competed in four kermesses with stellar results. An American entry won three of the four contests and recorded eight top-10 results overall. Adrien Costa (Los Altos, Calif./Slipstream-Craddock Juniors Development) won the Kermesse Drieslinter, Gage Hecht (Parker, Colo./Team Specialized Racing Juniors) topped the field at Kermesse Rukkelingen and Jack Maddux (Fresno, Calif./Team Specialized Racing Juniors) won the Kermesse Heers-Bovelingen. Costa finished in the top-10 of each of the four contests, placing second to Hecht at Rukkelingen, fourth in Heers-Bovelingen and eighth in Vooshoven. Hecht also added a silver medal to his haul, placing second to Maddux. Maddux placed seventh, edging Costa at Vooshoven.

To cap their racing block, this group also contested the West Flanders Tour. Hecht rode away with the white jersey awarded to the Best Young Rider after he placed fourth overall, just ahead of Costa. Maddux finished eighth to help the team place eighth in the team classification. The contingent topped the field in the team time trial in Nieuwelingen.

Marcello Cesario (Downingtown, Pa./Young Medalists), Jake Thompson (Arlington, Va./HPC) and Cooper Willsey (Hinesburg, Vt./1K2GO-Onion River Sports) also competed in this group of riders.

COMING UP

The following group of U23 riders are set to contest the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir in France from August 25-31:

Greg Daniel (Englewood, Colo./Bontrager Cycling Team)
T.J. Eisenhart (Lehi, Utah/BMC Development Team)
Stephen Leece (San Luis Obispo, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Bontrager Cycling Team)
Jeffrey Perrin (Lakewood, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Tyler Williams (Shafter, Calif./BMC Development Team)

USA Cycling's National Development Programs are supported by the USA Cycling Development Foundation. Support the future of American cycling with an online donation now.

 
 

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.


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This Article Updated August 21, 2013 @ 08:16 PM For more information contact: