Devo Wrap: Geoffrey Curran repeats success in Switzerland

The riders in the USA Cycling National Development Program (NDP) were in action throughout Europe with juniors riders in Switzerland, U23 riders in the Czech Republic and mountain bikers competing in the UCI Cross-Country Mountain Bike World Cup #2 in Nové Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. The juniors contingent earned another jersey as Geoffrey Curran (Tustin, Calif./VRC-Get Crackin') won the yellow jersey at Tour du Pays de Vaud.

JUNIORS
Curran's win marked the second year in a row that an American won the overall at the Tour du Pays de Vaud, a four-day stage race through varying weather conditions in Switzerland. In 2012, T.J. Eisenhart earned the yellow jersey while riding for our juniors program.

Curran, who also was the runner-up in the King of the Mountains classification, topped the general classification with a cumulative time of 8:56:37, 33 seconds faster his closest competitor, Christoffer Lisson (DEN). See the story on the UCI website.

"The USA Cycling National Development Program has had great success at the Tour du Pays de Vaud, with Nate Brown and T.J. Eisenhart winning in the recent past," Curran said. "To win this prestigious juniors race and repeat for USA Cycling is an incredible honor. Our team was fantastic and fully committed to taking the leader's jersey all the way to the line. It was a terific experience only made possible by USA Cycling and the Get Crackin' Team."

Philip O'Donnell (Suwanee, Ga./Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team) and Justin Oien (Escondido, Calif./MRI Endurance Elite Juniors) placed 14th and 15th, respectively. O'Donnell was 3:07 behind Curran while Oien was 3:23 back. Miguel Bryon (Miami, Fla./DCM Cycling Team), who finished third in the points classification with seven points, was the contingent's next finisher, placing 47th, Brendan Rhim (Norwich, Vt./KMS-Start House Cycling Team) was 49th and Ansel Dickey (Truro, Mass./KMS-Start House Cycling Team) completed the race in 55th place.

The contingent opened the race strong despite windy, rainy conditions, placing two riders in the top ten of the prologue as Rhim was second and Oien was fifth. Curran assumed the yellow jersey following Stage 2a, when he won the road race by 48 seconds. The team kept calm and protected Curran's yellow jersey through the remainder of the race, controlling the flat portions, climbs and anything in between.

U23
A group of U23 riders contested the Course de la Paix U23 in the Czech Republic from May 24-26.

Each of the six riders completed the three-stage race with Nate Wilson (Elk Grove, Calif./Bontrager Cycling Team) posting the contingent's best result, placing 15th in the final results. Wilson, who placed third in the King of the Mountains classification, finished 2:11 behind the winner Tom Skujins (LAT) in the general classification while Jeffrey Perrin (Lakewood, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) placed 24th, 3:52 behind Skujins. The USA Cycling contingent placed fifth in the team general classification, 3:55 behind Radenska.

Torey Philipp (El Dorado, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized), who wrote a blog about the race, finished the contest 17:55 behind the winner. Eamon Lucas (Pebble Beach, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) finished 18:18 slower than Skujins while Alex Darville (Santa Barbara, Calif./Bontrager Cycling Team) finished 17 seconds behind Lucas.

Five of the six riders finished the opening time trial within one minute of the stage winner, Rasmus Brandstrup Sterobo (DEN), who stopped the clock at 5:21. Wilson finished 28 seconds slower while Leece was 38 seconds slower. Philipp and Perrin stopped the clock 44 and 48 seconds, respectively, behind Sterobo. Lucas completed the time trial in 6:11 while Darville finished it in 6:28.

The entire USA Cycling contingent finished in the lead group, losing no time in the second stage. The stage winner, Asborn Kragh Andersen (DEN), completed the stage in 2:40:55.

Skujins made his move in the third stage, completing the course in 3:57:00. Wilson finished 1:49 behind him in 14th place, while Leece was 16 seconds behind Wilson in 17th place. Perrin was the group's next finisher, placing 22nd, 3:10 behind Skujins. Philipp place 64th, 17:17 behind Skujins. Darville and Lucas placed 73rd and 79th, respectively, 17:34 behind the stage winner.

MTB
A large group of riders of varying levels contested the UCI Cross-Country Mountain Bike World Cup #2 in Nové Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, from May 24-26.

As she did in the first World Cup, Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Whole Athlete) registered the group's best result, placing fifth in the final results of the juniors women's race. Courtney finished 2:00 behind the winner, Greta Weithaler (ITA), who finished the course in 1:02:19.

The three U23 men were each battling illness leading up to and during the race. Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Factory Racing) recorded the USA Cycling contingent's best result, placing 50th, 9:49 behind the winner, Jens Schuermans (BEL), who finished the race in 1:15:51. Kerry Werner (Banner Elk, N.C./BMC U23 Development Team) finished 42 seconds behind Finsterwald in 53rd, while Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah/Cannondale Factory Racing) finished one lap down in 73rd place.

Lucas Newcomb (Nicasio, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized) paced the Americans in the juniors men's race, placing 34th in the final results, 6:49 behind the winner, Raphael Gay (FRA). Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif./Folsom Bike-Giant) and Skyler Taylor (Mill Valley, Calif./Bear Development Team) finished 45th and 47th, respectively. Powless was 8:37 behind Gay while Taylor needed 11 more seconds than Powless.

Shayna Powless (Roseville, Calif./BMC Mountainbike Development Team USA) completed the U23 women's race in 1:25:40, 10:55 behind the winner, Andrea Waldis (SUI) in the final results.

In the elite Women's race, Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory Racing), who was riding for her trade team finished eighth in the results, 3:29 behind the winner Tanja Zakelj (SLO), who finished the race in 1:25:50.

COMING UP

U23
The following group of U23 riders are slated to compete in Memorial Philippe Van Coningsloo, a one-day road race in Belgium on June 2:

Alex Darville (Santa Barbara, Calif./Bontrager Cycling Team)
Stephen Leece (San Luis Obispo, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Eamon Lucas (Pebble Beach, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Jeffrey Perrin (Lakewood, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Torey Philipp (El Dorado, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Nate Wilson (Elk Grove, Calif./Bontrager Cycling Team)

Juniors
From May 30 - June 2, the following group of juniors road riders will be in Germany to compete in Trofeo Karlsberg:

Miguel B;ryon (Miami, Fla./DCM Cycling Team)
Geoffrey Curran (Tustin, Calif./VRC-Get Crackin')
Ansel Dickey (Truro, Mass./KMS-Start House Cycling Team)
Philip O'Donnell (Suwanee, Ga./Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team)
Justin Oien (Escondido, Calif./MRI Endurance Elite Juniors)
Brendan Rhim (Norwich, Vt./KMS-Start House Cycling Team)

PHOTOS:

The USA Cycling juniors contingent competed in Tour du Pays de Vaud over the weekend, and Geoffrey Curran won the GC for the second year in a row. (Photo by Billy Innes)

Kate Courtney posted the top result for the U.S. in round two of the Cross-country Mountain Bike World Cup. She placed fifth in the junior women's competition. (Photo by Rob Jones)

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