Devo Wrap: History-making performance by NDP at 'Baby Giro'

Joe Dombrowski stands proudly atop the podium after winning the Giro Ciclistico d'Italia.

Fully supported by USA Cycling, the 21-year-old Dombrowski won the fourth and eighth stages to help him become the first American to win this race. Dombrowski donned the pink leader's jersey after winning Monday's fourth stage, but a punctured tire on Tuesday forced him to surrender it. He regained it Saturday after winning the penultimate stage by 43 seconds to jump to the top spot from seventh in the general classification.

"It's great to win," an excited Dombrowski said after the race. "Our race had a lot of ups and downs. We took the jersey after the fourth stage, but an untimely flat cost us the jersey. If I had any chance of getting the jersey back, I had to do it at Passo di Gavia (the eighth stage). Today, we just played it safe and came out on top."

Dombrowski's win puts his name alongside previous race winners such as Francesco Moser (1971) and Giovanni Battaglin (1972).

Larry Warbasse (Traverse City, Mich./BMC-Hincapie Sportswear Cycling Team), Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah/Chipotle-First Solar Development Team) and Danny Summerhill (Englewood, Colo./Chipotle-First Solar Development Team) each contributed valuable efforts to Dombrowski's overall win. For their part, Warbasse placed 27th, Squire was 38th and Summerhill finished 87th in the final results.

Jesse Goodrich and Matthew Lipscomb prepare for a stage of Thuringen-Rundfahrt. (Photo by Andrew Hawkes)

Matthew Lipscomb (Decatur, Ga./Hincapie Development Team) posted the contingent's best result, placing 56th in the final results. Jesse Goodrich (Louisville, Colo./Juwi Solar Racing) placed 80th.

Lipscomb recorded an eighth-place finish in the seventh stage, finishing the stage with lead group.

Daniel Eaton (Mesa, Ariz./Mesa Cycles Shop and Racing Team), Paul Lynch (Colchester, Conn./Team Type 1-Development), Zack Noonan (Kutztown, Pa./BikeReg.com-Cannondale) and Connor O’Leary (Salt Lake City, Utah/Bontrager-Livestrong Team) also started the race for USA Cycling.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

Several American mountain bikers contested the Granichen BMC Swiss Cup with USA Cycling's NDP in Switzerland on Sunday.

Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah/Cannondale Factory Racing) finished 44th in the junior division amongst world-class talent at the top-level event, while Luke Allen (Abilene, Texas/Matrix Cycling Club) crossed the line in 69th.

U23 riders Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Subaru-Trek) and Travis Glysson (Marana, Ariz./AZ Devo) finished 105th and 110th respectively in the highly competitive elite race.

COMING UP

The following two mountain bikers are set to compete in the Mont Sainte Anne World Cup in Quebec, Canada on June 23-24:

Juniors Men
Luke Allen (Abilene, Texas/Matrix Cycling Club)

U23 Men
Travis Glysson (Marana, Ariz./AZ Devo)

Many of the road racers in the USA Cycling National Development Program will return to the United States to contest the 2012 USA Cycling Elite, U23, Juniors & Paralympic Road National Championships in Augusta, Ga. from June 20-24.

USA Cycling is accepting applications until June 23 for its Boys 15/16 European Race Camps. Spots are still available at some Regional Development Camps as well! For more information, click here.

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• Devo Wrap: Americans still riding strong worldwide - Jun 05, 2012