Devo Wrap: Juniors Batten and Blevins reach mountain podium

The USA Cycling's National Development Program (NDP) is kicking into high gear after a brief respite. USA Cycling has contingents competing on the roads of Italy, the mountains of the Netherlands and the supercross track in California.

Mountain Bike

Haley Batten and Kaylee Blevins finished second and third, respectively, at the International MTB Races-Landgraaf in the Netherlands. (Photo by Marc Gullickson)

A pair of Americans found the podium in the juniors women 15-18 race. The group's youngest rider, Haley Batten (Park City, Utah/Whole Athlete-Specialized), who is 15 years old, produced its best result finishing second in the women's 15-18 contest, less than a minute behind the winner, Annemarie Worst (NED). After leading the majority of the race, Batten was passed with a half-lap remaining, but she held on to second place. Kaylee Blevins (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo) placed third in the race. Ksenia Lepinkhina (Boulder, Colo./BMC US MTB Development Team) and India Waller (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo) placed sixth and eighth, respectively. Caroline Woods (San Rafael, Calif.) placed 11th while Sara Ogden (Tiburon, Calif./Bear Development Team) was 21st.

In the juniors men's race, Tyler Berliner (Richmond, Vt.) produced a solid, ninth-place finish, while Landen Beckner (Helena, Mont./BMC US MTB Development Team) placed 11th. Kyle Bloesser (Colorado Springs, Colo./BMC US MTB Development Team), Marcus Segedin (Greenbrae, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized) and Mason Shea (Austin, Texas/Team Bicycle Sport Shop) finished 16th, 17th and 18th, respectively.

Cole Paton (Cashmere, Wash.) placed 27th in the race.

Women's Road

The USA Cycling contingent at team presentation before the Giro Rosa in Italy. (Photo by Jack Seehafer)

Andrea Dvorak (Crozet, Va./Exergy TWENTY16) is the contingent's next rider, holding 38th place, 8:19 behind Vos. Kristin McGrath (Boise, Idaho/Exergy TWENTY16) is in 43rd place, 4:03 behind Dvorak. Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif./Vanderkitten), who is one week shy of her 20th birthday, is 13:21 behind Vos. Lauren Hall (Dolores, Colo./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), who was in the top ten after two stages slipped to 54th place, 13:35 behind Vos. Brianna Walle (Beaverton, Ore./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) is 14:17 behind Vos.

Lauren Tamayo (Asheville, N.C./Exergy TWENTY16) and Janel Holcomb (San Diego, Calif./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) are performing well in their roles.

The first stage was a flat, 117.8-kilometer road race ridden mostly into a headwind. The peloton stayed together throughout the race and Hall sprinted to the finish line in eighth place.

The 99.6-kilometer second stage also came down to a field sprint. Hall placed fourth in the sprint.

The 104.9-kilometer third stage spanned Cerro al Volturno-Cerro al Volturno and featured several technical descents and minimal climbs. After just nine kilometers, Hall was in a six-rider breakaway, which included Vos, but one by one riders dropped off and Vos rode to the solo victory.

COMING UP

Women's Road
The following group of women will continue contesting the Giro Rosa in Italy until July 7:

Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Exergy TWENTY16)
Andrea Dvorak (Crozet, Va./Exergy TWENTY16)
Lauren Hall (Dolores, Colo./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Janel Holcomb (San Diego, Calif./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Kristin McGrath (Boise, Idaho/Exergy TWENTY16)
Lauren Tamayo (Asheville, N.C./Exergy TWENTY16)
Brianna Walle (Beaverton, Ore./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif./Vanderkitten)

Mountain Bike
The following group of riders are slated to contest the Grand Prix Sankt Vith in Sankt Vith, Belgium on July 6, and the Int. MTB Bundesliga-Bike Festival Saalhausen Bundesliga in Lennestadt-Saalhausen, Germany on July 7:

Juniors Men
Landen Beckner (Helena, Mont./BMC US MTB Development Team)
Sean Bennett (El Cerrito, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized)
Tyler Berliner (Richmond, Vt.)
Kyle Bloesser (Colorado Springs, Colo./BMC US MTB Development Team)
Cole Paton (Cashmere, Wash.)
Marcus Segedin (Greenbrae, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized)
Mason Shea (Austin, Texas/Team Bicycle Sport Shop)

Junior Women
Haley Batten (Park City, Utah/Whole Athlete-Specialized)
Kaylee Blevins (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo)
Ksenia Lepikhina (Boulder, Colo./BMC US MTB Development Team)
Sarah Ogden (Tiburon, Calif./Bear Development Team)
India Waller (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo)
Caroline Woods (San Rafael, Calif.)

BMX
The second BMX junior development camp is slated for June 30-July 7 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

Riders will be coached on riding the Beijing replica track as well as having the opportunity to ride the London replica track. In an intense week of riding, the participants will be pushed outside their comfort zone as they learn to deal with the unique characteristics of the Supercross style tracks.

Riders will also gain valuable experience in the gym as they learn the various techniques of powerlifting and general conditioning that will help them develop into well rounded athletes.

To utilize their time off the track, the riders will learn about nutrition and how to eat to help maximize their energy levels. They will also receive advice from a psychologist which will help the riders understand some of their thought patterns during competition.

Each rider will be individually assessed on and off the track so that coaches can evaluate them and provide each athlete with areas they need to work on in order to be the best they can be.

The head coach for the camp will be Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash./Intense BMX), who recently was named to the team competing at the 2013 UCI BMX World Championships. Martin has a great way of relating with the athletes because she is still currently performing on the international scene and is one of the best role models an athlete could have because of her attention to detail.

Below is a list of the athletes participating in the camp:

Juniors Women
Elida Beeman (Lansing, Mich.)
Lexa Jones (Peoria, Ariz./Ssquared-Answer-Troy Lee)
Kristen Klein (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.)
Paige Norton (Spring, Texas)

Juniors Men
Michael Boyle (Boise, Idaho)
Brendon Canale (Acworth, Ga.)
Nick Connelly (Cleveland, Tenn.)
Kyle Leiber (Chico, Calif.)
Mario Lopez (Naples, Fla.)
Damian Ontiveros (Fremont, Calif.)
Tucker Rice (Coconut Creek, Fla.)
Ryan Zinzow (Elkhorn, Wis./Answer-Ssquared-TLD)

Want to be part of USA Cycling’s Development Program? The first step is getting on USA Cycling’s radar. One of the best ways to do this is by attending a USA Cycling Regional Talent Identification Camp. The primary goal of the Talent ID Camps is to recognize athletes who, at an early age, show signs of potential future success in cycling. Receiving instruction from some of USA Cycling’s finest coaches, the camps also provide the necessary framework to improve the athletes skill set thus progressing their talent development. In some cases, the Regional Talent ID Camps assist in selecting riders for international competition and/or a national development camp.

For more information and the full 2013 schedule of USA Cycling’s Regional Talent ID Camps, please click here.

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.

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