Four Americans medal in team time trial at Road Worlds

  
  


Evelyn Stevens celebrates her team's gold medal in the team time trial
Evelyn Stevens celebrates her team's gold medal in the team time trial. (photo by Casey B. Gibson)
Ponferrada, Spain (September 21, 2014) -- Four American riders had medals draped around their necks Sunday as the 2014 UCI Road World Championships got underway with the team time trials in Ponferrada, Spain. Tejay van Garderen (Boulder, Colo./BMC Racing Team), Carmen Small (Durango, Colo./Specialized-lululemon) and Evelyn Stevens (Dennis, Mass./Specialized-lululemon) each won gold medals racing with their trade teams, while Alison Tetrick (Mill Valley, Calif.) earned a bronze medal with her Astana BePink Women's Team.
 
Van Garderen and his BMC teammates Rohan Dennis (AUS), Silvan Dillier (SUI), Daniel Oss (ITA), Manuel Quinziato (ITA) and Peter Velits (SVK) covered the 57-kilometer course in a winning time of 1:03:29.85, over 31 seconds faster than runner up Orica Greenedge and 35 seconds quicker than bronze-medalist Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team.
 
“It feels incredible," said van Garderen. "The team was confident but nervous coming into this. Now we're world champion. A couple of years ago we were two seconds off the win and we had that in the back of our minds. We knew we had a strong team and that everything had to just fall into place. We just stayed calm and did our thing.”

For Small, Stevens and their Specialized-lululemon teammates Chantal Blaak (NED), Lisa Brennauer (GER), Karol-Ann Canuel (CAN) and Trixi Worrack (GER), it marked their third consecutive world title in the team time trial. The team finished the 36km course 1:17 ahead of Orica-AIS and 2:19 better than the Astana-BePink team.

“There’s nothing more special than getting to win together,” Stevens said. “It gives me goose bumps. I said at breakfast this morning that it feels like Christmas – it’s such a special event and it’s the highlight of the year.” 

The 2014 UCI Road World Championships continue on Monday with the individual time trials for the juniors women and U23 men. In action for Team USA will be Janelle Cole (Rockford, Mich./West Michigan Coast Riders) and Emma White (Delanson, N.Y./Hot Tubes Junior Development Team) in the juniors women's race, and T.J. Eisenhart (Lehi, Utah/BMC Devo Team) and Robin Carpenter (Philadelphia, Pa./Hincapie Sportswear Development Team) in the men's U23 contest.

2014 UCI Road World Championships
Ponferrada, Spain
Sept. 21-28, 2014

FULL RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY

Women's Team Time Trial (36km)
1. Specialized-lululemon (USA) 43:33.35
2. Orica - AIS (AUS) +1:17.56
3. Astana BePink Women's Team (ITA) +2:19.64
4. Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA) +2:25.75
6. UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team (USA) +2:43.80
11. Tibco / To The Top (USA) +4:10.25

Men's Team Time Trial (57km)
1. BMC Racing Team (USA) 1:03:29.85
2. Orica Greenedge (AUS) +31.84
3. Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team (BEL) +35.22
7. Trek Factory Racing (USA) +1:01.47
10. Garmin Sharp (USA) +1:44.80
 
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This Article Updated September 21, 2014 @ 08:52 PM For more information contact: