Successful week for USA Cycling's National Development program

USA Cycling's National Development Program's men's, women's and juniors teams competed in several races in various locales throughout Europe, last week.

ROAD

On April 13, six U23 riders contested the Côte Picardie. The course traversed 170 kilometers of flat surfaces. Coach Marcello Albasini stressed the importance of maintaining good position on and after turns because of the strong wind.

Larry Warbasse (Traverse City, Mich./BMC Racing) was in the first breakaway, but returned to the peloton after five kilometers. Late in the race, Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Trek-Livestrong) made a strong move on a solo attack. Brown was caught with four kilometers left in the race. Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Trek-Livestrong) stood out in the final sprint to secure a sixth-place finish. Ian Boswell (Bend, Ore./Hot Tubes Development Team), Ryan Eastman (Petaluma, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift) and Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah/Chipotle Development) also represented USA Cycling at the event.

Full results for the Côte Picardie can be found here.

USA Cycling's U23 riders currently sit in the 10th spot in the 2011 Nation's Cup.

A group of five U23 riders contested the ZLM Tour in the Netherlands on April 16. Tanner Putt (Roswell, Ga./Team Type 1) was in a bunch sprint at the finish, riding to 18th place. Eamon Franck (Pacific Grove, Calif./California Giant) and Nathan Wilson (Boulder, Colo./Univ. of Colo./California Giant) finished 1:24 behind him in a group of riders. Nate Geoffrion (Petaluma, Calif./Firefighters Cycling Association) and Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas/Trek-Livestrong) rounded out the American finishers.

For complete results of the ZLM Tour, click here.

A group of six riders participated in the Liege Bastogne Liege in Belgium. Larry Warbasse (Travserse City, Mich./BMC Racing) finished fifth while Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah/Chipotle Development), Ryan Eastman (Petaluma, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift) and Ian Boswell (Bend, Ore./Hot Tubes Development Team) also completed the 182.8 kilometer race. Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Trek-Livestrong) and Carson Miller (Bend, Ore./Jelly Belly) also rode in the race.

WOMEN

On Thursday, April 14, a group of six USA Cycling U23 women riders competed in the Drentse 8, a 135-kilometer race in Holland. Jackie Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Colavita Racing) attacked by herself, building a lead as large as approximately 40 seconds. Crowell was caught by the sprinting teams, but she garnered the Aggressive Rider prize for her effort, as she was the only break of the day. Kristin McGrath (Durango, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12). was the team's top finisher at 78th.

The 135-kilometer course in Holland is a flat figure 8 course with a half kilometer section of cobbles on each loop.

Below is the list of six USA Cycling U23 women riders who contested the Drenste 8:

Jackie Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Colavita Racing)
Kristin McGrath (Durango, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12)
Lindsay Myers (Paradise, Calif./Chico Corsa Cycling)
Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycle Club)
Alison Tetrick Starnes (Mill Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12/Team TIBCO II)
Tayler Wiles (Murray, Utah/Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12)

On Saturday, April 16, the same group of six USA Cycling's U23 women riders contested the Ronde Van Drenthe World Cup in the Netherlands. Jackie Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Colavita Racing) placed 20th in her first-ever World Cup race. Alison Tetrick Starnes (Mill Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12/Team TIBCO II) won each pave sprint, which awarded her the Pave Sprint Prize as well as the Aggressive Rider Prize. The 132.8-kilometer course winds through meandering roads, slick pavement, several cobble sections and three climbs of the VAMberg, a covered over landfill. The VAMberg, which greets riders with 13 kilometers left in the race, stretches approximately 380 meters at a 10 percent grade.

Click here for complete results of the Ronde Van Drenthe World Cup.

On Sunday, April 17, the group of six USA Cycling U23 women riders contested the Ronde Van Gelderland in Appeldoorn, Netherlands. The team fell victim to some bad luck with an early crash by Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycle Club) followed by a crash by Alison Tetrick Starnes (Mill Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12/Team TIBCO II) later in the race. Lindsay Myers (Paradise, Calif./Chico Corsa Cycling), Kristin McGrath (Durango, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) and Tayler Wiles (Murray, Utah/Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) each made the selection after the early climbing section and attacking the peloton with quick moves for a 30 kilometer stretch.

They were positioned together well for the sprint in the last 10 kilometers, but Wiles crashed with four kilometers left. McGrath rolled in 73rd place as the team's best finisher.

Jackie Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Colavita Racing) also represented USA Cycling at the Ronde Van Gelderland.

For complete results of the Ronde Van Gelderland, click here.

JUNIORS

On Sunday, April 17, a group of six junior riders contested the Grand Prix Bati Metallo in Belgium. Scott Stern (Newport, Calif./U.S. Roncq Cyclisme) and Gregory Daniel (Englewood, Colo./Chipotle Junior Development) finished with the lead bunch.

"We went with a young team of four first-year juniors," Coach Benjamin Sharp said. "All things considered, they rode okay. We had several crashes and flats that severely hampered our opportunity to perform. Matthew Lipscomb (Decatur, Ga.) was the victim of a crash. As a result, he spent 55 kilometers in the caravan, chasing the peloton. That energy would have been much better spent trying to race rather than to get back into the race from behind. He did however get into a breakaway of four on the finishing circuits and made our best bid at victory. In the end, the race was a field sprint was dominated by a Belgian team, Avia. It was a great first race opportunity for some of these guys and shows them what to expect in future races."

The six USA Cycling junior riders competing in the Grand Prix Bati Metallo were:

Gregory Daniel (Englewood, Colo./Chipotle Junior Development)
Matthew Lipscomb (Decatur, Ga.)
Scott Stern (Newport, Calif./U.S. Roncq Cyclisme )
Kyle Torres (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Team Specialized Racing Juniors)
Colby Wait-Molyneux (Vancouver, Wash./Hammer Nutrition-CMG Racing)
Tyler Williams (Shafter, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift)

For all of the results of the Grand Prix Bati Metallo, click here.

COMING UP

USA Cycling is sending the following six U23 riders to the Giro Toscana in Italy from April 19-23:

Ian Boswell (Bend, Ore./Hot Tubes Development Team)
Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Trek-Livestrong)
Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Trek-Livestrong)
Carson Miller (Bend, Ore./Jelly Belly) also rode in the race
Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah/Chipotle Development)
Larry Warbasse (Travserse City, Mich./BMC Racing)

USA Cycling is sending the following six junior riders to the Ster van Zuid from April 22-25:

Gregory Daniel (Englewood, Colo./Chipotle Junior Development)
Matthew Lipscomb (Decatur, Ga.)
Scott Stern (Newport, Calif./U.S. Roncq Cyclisme )
Kyle Torres (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Team Specialized Racing Juniors)
Colby Wait-Molyneux (Vancouver, Wash./Hammer Nutrition-CMG Racing)
Tyler Williams (Shafter, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift)

USA Cycling is sending the following group of U23 women riders to contest the Omloop V Boresele in the Netherlands on Saturday, April 23:

Jackie Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Colavita Racing)
Kristin McGrath (Durango, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12)
Lindsay Myers (Paradise, Calif./Chico Corsa Cycling)
Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycle Club)
Alison Tetrick Starnes (Mill Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12/Team TIBCO II)
Tayler Wiles (Murray, Utah/Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12)

USA Cycling will send the following six riders to the Giro del Belvedere di Villa di Cordignano on April 25:

Ian Boswell (Bend, Ore./Hot Tubes Development Team)
Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Trek-Livestrong)
Carter Jones (Boulder, Colo./Jelly Belly)
Gavin Mannion (Dedham, Mass./Trek-Livestrong)
Carson Miller (Bend, Ore./Jelly Belly) also rode in the race
Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah/Chipotle Development)

Photo:

Six of USA Cycling's U23 riders contested the Côte Picardie. (Photo by Marcello Albasini)

Larry Warbasse placed fifth at the Liege Bastogne Liege last week. (Photo by Mario Varrewaere)

Four of the six women riders that competed in the Drentse 8. (Photo courtesy of Tayler Wiles)

Alison Tetrick-Starnes won the Pave Sprint Prize as well as the Aggressive Rider Prize at the Ronde Van Drenthe World Cup. (Photo by Bart Hazen)

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