USA Cycling Juniors, U23, Elite Road National Championships

Posted on 21. Jun, 2010 by admin in race

Over 750 racers are registered to face off in the cycling mecca of Bend, Ore. this week as the USA Cycling Juniors, U23, Elite and Paralympic Road National Championships come to town June 22-27. Twenty-four national titles and seven spots on USA Cycling’s 2010 UCI Road Cycling World Championships squad will be on the line as participants compete for Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in criterium, time trial, and road race events. New this year, and sure to be the highlight of downtown Bend on Friday evening, is the addition of the men’s and women’s elite criterium contests.

The USA Cycling Junior, U23, Elite, and Paralympic Road National Championships will kick off with the road and criterium contests for the younger junior categories, along with the paracycling divisions, on Tuesday and Wednesday. All categories will then compete in the race against the clock on Thursday, June 24, before the nation’s top young riders age 15+ duke it out in the criterium and road race contests over the weekend.

2010 USA Cycling National Road Championships Overview Map

The men’s and women’s elite criterium contests, moved from their traditional home in Downers Grove, Ill. as a part of the USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships, will also be held in conjunction with this event.

Winners of the women’s elite, men’s U23 and men’s and women’s junior 17-18 divisions of the road race and time trial contests will be eligible for automatic nomination to the team that will represent the United States at the 2010 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, Australia in September.

With world championship spots on the line, nearly all of the nation’s top up-and-coming young U23 riders will be on hand in Bend to fight for the right to call themselves the best of the next generation. Stiff competition will come from  Benjamin King (Trek-Livestrong) in the time trial, recent Volta Tarragona runner-up Andrew Talansky (Cal Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) in the road race and 2009 criterium champion Alex Howes (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23). Recent Pan American track medalist Cody O’Reilly (BISSELL), former UCI Junior World Championship Time Trial bronze medalist Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda) and local favorite Ian Boswell (BISSELL) also look to be amongst a slew of talented cyclists who will contend for the Stars-and-Stripes.

Meredith Miller (Fort Collins, Colo./Team TIBCO), Christina Ruiter (Bend, Ore./Value Added Capital), Kristen LaSasso (Mellow Mushroom), Amy Dombroski (Boulder, Colo./Webcor Builders Cycling Team)and Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colo./Team Type 1) stand atop the elite women’s podium following the conclusion of the elite women’s road race last year in Bend. (Photo courtesy: Carson Blume)

The nation’s top female cyclists will also highlight the competition next week in Bend; duking it out in the time trial late-day on Thursday, the criterium Friday evening and the road race on Sunday morning. Among this year’s favorites are 2008 Olympian and former time trial world champion Amber Neben (Webcor), second-place overall finisher in the 2009 Women’s Giro, Mara Abbott (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12), current USA Cycling National Racing Calendar leader Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation), defending national road race champ Meredith Miller (TIBCO/To The Top), Brooke Miller (TIBCO/To The Top) the 2008 road race champ and Shelley Evans (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12) winner of this season’s Tour of New Zealand. Also expected to be major factors are former Wall Street investment banker turned champion cyclist Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Columbia), last year’s time trial winner Jessica Phillips (Colavita/Baci p/b Cooking Light) and Amber Rais (Kuota Speed Kueens).

Not to be overlooked, the junior 17-18 competition will feature some of the top talent seen in the U.S. in years as the most decorated junior cyclist in history, Coryn Rivera (/Peanut Butter & CO TWENTY 12), will look to pad her closet with her 26th Stars-and-Stripes jersey. Last year’s UCI Junior World Championship Time Trial silver-medalist Lawson Craddock (Hot Tubes) will also be on hand to prepare for another run at the prestigious world championship rainbow jersey. Reigning elite men’s road race champion Michael Olheiser (Tri Star Cycling) will also lead the field of the country’s top amateur men.

Fourteen national champion titles will also be up for grabs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday across disciplines and genders of paracycling at the 2010 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Road National Championships. The competition is also the sole selection event for the 2010 Para Road Cycling World Championships in August. For more detailed coverage of the paracycling portion of the event, visit www.usparalympics.org.

Tags: usa cycling elite road championships