Team USA competed at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria last week with riders in every race across the Junior, U23 and Elite Categories. With challenging Time Trial and Road Race courses featuring long climbs, eight U.S. riders earned top 10 finishes.
In the Individual Time Trial, Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz.; Rally Cycling), the 2017 U23 Silver Medalist, placed 7th in the U23 category. Michael Garrison (Decatur, Ga.; Holowesko/Citadel pb Hincapie Racing) raced in the Junior category placing 10th. The women saw success with three top ten performances including a breakout ride for Leah Thomas (Boulder Creek, Calif.; UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) who placed 5th. Two-Time World Champion Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.; PX4 Sports) placed 7th while Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek Drops) placed 10th.
In the Junior Men’s Road Race, the U.S. team worked together to overcome several crashes throughout the race and saw Kevin Vermaerke (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif; Lux Cycling) and Sean Quinn (Sherman Oaks, Calif.; Lux Cycling) break into the top 10, placing 8th and 10th respectively.
In the Elite Women’s race, after an exciting attack off the front of the field from current U.S. National Champion Coryn Rivera (Newport Beach, Calif.; Team Sunweb), teammate Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif.; Team Sunweb) rode to a 10th place finish ending her season, which included a stage victory at the Giro Rosa, on a high note.
“While we didn’t get the medals we hoped for in this World Championships, there were some solid results and we were especially impressed by the strong performances from a number of our younger riders. We have a lot of talent coming up through the Junior and U23 programs as well as a several very strong women who are just starting out their elite careers. We have some big goals to work towards in the next two years and we’re confident our riders will step up to the challenge,” said Jeff Pierce, USA Cycling’s Director of Elite Athletics - Road and Track.
Additionally, American Riders Chad Haga (McKinney, Tex.; Team Sunweb), Coryn Rivera (Newport Beach, Calif.; Team Sunweb), and Tejay Van Garderen (Aspen, Colo.; BMC Racing Team) won gold and silver medals in the Team Time Trial with their trade teams.
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For more information, please contact Kelly Fox at apalermo@usacycling.org
