Team USA had a strong performance at the UCI Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands this past weekend with 4 medals and 7 top ten finishers across all races.
On Day 1, Maddie Godby (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Mandy Marquardt (Allentown, Pa.;Team Novo Nordisk) earned 10th place in the Women’s Team Sprint.
On Day 2, the Women’s Team Pursuit Team, comprised of Kelly Catlin (Rally Cycling; Arden Hills, Minn.), Chloe Dygert-Owen (Sho-Air TWENTY20; Port Orchard, Wash.), Kim Geist (Allentown, Penn.), and Jennifer Valente (Sho-Air TWENTY20; San Diego, Calif.), won the third consecutive world title for the United States against Great Britain with a time of 4.15.669.
On Day 3, Ashton Lambie (Creative Landscaping; Lawrence, Kan.), earned 7th place in the Individual Pursuit in his first World Championships after placing 13th in the Team Pursuit with teammates Gavin Hoover (Elevate-KHS; Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Daniel Summerhill (Texas Roadhouse Cycling; Centennial Colo.), and Eric Young (Rally Cycling; Boulder, Colo.) on Day 1.
Greg Henderson, Men’s Endurance Coach, is hopeful looking towards the next few years. He said, “The Men’s Endurance program is so raw and fresh each time we get together to train and race we clearly identify areas that need work. Having said that, Team Pursuit and Individual Pursuit are inching forward and will become a consistent team that ride very fast together.”
Jennifer Valente also ended Day 3 with a 5th place finish in the Omnium.
Day 4 was an exciting day in the Individual Pursuit with Chloe Dygert-Owen taking the Gold in the Individual Pursuit and breaking a World Record along the way with a time of 3.20.060. Kelly Catlin shared the podium with her, repeating her bronze medal finish for the second year in a row.
On the final day, Jennifer Valente competed in her third and final event, the Points race, where she took the Silver medal.
“The team is heading in the right direction. I'm impressed with how they pulled together and how they handle themselves as a team,” said Women’s Endurance Coach Gary Sutton.
Scott Schnitzspahn, Vice President of Elite Athletics for USA Cycling is happy with the direction in which the team is going. He said, “We've got a great foundation to work from as we go into Olympic qualification next year, but a lot of work to do to meet our goals for Tokyo in 2020. We learned a lot this week and continue to focus on the process. This [Track] Worlds was also a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships and initiatives with our partners who will be key in giving us a competitive advantage in two and a half years’ time.”
Full Results can be found here.
Take a behind the scenes look at the weekend by checking out our gallery of the event on Facebook or take a look at #Apeldoorn on Instagram.
For more information, contact Kelly Fox: apalermo@usacycling.org
