Howes wins U23 race
Rivera solos to junior women 17-18 national title
Alex Howes earned his stars and stripes jersey the hard way today, taking out the four-rider sprint after spending a hot day off the front of the field in Bend, Oregon. The Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin rider won the U23 national title race ahead of Scott Stewart (Team Waste Management) and Ben King (Trek-Livestrong), with teammate Peter Salon finishing in fourth.
"I knew from racing the Cascade Classic last week that I had really good legs and that I would be one of the better guys out there," said Howes. "To be honest though, I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed, I felt like I was a little sick or something. But, I knew if things went well that I could make something happen - they did go well so I made it happen!"
The four riders were all that was left of an original break of 12 riders that split from the field on the first of what was supposed to be a seven-lap race. Race officials cut the race one lap short - to six laps - due to the increasing temperatures by mid-afternoon, which rose to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stewart was the first to make his move at the base of the steep ascent, five kilometres from the finish line. King countered the attack and set off a game of cat-and-mouse that included both Howes and Salon, separating the riders over the crest of the climb. They regrouped on the descent to the finish where Howes won the sprint for the championship.
"Howes was the best guy up in the break and he was very strong," said King. "Congratulations to him because he rode a good race, he played his cards right and he earned it."
The odds were good that the tough Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin team would defend its US U23 national road championship crown after an impressive performance at last week's Cascade Cycling Classic. The young squad took on the American professional teams where it captured three jerseys and several podium places.
The squad fielded seven at the U23 national championships that includes defending champion, Kirk Carlsen, Howes, Salon, Peter Stetina, Caleb Fairly, Taylor Sheldon and Dan Summerhill.
"We all knew coming into the race that we had a strong team," said Howes. "We all agreed that any one of us could win and that we didn't have a favourite on the team. We wanted to race our bikes and have one of us come out on top. It's helpful being on a team like that to take the pressure away."
Heat makes challenging course even tougher
The heat beat down on the some 50 young riders as they lined up at noon to complete seven laps of a 27km circuit. An early breakaway set off the front of the peloton on the first lap and to everyone's surprise, it was the winning move.
The early move included 12 riders; Howes, Stewart, King and Salon along with Peter Stetina (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin), Guy East and Bjorn Selander (Trek-Livestrong), Emerson Oronte (IF-Lionettes), Andrew Dahlheim (Metro Volkswagen) and Jacob Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies), among others.
The championships are held on the same course as the Cascade Cycling Classic stage six finale - however, it includes an additional two laps. Several of the breakaway riders competed on the circuit with the professional field just two day's prior to their title event. Howes remembered the course well having placed third on the podium behind his teammate Taylor Sheldon.
The course included two decisive climbs, the first a gradual incline through the feed zone and the second, a steep pitch that was immediately followed by a fast descent to the finish line. Attacks over the circuit caused separations amongst the breakaway riders until there were only four left to battle for the stars and stripes jersey.
"I think it was the situation that was best for the break where Trek-Livestrong and Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin had a tactical advantage so both of us were willing to work," said King. It gained about three minutes, before a chase started. They ended up pulling the rest of the field by the end. There were two of the biggest teams in the race and the smaller teams were also represented so no one could put an organized chase together fast enough."
A chase group did form behind the large split that included last year's champion Kirk Carlsen and Danny Summerhill (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin) along with other heavy hitters Tejay Van Garderen (Rabobank) and Chris Barton (BMC), who successfully bridged across to the break but not before King put in an attack on the last lap. King's attack on the last lap pulled Stewart, Howes and Salon out of the group and into the winning selection.
"There were a few of the Garmin riders bridging up to the field on the last lap and so that team wasn't willing to work in the break any more," King recalled. "I put in a teasing attack and all of a sudden there were two Garmins with me and Scott bridged up later, we rolled it to the finish line."
1 | Alex Howes (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | 4:00:42 |
2 | Scott Stewart (Team Waste Management) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Ben King (Trek-Livestrong) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Peter Salon (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | 0:00:26 |
5 | Peter Stetina (Garmin/Felt/USA National) | 0:02:18 |
6 | Guy East (Trek-Livestrong) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Kirk Carlsen (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | 0:04:14 |
8 | Bjorn Selander (Trek-Livestrong) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Emerson Oronte (If/lionettes) | 0:04:52 |
10 | Andrew Dahlheim (Metro Volkswagen) | 0:06:21 |
11 | Jacob Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 0:10:47 |
12 | Julian Kyer (Trek-Livestrong) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Nick Bax (Hot Tubes) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Alister Ratcliff (Bikereg.com/cannondale) | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Daniel Summerhill (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | 0:14:21 |
16 | Carter Jones (Team Waste Management) | 0:15:34 |
17 | Oscar Clark (Jittery Joe's U-25 P/b Kudzu.c) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Toby Marzot (Fiordifrutta) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Colton Jarisch (Velossimo Racing Team) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Nick Housley (Myogenesis P/b United Healthca) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Joshua Berry (Team Bode) | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Marcel Delisser (Hammer/cmg Racing Team) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Kevin Mullervy (Rmcef/westdide Cycling) | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Austin Allison (Dogfish Racing) | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Julian Martinez (California Giant Berry Farms/s) | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Dylan Jones (Bode) | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Conor Mullervy (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Dustin Eskelson (Canyon Bicycles Elite Team) | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Joseph Binder (Cal Poly Wheelmen) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Evan Huffman (HDR P/b Lombardi Sports) | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Joey Rosskopf (Jittery Joe's U-25 P/b Kudzu.c) | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Gabe Varela (Vertical Earth) | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Andrew Bosco (SC Velo) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Eric Fischer (Unattached) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Evan Bowman (Team Waste Management) | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Josh Yeaton (Unattached) | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Shane Braley (Unattatched) | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Steven Gordon (DLP Racing) | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Kip Spaude (Nova/iscorp) | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Alex Blease (Chico Corsa) | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Chris Stastny (Davis Bike Club) | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Colin Jaskiewicz (Ccb Racing) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Andrew Christian (Bolt Brothers Cycles Racing) | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Michael Jasinski (Chico Corsa) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Zack Allison (Rocky Mountain Bicycles Elite) | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andy Baker (Time Factory Development Team) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Levi Baker (Tyson Racing) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Barton (BMC/USA National) | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kolt Bates (Mercy) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kolt Bates (Mercy Elite Cycling Team) | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ryan Baumann (Trek-Livestrong U23) | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Spencer Beamer (Hot Tubes) | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eric Bennett (Now-ms/ Usa National) | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lucas Binder (Cal Cycling) | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Benjamin Bradshaw (Team Waste Management) | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tyler Brandt (HDR P/b Lombardi Sports) | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Brown (Jittery Joe's U-25 P/b Kudzu.c) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Travis Burandt (Woodlands Cycling Club) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Robert Bush (Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nathanael Christensen (Delta Velo) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mitch Comardo (Bike Barn) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
DNF | John Crow (North Carolina State University) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alfredo Cruz (Rock Racing) | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Will Dugan (CCB Racing) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Caleb Fairly (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jeb Falgout (Precision Bikes Racing) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Corey Farrell (Unattached) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Danny Finneran (Rock Racing) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jwinn Freeman (Les Amis) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nick Frey (Hart) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Spencer Gaddy (Uptown Cycles Racing) | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Colin Gibson (Hagens Berman Llp) | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alberto Gonzales (Bike Religion) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Gonzales (Metro Volkswagen Cycling Team) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cheyne Hoag (Unattached) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christopher Hong (Unattached) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthew Howe (Inland Construction) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alex Jarman (Unattached) | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Trevor Johnson (Cycling Center/jbca) | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nicholas Keough (Bikereg.com / Cannondale) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Shane Kline (Kelly Benefits Stragety) | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Lelong (Team Oregon) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joe Lewis (Synergy) | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Llewellyn (Texas Roadhouse Cycling) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Logan Loader (Bpg/montano Velo) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alder Martz (DLP Racing) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Travis Mccabe (Waste Management) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Will Mcginnis (Warp9bikes.com/tristar) | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Midlarsky (Unattached) | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Carson Miller (Landrover) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christopher Monteleone (USA Cycling National Developme) | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Shannon Morgan (Clean Currents P/b Don Beyer V) | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tucker Olander (Team Einstein's Racing) | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mitchell Peterson (University Of Utah) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chase Pinkham (Canyon Bicycles Draper) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anthony Purnel (Unattached) | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Brian Rach (Iscorp Nova Cycle Sports Found) | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thacker Reeves (Matrix/rbm) | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Connor Sallee (Williams Cycling) | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Walker Savidge (Felt/Holowesko Partners/Garmin) | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eric Schildge (Fiordifrutta) | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joseph Schmalz (Mercy Elite Cycling Team) | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cory Scott (Endorphin Fitness) | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Taylor Shelden (Vmg/felt) | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jackie Simes (Time Pro Cycling) | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Erik Slack (Team Bobs-bicycles.com) | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kevin Soller (Team Waste Management) | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bobby Sweeting (Unattached) | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Adam Switters (California Giant Berry Farms/s) | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Talansky (Amore-Vita/velo Vie P/b Lifeti) | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Talbott (Unattached) | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mckenzie Thramer (Unattached) | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonathan Tower (Performance Driven) | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jerome Townsend (Fitness Together/if Pb Lionett) | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Brandon Trafton (Central Valley Cycling) | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tejay Van Garderen (Rabobank) | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lawrence Warbasse (Team Waste Management) | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Justin Williams (Rock Racing) | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
1 | Coryn Rivera (Proman Hit Squad) | 2:40:18 |
2 | Jessica Prinner (ABD Cycling Team) | 0:00:57 |
3 | Jacqueline Kurth (Team Kenda Tire) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Kendall Ryan (VRC Now) | 0:01:05 |
5 | Kaitlin Antonneau (Nova/iscorp) | 0:01:22 |
6 | Maura Kinsella (Unattached) | 0:01:42 |
7 | Cinthia Lehner (Hincapie Development Team) | 0:01:47 |
8 | Mikayla Lyman (Kristin Armstrong Cycling Academy) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Megan Baab (Unattached) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Jessica Yeaton (Unattached) | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Bridgette Mclean (Hincapie/Gary Fisher P/b Barkl) | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Zoe Reker (Unattached) | 0:05:06 |
13 | Rose Mauney (Fulton Flyers Women) | 0:06:25 |
14 | Catherine Probst (Young Medalists Cycling Club) | 0:10:32 |
DNF | Ivie Crawford (Southern California Velo) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michelle Morris (One Call Now) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christina Norwich (Oh Boy Oberto/Redline) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Anna Young (Team Lip Smacker) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.