As previously noted I spent two months this summer living in Sittard working for USA Cycling as an Associate Director for the Junior National Team. My first group were six Nieuwelingen. The second group I worked with, the K2 Group, were 17-18 year old juniors and included newly crowned U.S. Junior National Road Champion Jonny Brown from Tennessee, his Hot Tubes team mate Michael Hernandez from Florida, Noah Granigan from New Jersey, David Lombardo from Illinois, David Duquette from North Carolina and Derek Cote from Connecticut. Also making an appearance in a few races with us was another Hot Tubes rider, Jack Maddux from California.
As with my Nieuwelingen group this was a great crew. Their personalities meshed well, they came prepared, they knew how to listen, they knew how to race and more importantly they quickly learned how to race together as a group. The Belgian Cycling Federation limits the number of days that young riders may race during the week. Nieuwelingen are limited to two races a week while the juniors are able race three times per week in Belgium. The K2 group had 14 race days which included 2 training races and 2 criteriums in Limburg, NL, 6 kermesses throughout Belgium, a UCI 1.1 in Belgium and a UCI 2.1 stage race held over 3 days in Switzerland. During that time the guys tallied a staggering 13 podium appearances including 4 visits to the top step. Not too shabby. As a side note of the 2 caravan draws I experienced (the 1.1 Vlaamse Gewesten and the 2.1 G.P. Ruebilland in Switzerland) I batted 100% pulling car 1 BOTH TIMES! Needless to say, we were on a roll.
They only missed the podium at one of the kermesses in Rumst. It was the third race of the block, they had 5 in a split of 10 or so. The race itself was 11 laps and there was a prime every lap. The guys won every single prime and…..only managed 5th in the finale. Looking back I believe that this was ultimately a good thing. It happened early in the block and provided a teaching moment. The very next race the guys went 1st and 3rd and never missed a podium after that in a one day race. Lesson learned.
The K1 and K2 groups had a bit of a shock one morning when we are all roused from sleep at 4 a.m. due to a fire engulfing one of the buildings across the parking lot from the building we were staying in. Everyone was ok but the slight disruption to our routine meant a reshuffling of the schedule. As a result both groups raced in the same kermesse in Baardegem, Belgium and took the top 2 steps on the podium. #VillagePillage was in full effect.
The K2 group rounded out their European campaign with two criteriums in The Netherlands and a UCI 2.1 Stage Race in Switzerland.
The first Dutch “criterium” was the Klimcriterium Munstergeleen on Saturday, August 30 and was nothing like any criterium in the United States.. Located on the outskirts of Sittard, Netherlands, and boasting pitches as steep as 17 percent, this was billed as one of the hardest junior races in Holland. Noah Granigan attacked early and built up a solo lead on the group that swelled to nearly one minute. A group of four that included David Lombardo and Jonny Brown eventually crossed the gap to Granigan and stayed away to the end. Brown finished third, Lombardo took fourth, Granigan, who won the King of the Mountain competition on the strength of his early solo move, placed fifth and Michael Hernandez made an impressive move in the final laps to claim sixth.
The next day the guys and I rode the short distance from Sittard to Heerlen, Netherlands, for the Klimcriterium Heerlen. The course was technical with many tight turns and a climb. Approximately one-third of the way into the race, David Duquette went up the road with two others. This group of three stayed away to the end with Duquette ending up in third. A second group containing Brown, Hernandez and Lombardo finished just behind Duquette’s group, nearly catching them on the line. Lombardo placed fifth, Hernandez, who made an impressive three-lap solo effort to cross with the second group, was sixth, while Brown finished eighth.
The K2 group wrapped up their European campaign in Switzerland at the Grand Prix Rüebliland. The 2014 contest was the 38th edition of the race held in the area around Aarburg, Switzerland, roughly 40 kilometers from Zurich. This year’s race was four stages totaling 305 km held over three days. Hernandez started the race out with a bang sprinting to 2nd place on the 98km Stage 1 behind eventual overall winner Lennard Kämna of Germany. The double day consisting of stages 2 and 3 were fairly uneventful with some reshuffling of the general classification occurring as a result of the afternoon time trial. The final Queen Stage saw our luck run out as a mechanical requiring a bike change just prior to one of the day’s big climbs took Hernandez out of the G.C. picture leading to his eventual abandonment. Recording the lone general classification finishes, David Lombardo placed 48th at 6:01 behind Kämna’s 6:57:13 finish, and Granigan took 50th place 6:08 back.
Following a bit of vehicle drama and a long (and speedy) drive back to Sittard through Germany all of the boys except Jonny Brown spent Sunday night packing up for an early departure for the Brussels Airport the next day. Brown, the reigning US Junior National RR Champion would be staying in EU for a few more weeks in preparation for the World Championships in Spain later in the month.
I am very grateful for the past two months. With the exception of my final week in Spain (more on that later) my trip to EU working for USA Cycling was fantastic. It has been a long time goal for me to get to Europe and work in cycling in some capacity. The reality of that happening did not disappoint. The Development Pathway that USA Cycling has built up in Europe over the past decade is one that works and is key to the development of the next generation of U.S. racers. I was proud to be a part of that process this summer and hope that the opportunity will present itself again. Thank you to USA Cycling and all of the athletes and staff.
