Nebraska Cycling News

Devine 18th in U23 Race as Top American

Salzburg, Austria (September 23, 2006)-The 2006 UCI Road World Championships continued Saturday in Salzburg where Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Buitenpoort-Flexpoint) led the U.S. contingent with a 12th-place effort in the elite women's road race. Neben made the final selection of 15 riders, but was outnumbered by several other nations including the Netherlands, whose Marianne Vos won the 15-rider sprint for the world title.

Team USA's Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif./Webcor-Platinum) and Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton) finished in the chase group just over two minutes behind, placing 34th and 38th respectively.

Neben's result was the best finish for the United States since Dede Barry placed 11th in 2003.

Racing six laps of a 13.67-mile circuit that included two notable climbs, the race's final selection was made on the second climb during the penultimate lap when an attack from Nicole Brandli (SUI) and Nicole Cooke (GBR) splintered the peloton. At the bottom of the ensuing descent, the field had been pared down to a 15-rider group that included a threesome each from both the German and Swiss squads in addition to two Austrians, two Italians and a pair of Dutch. All of the countries expected to be in the mix were represented, and most of the pre-race favorites were still in contention.

As one of three riders in the lead group without a teammate, Neben's offensive tactics were limited.

"You're kind of limited in what you can do because you have to protect yourself and race at the same time," explained Neben. "I just tried to follow the stuff that looked dangerous or had the Germans in it. If you had some teammates in there, you can take a little bit more of a risk."

On the final lap, the leaders rode the first climb cautiously with no attacks, but a more aggressive pace on the final ascent resulted in a slight advantage for Vos, Cooke and Brandli - a move that eventually was brought back with three miles remaining.

"The last time it split again with the three," said Neben, "but I wasn't too concerned and really didn't put down the full maximum effort to try and stay with it. I knew (Germany's) Trixi (Worrack) and (Italy's) Therese (Senff) were right there and (Germany's) Judith (Arndt) was chasing back on, and anytime you have Judith Arndt pulling something back, whatever is up the road is not going to stay away."

Neben's patience left her with enough energy to attempt a winning move with less than two miles to the finish, but her attack was quickly reeled in on the flat terrain.

"In the finish I was just looking for an opportunity," explained Neben of her last-ditch effort. "I saw a chance going over the railroad tracks and had a brief split with the other Dutch girl (Chantal Beltman). It wasn't going to be. Then I was looking, looking, looking and slid back to look again and all of the sudden there was one kilometer to go and I was too far back."

One of the strongest climbers and time trialists on the international circuit, Neben is not necessarily known for her sprinting, and after the eleventh-hour attack, wasn't in position to win. But nonetheless, the result was a moral victory that illustrated the progress and depth of the American squad.

"It's the closest I've been in a road race at world's," commented Neben. "I had my sights set on the rainbow stripes, but I think if you don't, then why are you even racing? Any time you race the world's and make the selection at the end and you have a chance to win, you can't ask for anything else."

Neben's effort ends the competition for the elite women at the world championships which included a world title for Armstrong and a bronze medal for Thorburn in Wednesday's time trial.

"We started back in 2002 with this group and we've come so far," Neben said of her teammates. "I'm just really impressed with American cycling. Kristin and Christine winning two medals in the time trial is awesome and now we were just in a position to try and win the road race at world's. The U.S. is in good standing. We'll get there."

The team's other three riders - Kimberly Baldwin (Boulder, Colo./T-Mobile), Kim Anderson (Colorado Springs, Colo./T-Mobile) and Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga./Colavita-Cooking Light) - did not finish.

In Saturday's 110-mile U23 road race, John Devine (Dixon, Ill./USA Cycling U23 National Team) was the top U.S. finisher in 18th place. Tactically, the U.S. team was at a numerical disadvantage from the beginning with only three riders taking the start.

It was the best finish for an American U23 road rider at the world championships since Danny Pate placed 13th in 2001 in Lisbon, Portugal.

After a late-race crash by team leader Tyler Farrar in the 2005 edition, John Murphy's 119th-place finish was the top American placing a year ago. That resulted in the U.S. only receiving three entries this year, but left them with a clear goal.

"Our goal was a top-25 finish," explained Devine after placing 12th in the field sprint just a handful of seconds back from the winning break of six. "That's basically what our tactics were."

A top-25 finish assured the U.S. the maximum five starters in 2007.

Thomas Peterson (Boulder, Colo./TIAA-CREF) finished 41st and Craig Lewis (Spartanburg, S.C./TIAA-CREF) placed 86th for the United States, finishing in the pack with Devine.

Germany's Gerard Ciolek was the fastest sprinter out of a seven-man breakaway to claim the world title ahead of silver medalist, Romain Feillu of France and bronze medalist, Alexander Khatuntsev of Russia.

On paper, the course profile looked difficult with eight laps of a 13.67-mile circuit on tap for the 177-rider field. The loop included the same two climbs as the women's race, but before the race, the majority of the riders weren't sure if the profile was difficult enough to split the peloton up or if the race would end in a mass sprint. According to Devine, the race's brisk pace on the opening lap meant riders weren't leaving anything to chance.

"The first lap was hard," described Devine. "I think everybody was pretty nervous about the hills and because of the twisty and technical descent, positioning was everything."

The aggressive first lap left 2004 Olympic points race champion Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS) in a solo break that lasted until the midway point of the third lap. The remainder of the race saw several other breakaways established, but on the eighth and final lap, with nine miles to go, the decisive move was made as a select group of seven riders had snuck off the front of the peloton. The seven managed to barely hold off a charging field that finished just six seconds behind.

The aggressive nature of the race, along with the U.S. team's stated goal and lack of numbers, resulted in a race void of attacks by the American squad.

"We really wanted a top-25," Devine went on to say. "We wanted five starts for next year. "If we tried to go in any breaks early and often, we easily could have blown ourselves and ended up with nothing."

2006 UCI Road World Championships

Salzburg, Austria

Sept. 19-24, 2006

Elite Women's Road Race

1. Marianne Vos (NED) 3:20:26

2. Trixi Worrack (GER)

3. Nicole Cooke (GBR)

12. Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.)

34. Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calf.) +2:07

38. Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho) +2:07

DNF. Kim Anderson (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

DNF. Kimberly Bruckner (Boulder, Colo.)

DNF. Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga.)

U23 Men's Road Race

1. Gerald Ciolek (GER) 4:00.50

2. Romain Feillu (FRA)

3. Alexander Khatuntsev (RUS)

18. John Devine (Dixon, Ill.) +0:05

41. Thomas Peterson (Boulder, Colo.) +0:05

86. Craig Lewis (Spartanburg, S.C.) +0:35