Nebraska Cycling News

Two Overall Victories, Five Stage Wins and Two Jerseys Mark Last Month of Competition

Colorado Springs, CO. - USA Cycling’s Women’s National Team program concluded a successful month in Europe on Saturday as Katharine Carroll (Sausalito, Calif./Aaron’s) and Katheryn Curi (Mountain View, Calif./Webcor Builders) added to the recent string of victories, podium appearances and overall classification titles for Americans.

On Saturday, Carroll won the final stage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International Ardèche, a UCI 2.2-ranked stage race in France.  Carroll rode in a solo breakaway for 70 kilometers in the 86-kilometer stage in Bourg Saint Andéol to finish over three minutes ahead of second-place finisher Diana Ziliute (LTU).  On the same stage, Curi placed ninth and moved onto the overall podium, finishing third in the General Classification, 5:02 off the pace of overall winner Maribel Moreno Allue (ESP).

Carroll’s solo breakaway on Saturday also earned her the overall win in the Sprint Classification with a total of 43 points over runner-up Fabiana Luperini (ITA), who scored 11.

Carroll’s victory in stage 6 was the second stage win for the National Team in France after Brooke Miller (Los Altos, Calif./Team Tibco) won the 96-kilometer stage 3 from Vals les Bains to Cruas.  Miller also nearly scored a second stage win in the opening 111-kilometer stage from Mauves to Beauchastel.

Curi also gave the U.S. its fourth top-five stage finish of the Tour with a fourth-place effort in the 108-kilometer stage 4 from Cruas to Meysse à Privas.

A successful Tour Cycliste Féminin International Ardèche, which included two stage wins, third-place overall, the Sprinter’s Jersey and two additional top-five stage finishes. was preceded by several other key results just a few weeks before the UCI Road World Championships.

On Sept. 9, Alison Powers (Boulder, Colo./Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light) placed third in the Memorial Davide Fratelli Individual Time Trial in Italy.  Powers, the reigning Pan American Time Trial Champion, finished 48 seconds behind winner Karen Thurig (SUI) and 29 seconds off the pace of runner-up Sara Carrigan (AUS).

At the Ladies Tour of Holland in the Netherlands earlier this month, Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton) won the final stage – a 20-kilometer time trial from Nordhorn to Denekamp – to propel herself into first place overall.  In addition to the overall win in the seven-stage race, Armstrong also captured the Mountains Classification with 36 points over runner-up Marianne Vos (NED), who scored 17.

Also at the Tour of Holland, Miller scored a second top-three finish for the National Team with a third-place effort in the sprint finish of stage 6, an 85-kilometer stage in Denekamp.

In August, Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Flexpoint) scored an overall win for the U.S. National Team at the seven-stage Route de France Feminin and captured the stage 4 time trial, while Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colo./Team Lipton) won the prologue.

USA Cycling’s Women’s National Team program will conclude its final preparations for the world championships with the Giro della Toscana, Sept. 18-23 in Italy.