Riding on the countryside of the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; TWENTY20), Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.; Cogeas–Mettler Cycling Team), and Lauren Stephens (Mesquite, Texas; Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank) raced the 32km Time Trial on Thursday.
Lauren Stephens was the first US rider to take the line. At the 14.9-kilometer midway checkpoint, Stephens clocked a time of 20:66.92. With the latter part of the course considered to be the most challenging, Stephens would eventually finish ninth at the conclusion of the race with a time of 42:03.17.
Two-time World Champion and the most veteran competitor of the day was Amber Neben, who clocked a time of 41:40.46, landing her in sixth place, and made her the highest placing American. Neben was 1 minute and 20 seconds off the Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen who would win the rainbow jersey.
Chloe Dygert was the race favorite coming in as the defending World Champion. Last year, she finished ahead of Van der Breggen by 1 minute and 32 seconds. This was Dygert’s first road event of the season with her last race being the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in February. At the midway checkpoint, Dygert was ahead by 26.54 seconds with a time of 19:35.10. Approximately 4 minutes past the checkpoint, Dygert would go into a right-hand turn and crash. She was immediately treated by event medics and taken to the hospital. At this time, USA Cycling staff and Dygert’s team on the ground in Italy are working together with the medical team. USA Cycling will provide an official statement when her condition can be confirmed.
Tomorrow is the Elite Men’s Time Trial where Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas; EF Education First Pro Cycling) and Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz; UAE Team Emirates) will compete for Team USA.
You can watch all the racing live on the Olympic Channel. Follow @USACyclingLIVE on Twitter for live updates throughout the race along with @USACycling and @UCI_cycling. For more information on start times and who to watch, click here.
Photos By Rob Jones
