(June 6-11) – Kristen Faulkner (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) and Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) placed 7th and 8th overall at the six-stage, UK-based Women’s Tour. It was the fourth stage race in four weeks on the pro women’s calendar. The two led a strong American contingent that included Coryn Labecki (Team Jumbo-Visma), who placed 5th on Stage 2 and 3rd on Stage 3, both sprint finishes.
(June 5-12) – Young Americans made their mark on the 74th edition of this 8-stage race through France, considered a warm-up to the Tour de France. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) placed 2nd and 3rd in the young rider’s jersey competition, and 11th and 13th overall in the General Classification.
World Tour rookie Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) started things off with a third place finish on the opening stage, while second-year pro Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM) had his best pro result ever, taking 4th on Stage 2. Stage 3 saw Jorgenson and McNulty placing 9th and 10th, with Jorgenson following up with an 11th place spot on Stage 4’s individual time trial.
(June 12-19) – Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) had the best World Tour placing of his career when he took fourth overall at the Tour de Suisse. Huge climbs and long stages over eight days marked this second prologue to the Tour de France, which Powless, age 25, completed with two teammates left by the end. The peloton went from 152 starters to just 76 finishers, largely due to COVID-19.
Powless nearly took Stage 5, but was outsprinted at the line and placed 2nd. He capped the race with an 8th place finish in the closing time trial.
Coloradan Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) won the King of the Mountains Jersey. Both he and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), who took 9th in the opening stage, are expected to make their team’s Tour de France rosters.
(June 18-21) – Kristen Faulkner (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) held the yellow race leader’s jersey for two stages of the 4-stage women’s Tour de Suisse, but in an epic battle on the rainy final stage, lost the stage and her 4-second lead after crashing less than 100 meters from the finish. Faulkner earned the jersey with her Stage 2 Individual Time Trial victory, the first of her career. She would finish second in the overall GC.
(June 10-12) – Racers took on three criteriums in three nights on this third stop of the 10-race American Criterium Cup. Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) won all three races on the women’s side.
June 10:
Elite Men: Ty Magner, Cory Williams, Alfredo Rodriguez
Elite Women: Skylar Schneider, Jennifer Valente, Maggie Coles-Lyster
June 11:
Elite Men: Bryan Gomez, Alfredo Rodriguez, Luke Lamperti
Elite Women: Skylar Schneider, Olivia Cummins, Peta Mullens
June 12:
Elite Men: Luke Lamperti, Thomas Gibbons, Cesar Serna
Elite Women: Skylar Schneider, Marlies Mejias Garcia, Alexis Ryan
(June 19) – On the fourth stop of the 10-race American Criterium Cup, cyclists competed in the 50th anniversary of this crit classic.
Elite Men: Alfredo Rodriquez (Best Buddies Racing), Danny Estevez (Best Buddies Racing), Clever Martinez (Miami Blazers)
Elite Women: Maggie Coles-Lyster (DNA Pro Cycling), Paola Muñoz (CWA Racing p/b Goldman Sachs ETFs), Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles)
(June 11-12) – The U.S. had two podium finishes in Rounds 3 and 4 of the BMX Racing World Cup in the Netherlands. American Cameron Wood took 2nd in the Elite Men’s Final in Round 4, marking the first World Cup podium for the 20-year-old from Montana. Olympian Felicia Stancil placed 3rd in Round 3, continuing an impressive comeback from injury suffered in January.
In Round 4, the U.S. women took three of the top 10 spots, with Daleny Vaughn placing 4th, Stancil placing 6th and Payton Ridenour taking 8th. That would be Vaughn’s best World Cup performance of her young career.
(June 10-12) – Fellow Northern Californians and Tokyo 2020 Olympians Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) led the U.S. women over three days of World Cup racing in the Austrian Alps. On Friday’s slippery Short Track course, Courtney took 10th and Batten placed 14th, and in Sunday’s XCO final, Batten placed 12th and Courtney took the 14th spot. Bjorn Riley (Trek/Vaude) led the U23 Men with a 13th place finish in XCO.
In the Men’s Downhill, National Champion Dakotah Norton (Intense Factory Racing), fresh off his victory at Mountain Creek National DH Series, placed 9th, followed by teammate and 8-time U.S. National Champion Aaron Gwin (11th).
(June 10-11) - Top three:
Elite Men – XCC: Riley Amos, Brayden Johnson, Lukas Vrouwenvelder
Elite Women – XCC: Hannah Otto, Ruth Holcomb, Emily Williams
Elite Men – XCO: Riley Amos, Brayden Johnson, Austin Beard
Elite Women – XCO: Hannah Otto, Evelyn Dong, Ruth Holcomb
Junior Men – XCO: Jack Spranger, Cayden Parker, Daniel English
Junior Women – XCO: Bailey Cioppa, Lauren Aggeler, Hayley Ballard
