U23 Team » News

Alex Dowsett Wins Final Stage of Cascade Classic

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:46:11 +0000

Trek-LIVESTRONG’s Alex Dowsett glided through the finish line of yesterday’s Awbrey Butte Circuit Race to claim the first place victory. After a late-race move that propelled him just beyond the bunch sprint from the main peloton, the Trek-LIVESTRONG rider threw his arms up in victory. The last stage of the 133.6-kilometer Cascade Cycling Classic proved a close race, with only two seconds separating Alex from sprinters Frank Pipp and Andy Jacque-Maynes.

On the whole, Team Trek-LIVESTRONG put forth a powerful showing throughout the race, ending the Cascade Cycling Classic as leaders of the team GC. Dowsett teammate Ben King (USA) was another notable of the race, clinching the white jersey as the best young rider with a ninth place overall finish.

Just after the race, an elated Dowsett proclaimed, “This is really good. The team was going from strength to strength with Jesse [Sergent] winning the prologue and Ben [King] in the young riders jersey. We haven’t had a race that we haven’t done well in so far this year. I’ve got a lot to thank the team for…a hell of a lot.”

Next up: the team looks to continue its slew of success performances in the three-stage Tour of Elk Grove!

Alex Dowsett wins Stage 5

Ben King Takes the White Jersey

Sergent 2nd in Stage 2 of Cascade Classic; Roe Gains White Jersey

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:51:04 +0000

Team Trek-LIVESTRONG had an all-around solid showing at Thursday’s Skyliner Road time trial, the second stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon. Jesse Sergent, who won the yellow jersey on Tuesday’s Prologue, followed through with a second place finish, just fifteen seconds behind winner Ben Day. Teammates Alex Dowsett, Nathan Brown, and Timothy Roe also finished in the top ten, securing the seventh, ninth, and tenth fastest times of the day, respectively.

The 25-kilometer time trial shook up the overall standings of the race, with Timothy Roe taking the lead of the young rider classification, and gaining the white jersey. Roe is also currently the team’s highest ranked rider in the Classic, and is tied for seventh place overall, 1:38 behind the fastest time. Teammate Ben King (USA) is close behind, just 1:59 back, and currently sits in tenth place.

Tomorrow the team will ride the Classic’s second mountain stage, the stage three Cascade Lakes road race, which spans 128 kilometers. The team will look to build upon their prior success as they ride in the second half of the Cascade Cycling Classic.

Jesse Sergent

Tim Roe

Ben King Takes White Jersey at Cascade Cycling Classic

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:57:47 +0000

Benjamin King (USA) took the white jersey yesterday in Stage 1 of the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic, representing his status as the best young rider in the race. After the dreaded McKenzie Pass Stage, which one rider claimed to be one of the hardest in the U.S., King sits tied for fifth place, fourteen seconds back from leader Marc de Maar’s 2:58:50 finish.

The 116-kilometer Stage One began with a fairly flat start, which became much more difficult with a 30-kilometer climb over McKenzie Pass halfway through the race. King was part of a breakaway that pulled away just after the descent following the infamous climb, accompanied by six other riders. King valiantly battled to stay with the pack for the last ascent up Three Kings Snow Park, finishing with a fast enough time to secure the white jersey.

Team Trek-LIVESTRONG remains in a great position moving forward in the Classic, with teammate Timothy Roe (AUS) finishing 31 seconds behind the yellow jersey. Tomorrow the team tackles the 25.7 kilometer Skyliner’s Time Trial.

Benjamin King (USA)

Sergent and Dowsett: One-Two Punch at Cascades Prologue

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:29:32 +0000

Trek-LIVESTRONG teammates Jesse Sergent and Alex Dowsett flew through the 3.2-kilometer course of BMC Cascade Cycling Classic to win the first and second place finish, respectively. The race was a close one, with only a half-second separating the top three finishes, Sergent’s continued improvement in time trialing enabled him to come out on top.

The 22-year-old New Zealander stated Tuesday after the race, “I’ve started to target the time trial more. I didn’t know there was a time trial prologue here until about a week ago. It was definitely something I wanted to go well in. I wanted to get another one for the team being my last year as an U23 rider.”

Sergent will wear the yellow jersey today as Trek-LIVESTRONG takes on the infamous McKenzie Pass Road Race.

“Tomorrow we will see how it pans out,” said Sergent, “we have a lot of strong riders including Alex who just came off a win at the European champs. It’s not just me.”

In addition to the great time trials by Sergent and Dowsett, the 2010 U23 European Time Trial Champion, teammates Benjamin King (USA) and Nathan Brown finished 14th ( + :05.4) and 15th ( + :05.5) behind Sergent.

The BMC Cascades Cycling Classic continues in Bend, Oregon with Stage One, a 119-kilometers mountain stage. The six-day race concludes on Sunday with the 132-kilometer Awbrey Butte Circuit Race.

JESSE SERGENT

One-Two Sweep for Sergent and Dowsett in Opening Prologue

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:23:32 +0000

Trek-LIVESTRONG’s Jesse Sergent and Alex Dowsett swept the opening prologue of the 2010 Cascades Cycling Classic. Native New-Zealander Sergent finished first, while Dowsett (UK) finished second, after recently being crowned U23 European Time Trial Champion.

Jesse Sergent (left) and Alex Dowsett (right)

First and second place finishes for Trek-LIVESTRONG

Dowsett wins gold at U23 European championships

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:51:44 +0000

Alex Dowsett Wins Time Trial at European Championships

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:54:24 +0000

Alex Dowsett was crowned U23 individual time trial champion at the European Championships in Ankara, Turkey on Friday. The British native betters his impressive resume after he finished seventh place in the U23 time trial at the 2009 World Championships.

The 22-year-old rider finished the 25.9-kilometer course in 31:08, 0:14 ahead of second place rider Geoffrey Soupe (FRA). The race is Dowsett’s first major competition since crashing and breaking his scapula at the Olympias Tour in Holland last May.

“This is everything I’ve been working for for the last seven weeks,” Dowsett told Cycling Weekly. “It was pretty hot, but it was similar to a British TT course, really rolling. At times we had three lanes of motorway to play with.”

“I went flat out, the heat got to me a bit so I had to back off at times as I felt I was over cooking it,” he continued.

Next up, Dowsett returns to the United States on Sunday to compete with his Trek-LIVESTRONG teammates at Cascades Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon.

Alex Dowsett

VERSUS Names Ben King to the Week’s Top Five

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:29:26 +0000

Ben King (USA) is featured in VERSUS’ Top Five in cycling for the week leading up to the Tour de France. The American from Richmond, Va. earned the week’s highest accolades after sweeping both the critierium and road race at U23 Nationals in Bend, Oregon.

Click here for the week’s complete highlights.

Ben King’s Blog: U23 National Road Championship

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:47:31 +0000

Ben King (US) posts up crossing the line

U23 Road Race: 160 km (6 circuits)

I’ve been looking forward to this race since placing third in a close finish last year. However, all the heavy hitters have shown up equally motivated. I tried a few light attacks early, but after yesterday’s win, I was a marked man. The team took a lot of pressure from me by covering moves, so that I was free to follow the other favorites. At about half way, I covered a move with Talansky, Summerhill, and Boswell, but hesitated to commit early to a break with so many strong guys. We came back, and Nate and Julian countered. The course’s constant and steep hills wore visibly on the competition. With two circuits remaining and no threatening breakaways sticking, the strongmen seemed frustrated. I saw an opportunity to attack 40 km from the finish. Three guys tagged me, and we set out ahead of the peloton.

Approaching the two most serious climbs, our gap hovered at a minute. With so much racing to go, it wasn’t enough. I upped the tempo and dropped my companions. The gap went up to two minutes, and I had to work for every second of it. I drove into a headwind at the start of the second lap feeling the strain of the heat and miles. A commisaire brought me regular time checks. 2:15, 2:10, 1:45, 2:30, 3 minutes. They kept me going, but the lights were going out. My legs began to cramp. I felt dizzy. Nothing dulled the agony. Only the prospect of realizing my goal to become road champion impelled me to embrace the pain. I had to keep it steady. Cresting the last climb, 5 km from the finish, I waited for the time gap. 2:15. I was going to win. As the realization sunk in, a grin overcame the grimace.

Ben King (US) US National U23 Road Champion!

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:29:09 +0000

Ben King winning the U23 US National Road Championship.

Ben King went two for two, soloing in for the win in the 160KM road race in Bend, OR. Ben states “I was so proud to come out on top today. Had to dig super deep for this one.” Julian Kyer and Gavin Mannion, both put in great rides finishing in 5th and 6th respectively to finish out the week on a high note. TREK-LIVESTRONG continues to be a force to be reckoned with and look for them to show what they’re made of at the Cascade Classic back in Bend in late July.