Nearly a dozen riders from the Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team will be chasing more national titles this week at the USA Cycling Amateur Road Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky.
Already this season, riders from the American Under 23 development team have captured six national championships, including the U.S. professional road crown by Greg Daniel in late May. However, due to illness contracted while he was winning the Tour de Beauce earlier this month, Daniel will not be one of the 11 Americans competing in the individual time trial Thursday or Friday's road race.
Nine riders are entered in the 34-kilometer time trial: Will Barta of Boise, Idaho, Adrien Costa of Bend, Oregon, Geoffrey Curran of Tustin, California, Colin Joyce of Pocatello, Idaho, Phil O'Donnell of Dahlonega, Georgia, Justin Oien of San Diego, California, Neilson Powless of Roseville, California, Tyler Williams of Chandler, Arizona, and Chad Young of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
Two others will join them for the 177-km road race: Jonny Brown of Memphis, Tennessee and Logan Owen of Bremerton, Washington.
Brown, Costa and Owen are past national champions. Brown won the 17-18 junior road race the past two years. Costa won the 17-18 junior time trial last year and the 15-16 junior time trial and road race in 2013. Owen captured the 17-18 junior road race in 2013.
In nationals competition the past week, Axeon Hagens Berman riders won the Under 23 British national road title (Tao Geoghegan Hart), the Irish Under 23 individual time trial (Eddie Dunbar), the Under 23 Latvian road race and time trial titles (Krists Neilands) and the Portugese national road title (Ruben Guerreiro).
To date this year, the Axel Merckx-led program has won a team-record 23 races, including 18 in UCI and national championship competition.
Download our official roster information sheets (PDF): http://bit.ly/299oUJG
Photo of Greg Daniel ©copyright Casey B. Gibson.