CYCLING: Amber Neben amazes with fifth U.S. Time Trial title – at 44 – in U.S. Road Nationals!

Two-time World Time Trial champ Amber Neben (USA) (Photo: Claudio Martino via Wikimedia)

The winner of two UCI World Championships in the women’s Time Trial in 2008 and 2016, Amber Neben ranks as one of America’s finest cyclists of all time. But even at 44, she’s hardly done as she won her fifth career U.S. National Time Trial Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee.

She won in a rout over the 23.0 km course, finishing in 30:19.87, more than 26 second ahead of runner-up Chloe Dygert (30:55.92), for her third national title in a row, each in Knoxville.

Said Neben, “The first year we raced in downtown Knoxville (2012), [was] a very, very different course. The demands of the course were very different. That was actually the first win (here). It was my second (career) Time Trial win, but it had been the first one in a long time so it was pretty special. The second one was at this beautiful area (Oak Ridge, 2017). The roads are just smooth and flowy. I think today I was the most nervous of all of them.”

Ian Garrison won the men’s Time Trial in 42:58.76 for 34.2 km, well ahead of Neilson Powless (43:18.12). Even more impressive was that Garrison had won the U.S. U-23 Time Trial title just a week earlier.

“I don’t think it’s set in yet, but it’s a great feeling no matter what,” he said. “The preparation goes back a long ways, so even in the off season just thinking of working on my time trial and spending time on the time trial bike. And then in the past month, it’s just been dialing in the training, longer hours, thinking how this was going to be a long effort.”

In Sunday’s road races, Ruth Winder won the women’s title with an attack with six miles to go and then held off a pack of pursuers, with defending champ Coryn Rivera falling one second short at the line, 3:17:41-3:17:42, with Emma White third, another second behind. “Just keep on going, that’s all I was thinking. Just trying to motivate myself to go as hard as I could,” Winder said afterwards. “Coming across the finish line, I thought everyone was going to pass me in the last 100 meters, just coming down there because I was dying so bad. I had nothing. I sat down. And I was like, ‘Get up! Sprint, sprint, sprint!’ Nobody passed me and I can’t believe that I won.”

Alex Howes won his first national title in the men’s road race by coming back after being dropped from a three-man breakaway that attacked with about four miles left. Powless and Stephen Bassett rode ahead and Howes had to catch up, finally reaching Powless on the final climb and then he reeled in Bassett on the descent into downtown Knoxville.

“I’ve been running after this one for a while, eight years or so,” Howes said. “I’ve been on the podium a few times and always an animator and just never there, and today we went early and just kept going and I can’t believe it paid off.” Summaries:

USA Cycling Road National Championships
Knoxville, Tennessee (USA) ~ 27-30 June 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Criterium: 1. Travis McCabe, 1:17:53; 2. Eric Young, 1:17:53; 3. Miguel Bryon, 1:17:53; 4. Samuel Bassetti, 1:17:54; 5. Colin Joyce, 1:17:54; 6. Scott McGill, 1:17:54; 7. Stephen Bassett, 1:17:55; 8. Michael Hernandez, 1:17:56; 9. Brandon Feehery, 1:17:56; 10. Hugo Scala, Jr., 1:17:56.

Road Race (191 km): 1. Alex Howes, 4:37:05; 2. Bassett, 4:37:08; 3. Neilson Powless, 4:37:09; 4. Tyler Magner, 4:37:10; 5. Larry Warbasse, 4:37:13; 6. Brendan Rhim, 4:37:16; 7. Thomas Revard, 4:37:17; 8. Kiel Reijnen, 4:37:22; 9. Nathan Brown, 4:37:26; 10. Gregory Daniel, 4:38:03.

Time Trial (34.2 km): 1. Ian Garrison, 42:58.76; 2. Powless, 43:18.12; 3. George Simpson, 43:49.35; 4. Warbasse, 44:04.09; 5. William Cooper, 44:27.15; 6. Sean Bennett, 44:33.80; 7. Matthew Zimmer, 45:33.81; 8. Gage Hecht, 45:35.26; 9. Zachary Nehr, 45:41.99; 10. Bassett, 46:12.42.

Women

Criterium: 1. Emma White, 1:05:49; 2. Lily Williams, 1:05:49; 3. Kendall Ryan, 1:05:49; 4. Coryn Rivera, 1:05:49; 5. Samantha Schneider, 1:05:50; 6. Chloe Dygert, 1:05:50; 7. Skylar Schneider, 1:05:50; 8. Holly Breck, 1:05:51; 9. Tina Pic, 1:05:52; 10. Kat Sweatt, 1:05:53.

Road Race (114 km): 1. Ruth Winder, 3:17:41; 2. Rivera, 3:17:42; 3. White, 3:17:43; 4. Dygert, 3:17:44; 5. Alexis Ryan, 3:17:45; 6. Leah Thomas, 3:17:47; 7. Emma Langley, 3:17:47; 8. Katharine Hall, 3:17:49; 9. Tayler Wiles, 3:17:51; 10. Madeline Bemis, 3:17:51.

Time Trial (23.0 km): 1. Amber Neben, 30:19.87; 2. Dygert, 30:55.92; 3. L. Thomas, 31:02.39; 4. Wiles, 31:22.23; 5. Winder, 32:24.70; 6. Emily Newsom, 32:41.44; 7. Whitney Allison, 32:51.99; 8. Julie Emmerman, 33:06.25; 9. Jennifer Luebke, 33:18.03; 10. White, 33:19.39.