It was an action-packed week for USA Cycling’s Development programs, with the highlight of the week being the silver medal earned by Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas/Hot Tubes) in the UCI Junior Road World Championships in Moscow on Friday. Following the world championships, the United States moved into the number-one spot in the UCI Junior Nations Cup Rankings. Also last week, USA Cycling National Development Program riders competed in the Tour de Namur and the Tour of Antwerpen in Belgium, and USA Cycling Women’s Development Team program riders started the six-day Route de France.

JUNIOR Development PROGRAM

The United States is now the top-ranked nation in the UCI Junior Nations Cup Rankings. With 185 points, the U.S. overtook the Netherlands for the number-one spot following the Junior Road World Championships last weekend. The Netherlands is now in second-place with 170 points while Denmark is ranked third with 150.

Lawson Craddock grabbed the silver medal in the time trial at the UCI Junior Road World Championships in Moscow, Russia on Friday after recording a time of 32:54.45 on the 25.8-kilometer course. Just two seconds off the winning pace of Australia’s Luke Durbrige, the Texan narrowly missed the world title. Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Hot Tubes) was 34th in the men’s time trial. Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif./Proman Hit Squad) had the next best American finish on time trial day with a 16th-place result in the women’s event while Jessica Prinner (South Elgin, Ill./ABD Cycling Team) placed 21st. Jacob Rathe (Portland, Ore./CMG Racing) was the highest-placed American in the 135-kilometer junior men’s road race on Saturday, outsprinting much of the pack to finish in 17th-place. Ryan Eastman (Petaluma, Calif./All Sport-Team Swift) was 39th, Ian Boswell (Bend, Ore./Hot Tubes) was 68th, and Craddock was 75th. In the women’s 81-kilometer race Rivera just missed a solo bridge to the late-race leaders, forcing her to settle for 20th. Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif./NOW-MS Society) was the next to cross the line for the red, white, and blue, in 33rd, while Prinner was right behind her in 35th.

Several 15-16-year-olds contested the Heestert Nieuwelingen in Belgium on Saturday as part of USA Cycling’s Junior Development Program. David Kessler (Littleton, Colo./Team 5280) scored the top result for the team, completing ten laps of the 6.3-kilometer course to finish in a strong fifth-place. Matt Lipscomb (Decautr, Ga./Fulton Flyers) was the next highest placed finisher for the team in 15th-place while Neal Shepherd (Palm Coast, Fla./Orlando Road Club) came in 40th.

On Sunday, the same group of 15-16-year-olds competed in the Recht en Vrij–Lovendegem in Belgium and Kessler was again the top finisher for the group, this time in 20th-place. Lipscomb finished 40th, while Erik Volotzky (Chatsworth, Calif./Voler) was 43rd and Drew Dillman (Fairdale, Ken./Team Red Zone) was 56th.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM PROGRAM

Lawrence Warbasse (Traverse City, Mich.) rode to a strong fourth-place finish for the USA Cycling National Development Team in the 4.6-kilometer prologue of the Tour of Antwerpen in Belgium on Friday. He was only one second off the winning time. Walker Savidge (Boulder, Colo.) was next for the team in 31st-place, 13 seconds off the winning pace. Travis Burandt (The Woodlands, Texas), Carson Miller (Bend, Ore.) Christian Parrett (Macon, Ga.), and Ignacio Silva (San Diego, Calif. ) are also contesting the event.

The USA Cycling National Development team also contested the Tour de Namur, August 1-5, with Daniel Holloway (Morgan Hill, Calif./Garmin-Holowesko-Felt) winning the event’s fifth and final stage. The 22-year-old Holloway bested a field of 127 riders in the 156-kilometer trek from Chevetogne to Namur to win the stage and close out the event with a 22nd-place ranking in the overall classification. Cole House (Oneida, Wis./BMC) captured a third-place finish in the event’s opening stage last Saturday and 15th-place overall while Austin Carroll (Orange, Calif./BMC) was 16th in the final classification and Chris Butler (Hilton Head, S.C./Hincapie) was 34th.

The USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Development Team fielded a squad of three for the Pro XCT race in Mount Snow, Vermont on Saturday. Rob Squire (Sandy, Utah) had the top finish for the team in 20th, while Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo.) was 22nd and Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt.) was 36th.

WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT TEAM PROGRAM

Six women are contesting the Route de France, August 9-14, as members of the U.S. National Team. Alison Starnes (Larkspur, Calif.) scored a fifth-place finish for the team in Sunday’s Prologue while Evie Stevens (New York, NY) was the next highest-placed rider for the team in 16th. Kristin McGrath (Durango, Colo.), Carmen McNellis (Durango, Colo.), Alison Stacher (Banner Elk, N.C.), and Lindsay Myers (Paradise, Calif.) are also representing the U.S. in the six-day stage race.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM GRADUATES

USA Cycling National Development Program graduate Edward King (Cervelo) was sixth in the final sprints classification of the Vuelta a Burgos, a 2.HC race in Spain.

USA Cycling DEVELOPMENT CAMPS

All 11 of USA Cycling’s Regional Development camps have wrapped up for 2009. A total of 256 riders participated in the nearly half dozen camps set around the country. USA Cycling will host an invite-only National Talent Evaluation Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Oct. 8-12.

USA Cycling will host a BMX Super Cross preparation camp, August 10-15 in Chula Vista, Calif. and a Madison track camp in Bloomer Park, Mich,. August 10-17.

COMING UP…

The track portion of the UCI Junior World Championships begins on Tuesday, August 11.

The USA Cycling National Development Team will field a squad of eight for the Vuelta Zamora in Spain August 12-16. Those riders are Travis Burnadt, Chris Butler, Austin Carroll, Daniel Holloway, Cole House, Carson Miller, Lawrence Warbasse, and Christian Parrett.

The USA Cycling Junior Development Program will field a team of riders for both the Mainvault and Ooike events in Belgium on August 15 and 16.