The US will field 26 riders in the upcoming Namur World Cup on Sunday, one of the largest group's the States has sent across the Atlantic for cyclo-cross at one time. USA Cycling cyclo-cross development coach Geoff Proctor told Cyclingnews this week that he's confident the group will add to its success during this third block of European racing.
“I think we honestly have riders that can finish in the top five now in every category: in the juniors, the U23, in our Elite women and in the Elite men,” Proctor said form his home in Helena, Montana, where he was preparing to leave for Europe on Friday.
“I think [US champion] Jeremy [Powers] is capable of a top five. We saw that in Vegas. We saw that in Valkenburg last year when he finished ninth. Everything has to go right at the highest level, but to say that we have potentially a rider that can finish in the top five in each category is a real demarcation of a juncture in a program over time to be able to get to that level. I feel like we're on a certain sort of crest, and of course there's always undertow, but I'm pretty proud of that and excited for that.”
ADVERTISEMENT
This will be the 14th consecutive Christmas in Belgium for Proctor, who started the private Euro Cross Camps in 2002 as an attempt to build valuable European experience for US riders. He merged the program with USA Cycling last year to form the fledgling USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Development Program he currently runs.
This current trip to Europe will be the third block of European racing this season for his program and for the majority of US racers there now. The racing will start with the Namur World Cup on Sunday, followed by five days of rest and training before the official Christmas Day training program in Zolder for the World Cup race there on December 26. The Zolder race will provide an early preview of the course that will be used for the World Championships on January 30.
“Then the very next day we go to (Super Prestige) Diegem, where it's a night race so it's a later start,” Proctor said. “The Elite men start at six, so it's a pretty festive, suburban Brussels race on that Sunday.”
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1S1BmKY
No comments:
Post a Comment