The city of Knoxville, Tennessee put on a stellar USA Cycling Pro Road Championships for the third year in a row and will continue as host for two more years. The Great Smoky Mountains foothills provide just the right amount of climbing and flat roads, while the heat and humidity tip the balances in favour of the most prepared athletes. The end result was six deserving champions and exciting, unpredictable racing that highlighted some amazing athletic performances. Cyclingnews came to eight conclusions from the event.
1. Stephen Bassett deserves a pro contract
Hometown rider Stephen Bassett was an unexpected presence on the final men's road race podium in second behind winner Alex Howes and showed that he has what it takes to go pedal stroke for pedal stroke against WorldTour riders like winner Alex Howes (EF Education First) and third-placed Neilson Powless (Jumbo-Visma). He had a pro contract with Silber in 2018 until the team folded, and was not selected to continue when Floyd's took over the organisation. Landis and Gord Fraser should be kicking themselves right now for letting this one slip.
Bassett won two stages and the overall at the Joe Martin Stage Race, a stage at the Redlands Classic and the Winston Salem Criterium this year, clearly demonstrating that he had done his homework over the winter. Racing with the local elite First Internet Bank squad, Bassett had the advantage of a full feed zone support crew: "I think we had six in the feed zone for five riders. I took an ice sock every lap. 15 ice socks over four and a half hours makes a pretty massive difference," he told Cyclingnews.
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The 24-year-old showed impressive determination hitting out early in the sprint - it really looked as if he'd won it but just ran out of gas ahead of the last turn and was overtaken by Howes. That level of grit certainly deserves a pro contract, but Bassett doesn't have anything solid in the works. Will his performance at nationals help?
2. Howes is better than ever
Alex Howes has always been a good one-day racer and it's surprising he hasn't won a national title before now: he was on the podium or just shy of it in 2013, 2014 and agonizingly won the sprint for second behind Greg Daniel in 2016 in Winston Salem. To finally step on top of the podium was an emotional moment, not just for Howes but for the whole crowd who bore witness to the sheer joy of the moment.
"I was in a pretty dark place this time last year," Howes said on his EF Education First team site. "I was struggling with an undiagnosed [hyper-]thyroid, fighting my body, thinking of hanging it up. I was depressed and scared, wasting away. To come back and win the jersey a year later? This is bliss. Pure satisfaction."
3. Powless shows his class
4. Winder is one tough cookie
5. Keep the Hagens Berman-Supermint band together
6. Evergreen Neben
7. Garrison a rider for the future
8. Emma White is a star in the making
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/8-conclusions-from-us-pro-road-championships
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