- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Lewis wins U23 national title
A dramatic and tactical U23 road race capped off a two-year comeback for Craig Lewis (TIAA-CREF) after the 21-year-old captured his first national championship in Monday’s 176km race at the 2006 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania.
Lewis, a promising young pro whose career was put in jeopardy after a horrendous crash at the 2004 Tour de Georgia left him with two punctured lungs and 47 broken bones, marked his triumphant return with an emphatic stamp over a solid 125-rider field of emerging world-class cyclists.
Lewis was part of a two-man TIAA-CREF chase group that caught an early breakaway on the fourth and final lap of a 44km circuit before dropping the rest of his competitors and cruising to a win 52 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Brent Bookwalter (Priority Health).
Midway through the race, the day’s most significant breakaway of Steven Cozza (TIAA-CREF), Brad Armstrong (Orbea) and Shelden Deeny (USA Cycling U23 National Team) had amassed a six-minute advantage on the remainder of the field. After it became clear that the lead group would not be reabsorbed by the peloton, Blake Caldwell (TIAA-CREF) and Bookwalter put forth the first serious efforts to bridge up to the leaders. But with the trio working well together to keep its distance, only Bookwalter was able to make the jump as Caldwell folded amidst the pace.
Behind, Lewis and TIAA-CREF teammate Tom Peterson put together a two-man chase group of their own and quickly became a serious threat to the success of the original breakaway and Bookwalter. After nearly 14,000 feet of climbing throughout the day, Lewis and Peterson made contact with the foursome at the 2788–foot summit of the course’s signature climb, reshuffling the deck and creating a lead group of six.
Although TIAA-CREF had the numerical advantage, it was Deeny who attacked first. The move was caught and countered by Bookwalter who was also quickly reeled in. The next significant threat came when Cozza attacked. The current U23 national time trial champion instantly became the favorite after opening up and maintaining a sizeable gap, but Bookwalter and Lewis responded with another effort.
Spent from his earlier move to bridge up to the original breakaway, Bookwalter fell off the pace as Lewis caught and passed Cozza in the closing kilometers.
"It was a hard day today," explained Lewis after earning his first career national championship. "Tom was amazing. We just hit it and got a good gap and we just kept rolling it. At the end, we had Steven up the road, Brent was forced to do all of the work and he dragged me into within 10 kilometers to go and I just went from there."
Perhaps the strongest rider in the group was Bookwalter, but TIAA-CREF had the advantage and was able to use more team tactics.
"They (TIAA-CREF) rode a great race," Bookwalter said afterwards. "Craig and Tom were strong. Basically everyone else was outnumbered. I took a chance when I bridged across to those three. I was kind of crossing my fingers, hoping they’d (Lewis and Peterson) crack, but they just caught us and missiles started firing."
