Americans abroad: Stevens hour, Murphy wins

“Americans Abroad” is our weekly check-in with the Americans in the professional peloton. VeloNews will publish these updates every Monday throughout the season

Last week’s stand-out performance came from Evelyn Stevens of Boels – Dolmans, who broke the world hour record Saturday by riding 47.98 kilometers under the dome in Colorado Springs to topple Bridie O’Donnell’s mark by more than 1km. The two-time U.S. national time trial champion missed the all-time mark set by Jeannie Longo in 1996, who used a “superman” position, by less than 200 meters. Stevens, however, now holds the official UCI hour record.

“It’s a huge honor to have this record, I thank Molly [Shaffer Van Houweling] and Bridie [O’Donnell] for doing it first,” Stevens said. “It takes a lot of guts to get out there, as I realized when you get closer.”

Cannondale

Five Americans toed the line at the inaugural Tour de la Provence in France. Cannondale’s top finisher was Lawson Craddock, who was 11th overall, third in the best young rider classification. Joe Dombrowski finished 33rd overall; Alex Howes ended the three-day tour in 51st; Andrew Talansky was just behind him in 52nd, and Phil Gaimon did not finish.

Kristabel Doebel-Hickok (Cylance)

Doebel-Hickok was 69th in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and 70th in Omloop van Het Hageland, riding in service of Shelley Olds, who finished in the top 5 both days.

Megan Guarnier (Boels – Dolmans)

Guarnier also took on the Belgian cobbles at Omloop. She finished 16th overall, 29 seconds behind winner and teammate Lizzie Armitstead. The next day, Guarnier finished 34th at Omloop van Het Hageland.

Carter Jones (Giant – Alpecin)

Jones raced in France with Reijnen and Warbasse. He finished 68th in Sunday’s Drôme Classic, but like Reijnen he DNFed in Saturday’s Classic Sud Ardèche.

Ty Magner (UnitedHealthcare)

Magner is racing in Langkawi and was 94th overall after Monday’s stage 6.

Gavin Mannion (Drapac)

Mannion is also among the U.S. riders in Malaysia. He is 56th in the GC standings, 8:40 behind the leader. The eight-day race ends Wednesday.

John Murphy (UnitedHealthcare)

The UHC rider is in Malaysia racing at Le Tour de Langkawi. He won stage 3 in a bunch sprint and earned top-5 finishes in stages 1 and 2.

“The guys did an awesome job keeping me in pole position all day, keeping me hydrated in the heat, giving me Ally’s bars … I was in a really good position in the last corner. I had a great lead-out. It was a drag race; that’s what I like,” Murphy said of his Friday victory.

Shelley Olds (Cylance)

The 35-year-old sprinter was the top American both Saturday and Sunday at the women’s Omloops, finishing fifth and fourth, respectively.

Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing)

Phinney was also in France this week at La Provence. He finished 73rd overall.

Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare)

Putt is the third of three UHC Americans at Langkawi, sitting 107th overall.

Kiel Reijnen (Trek – Segafredo)

Reijnen was also in France racing with Warbasse. He finished 86th in the Drôme, but he abandoned the Classic Sud Ardèche.

Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare)

Rivera raced Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium, the first of the European classics. She finished 78th.

Alexis Ryan (Canyon – SRAM)

Ryan was one of the many American women who took to the start line of the Omloop. She finished 14th and followed that up with a 20th-place finish in Sunday’s race.

Carmen Small (Cervelo – Bigla)

Small began her season over the weekend in Belgium, where she finished ninth in Saturday’s Omloop and 18th in Sunday’s Omloop. Her teammate Lotta Lepistö rode to third in Omloop van Het Hageland.

Tibco – SVB

Team TIBCO-SVB had more American racers than any other team in the field at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Omloop van Het Hageland. Lauren Hall, Brianna Walle, and Lauren Stephens finished 77th, 52nd, and 34th, respectively, Saturday. In Sunday’s Belgian race, Walle finished 61st and Stephens was 25th, while Hall did not finish.

Larry Warbasse (IAM Cycling)

Warbasse competed in two different races last week. The first was the Classic Sud Ardèche, where he finished 12th. The second was the Royal Bernard Drôme Classic, where he finished 26th.