Category: Road (Team)

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Historic Win at Tour of the Gila

Photo Credit: Casey B. Gibson

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team began the UCI 2.2 Tour of the Gila with high expectations. Coming off of 2nd overall at both the Tour of Taiwan and Joe Martin Stage Race, the team was poised to fight for the win.

The team was fully committed to setting up climbing sensation James Piccoli for a solo win atop Mogollon, stage 1. The mountain top finish awarded Piccoli both the Red Leaders Jersey as well as the Polka Dot KOM Jersey.

Stage 1 Podium: 1st James Piccoli; 2nd Oscar Sevilla; 3rd Eder Frayre

Stage 2 proved to be challenging from the gun with a sprint point line within the first 5 miles. The team diligently protected their leader against the threatening breakaways and kept each one in check until Floyd’s of Leadville setup for the lead-out and final sprint to the line. It was a big success for the team to protect and maintain both of the jersey’s within the stage.

The Stage 3 Individual Time Trial was one that the team had been targeting for the season. George Simpson would be the first of the squad to tackle the 16.5 mile course and he set the fastest time of the day, placing him in the hot seat until the final riders finished the course.

He was only unseated by teammate Adam Roberge who finished 2nd and…
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Young Takes Commanding Win in Anniston

Photo Credit: Sara Walker Photography

The Elevate-KHS Pro Team sprinter Eric Young won the Sunny King Criterium, the first criterium on the Pro Road Tour series with USA Cycling. All 6 riders from the team finished in the top 15, with 5 riders finishing in the breakaway.

Photo Credit: Sara Walker Photography

Texan Kyle Swanson, a new recruit to the team for the 2019 season, started the race off with a bang by landing in the first strong breakaway of the day. This move would soon prove to be the break of the race, where he was joined by 5 other riders.

The gap to the field hovered around 30 seconds, while the field decided what the next move would be. George Simpson and Alfredo Rodriguez joined two other riders and quickly bridged across to the break, now having 3 riders up the road.

As the laps wound down, the field continued to dwindle as riders made attempts to join the breakaway. Eric Young was one of the riders motivated to join the break, and eventually rode across solo. He wasted no time in the move, riding to the front and quickly attempting to thin the riders down.

Gavin Hoover eventually joined his teammates in the move, creating the perfect scenario for a textbook leadout for sprinters Young and Rodriguez. His recent time spent racing on the velodrome for the US National Team for Individual and Team Pursuit, have forged him into powerhouse for the final laps.

Young and Rodriguez come across the finish line in 1st and 2nd with room to spare.

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Piccoli 2nd Overall at Joe Martin Stage Race

Photo Credit: Danny Munson

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team traveled to Fayetteville, AR to race the Joe Martin Stage Race. This event is the first stop on the UCI America’s Tour, as well was a pillar of the Pro Racing Tour. With a strong 7-man roster, the team was poised for 4 days of excellent racing.

The first 2 days of racing brought challenges, however. With misinformation on time gaps to breakaways up the road and the team miscalculating the time and work needed to reel the moves in, 4th places finishes were the top honors for the team on both stages. The team put all their resources behind Piccoli on stage 1, which had a steep uphill final sprint for the finish.

The 3 mile uphill time trial on stage 3 also suited Piccoli, where he finished a close 2nd by 0.6 seconds to eventual overall winner Stephen Bassett. His performance in the time trial placed him 2nd going into the 4th and final stage, a technical criterium that also finished on a steep climb which the racers had to travers each of the 30 laps. With the time gap to the yellow jersey 14 seconds, the team knew they had to try everything possible if Piccoli were to overtake the lead. In the end, Bassett proved resilient and maintained the jersey while Ulises Castillo sprinted to 2nd place on the day to finish out the tour.

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Sweep in San Dimas

Photo Credit: Danny Munson

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team made their mark on the San Dimas Stage race this past weekend. Coming off of great showings at both the Tour de Taiwan and Redlands BIcycle Classic, the team was motivated to keep the momentum going and win their first yellow jersey of the season.The San Dimas Stage Race begins with a 4.25 mile uphill time trial on Glendora Mountain Road, an iconic climb in the Southern California mountains. James Piccoli clocked the fastest time of the day by 3 seconds, placing him in the lead going into stage 2. The San Dimas Hospital Road Race is notorious for the technicality of the course, as well as the challenging conditions and strain the combination puts on the field. With strong competitors within striking distance of the yellow jersey and multiple time bonuses up for grabs within the race, the team rode aggressively to place Ulises Castillo in a strong 3-man breakaway. This move lasted to the finish line and Ulises shed the last of his break away companions heading into the long finishing straightaway, winning the stage solo. He had enough of a gap on the field as well as time bonuses from the laps he spent in the break, that he moved into the overall lead for the final stage in downtown San Dimas.

Photo Credit: Above Four Media

The stage 3 Criterium is dynamic with several time bonuses up for grabs, and a course that makes a breakaway hard to catch once they are out of sight. The team was in…
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Success in Taiwan

Photo Credit: Chinese Taipei Cycling Association

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team returned to the Tour de Taiwan for the 3rd year with big aspirations. The 5 day UCI 2.1 event is the first stop on the UCI Asia Tour and an exciting venture for the team abroad.

The tour proved to be a successful campaign with James Piccoli winning the Queen Stage on day four, finishing 2nd on the General Classification and Eric Young sprinting to two photo finishes 2nd places on stages 1 and 5.

The team took advantage of previous course knowledge and fine-tuned leadout to control the final kilometers on stage 1. Eric finished a close 2nd with teammate Alfredo Rodriguez 4th, beginning the race in exciting fashion.

Photo Credit: Chinese Taipei Cycling Association

On stage 4, the team was committed to giving climber James Piccoli all their resources to ensure he was ready for the penultimate climb and run in to the finish. James attacked multiple times on the steep climbs in the final kilometers, but could not put enough distance between himself and the hard charging reduced bunch.

With only a few kilometers left, and where the gradient of the course softened, James used the momentum of the bunch to launch one final attack. The surge caught the group off guard and he quickly gained a sizable gap. He buried his head, turning on the after burners to win the stage by a few bike length.

Photo Credit: Chinese Taipei Cycling Association

The 5th and final stage is the longest of the tour…
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