Young Medalists Press Release, June 2010
Local youth bicycle racers finish top 20 in Europe and win regional races
Juan Carmona,18, of Breinigsville, was riding hard through northern France in a group of nine other bicyclists. The group, from the United States and several European countries, were nearing the finish of the junior version of the famed Paris-Roubaix race when Carmona’s tire went flat.
With no support car in sight, Carmona rode on his rim for three miles before he was able to get a replacement wheel. Then, in a show of speed, Carmona charged the last seven miles to cross the line 20th of the 66 riders (out of 120 starters from 20 nations) who finished the brutal, 78-mile race which is famous for the 16 sections of cobblestones over which the racers must ride.
Carmona, 18, was the third American across the line in the April 11 race. It was his best showing in five weeks of racing with the American national team of 17- and 18-year-olds. The team competed In races in Belgium, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Carmona earned his spot on the U.S. Cycling Junior Development Team with his strong performance in regional, national and international races. He is a runner up for the 2010 Junior World Championships and has compiled Impressive results as team captain of the Trexlertown-based Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp.
While Carmona raced in Europe this spring, his Lehigh Valley teammates have continued to win in regional competition.
At the Tour of the Battenkill, in Cambridge, N.Y., on April 10, Robin Carpenter, 17, of Philadelphia, took third and Zack Noonan, 17, of Kutztown, was fourth in the men’s 17-18 race.
Kody McCracken, 16, of Wellsboro, won the men’s 16-19 division of the Mid-Atlantic Duathlon Regional Championship, held near Doylestown, April 11. He then went on to take 6th place in his division at the USA Duathlon National Championship, in Richmond, Va., April 25.
The team made a hat-trick at the Lower Providence Criterium, PA-Bar, on April 18, with Carmona, Noonan and Carpenter placing first, second and third in the men’s 17-18 race. McCracken took first place in the men’s 15-16 race. Magnus Hartwell, 12, of Breinigsville, was first in the men’s 10-12 race and Andres Weller, 11, of Emmaus, was third place.
Carpenter went on to win the men’s 17-18 race at the Pocono Raceway Criterium, May 9, and McCracken won the men’s 15-16 race.
At the Tour de Syracuse, Syracuse, N.Y., on May 22-23, Carpenter won all three of the tour’s races and the overall win in the men’s 17-18 competition; Hartwell won the overall competition in the men’s 10-12 race, Mark Yaroshevsky, (age, hometown), was third in the overall; and Emily Krause, (age, hometown), was second in overall competition in the women’s 15-16 race.
Matt Voyer, 16, of Blandon, finish in on the podium with a strong 2nd place finish at the Clarks Summit Criterium – PA Bar, May 29.
And, at the Tour of Somerville, in New Jersey, on Memorial Day, team riders took five of the top seven spots In the men’s junior race, with Jeff Alpert, 18, Coopersburg, taking second, and Noonan, third, Carpenter 4th, Carmona 5th and Matt Muney, 17, Darien, CT, 7th.
The local team is the racing program of the non-profit Lehigh Valley Cycling Club. The club and its team were established two years ago to develop elite junior cyclists, age 10-18, who can compete regionally, nationally and internationally.
Under the leadership of former cycling Olympian and World Medalist May Britt Harwell, Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp cyclists have during the two seasons won 33 medals in national championship events, 55 medals in state championship events and 19 medals in regional championships. The team also earned more than 50 wins in local, regional and national level road races.
Earlier this year, the team learned it was selected by USA Cycling to receive a Development Foundations Center Excellence Award – the highest amount given a junior program. And, for the second year, the team has been fortunate to receive support from title sponsor Dual Temp, a Lehigh Valley-based mechanical contractor.
In the coming months, Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp will be racing in Oregon, Vermont, the Atlantic region, Quebec, Canada and local road races in Pennsylvania, and locally on the track at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. On Aug. 16, the team will host its own race, the Oley Valley Road Race. The event will serve as the junior state championship road race for both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
More information about the team can be found at ymteam.com and youngmedalists.com
Information about Pennsylvania Cycling Associations: http://www.pacycling.org/
Photo by Anthony Skorochod, Cycling Captured.
Posted on June 2, 2010
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