One thing that is interesting about the United States cycling scene is that it has been on the decline now for quite some time. Despite all the success of Lance Armstrong he was not inspiring a new generation to come along and step in to compete at the top of the world stage. All the United States grand hopes essentially rest on two people. Taylor Phinney who is now 24 and has not quite lived up to the promise that was seen in him as a junior. He has been struggling with injuries since the day he came into the pro tour. The other is Tejay van Garderen who has shown some real potential in the grand tours. They both race for BMC Racing and it was hoped that both could have a breakout season to bring some prominence back to United States cycling. It didn't quite work out that way. Let's look at the season. The Spring Classics
Only one US rider has ever really done well at the spring classics and that was George Hincapie. He could never win the two big ones, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix but he was usually a threat. The hope in these races for the US lies now with Phinney who won the U23 Paris-Roubaix twice.
Here are the results from the 2014 classics.
Milan-San Remo
This is considered the classic for sprinters. For a few years there Tyler Farrar was a threat to win this one, but he's been the only US sprinter in my memory and he's now faded from the top.
| 1 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha | 6:55:56 | |
| 2 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing | ||
| 3 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | ||
| 4 | Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team | ||
| 5 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 77 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | 0:10:04 |
Gent–Wevelgem
This is the first of the cobbled classics. This is where we would be looking for Taylor Phinney to start showing if he was going to make a run at either Flanders or Roubaix.
| 1 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano | 5:34:37 | |
| 2 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr | ||
| 3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale | ||
| 4 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 22 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team |
E3 Harelbeke
A few years ago Tyler Farrar made the move from sprinter to try and become a classics rider. It hasn't worked out well for him, but he had a good showing in the 2014 E3.
| 1 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale | 4:56:31 | |
| 2 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 3 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky | ||
| 4 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:16 | |
| 8 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin Sharp | 0:01:19 |
Tour of Flanders
So going into Flanders we had two Americans which had shown good form. Phinney actually played a role in this years Tour being part of a breakaway. Once caught he faded back, but still it was a good showing. The problem for Phinney was that he didn't go with a strong enough group, so he picked the wrong move.
| 1 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing | 6:15:18 | |
| 2 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | ||
| 3 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | ||
| 4 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha | 0:00:08 | |
| 40 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:04:12 |
Paris-Roubaix
Farrar had also been in the mix at Flanders so there was hope that he or Phinney could crack the podium at Roubaix. It was not to be.
| 1 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 6:09:01 | |
| 2 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano | 0:00:20 | |
| 3 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing | ||
| 4 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 30 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:55 |
Amstel Gold
Lance Armstrong used to always make his seasonal debut at Amstel Gold and he came close to winning a few times, but could never pull it off. This is usually where we look to the grand tour contenders to show their one day legs. So we would be looking for Tejay van Garderen to show up here, but he didn't show up. There was a pretty limited US contingency.
| 1 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 6:25:57 | |
| 2 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 0:00:05 | |
| 3 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge | 0:00:06 | |
| 4 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | ||
| 5 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 35 | Alex Howes (USA) Garmin Sharp | 00:00:36 |
La Flèche Wallonne
Amstel Gold, La Fleche Wallonne, and Liege-Baston-Liege make up what are called the Ardennes classics. It is always a good chance to see riders who will probably have a big impact in the grand tours. This was a very good showing for the American based Garmin-Sharp.
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 4:36:45 | |
| 2 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:03 | |
| 3 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:04 | |
| 4 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:06 | |
| 38 | Alex Howes (USA) Garmin Sharp | 0:01:04 |
Liège–Bastogne–Liège
This is always a fun race. Obviously the US hope going into this one was Alex Howes.
| 1 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica Greenedge | 6:37:43 | |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | ||
| 3 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | ||
| 4 | Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha | ||
| 5 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:03 | |
| 81 | Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing | 0:08:05 |
It was a rough spring for United States cycling. Now would begin the grand tour season.
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