It never ceases to amaze me how many ways U.S. pro teams can call
themselves development teams, or that they are for developing the next
generation of riders, because they pretty much are not. However, Jon
Vaughters clearly understands what is needed in this country and he's
doing it. So while we lament the loss of Lance and wonder whether
David Z, or George, or Horner...any of these guys can step up, perhaps
we should instead pay more attention to TIAA-CREF:
TIAA-CREF starts Avenir run (from Cyclingnews.com)
US under-23 development team TIAA-CREF started a six-week stint in
Europe yesterday with the first stage of the Paris-Correze race. The
team has crossed the pond to prepare for the Tour de L'Avenir
(September 2-11), the most important race on the calendar for under-23
riders.
The squad for the team's European tour includes Timmy Duggan, Craig
Lewis, David Robinson, Stu Gillespie (second overall at Tour de la
Martinique), current under-23 national champion Ian Macgregor, and
climbing phenomenon Michael Lange.
After Paris-Correze, the team will tackle the Tour de L'Ain (August
7-10) which traverses the French Alps, then two major Spanish races,
Subida Urkiola on August 14 and Clasica de los Puertos, August 21.
Team TIAA-CREF director, Jonathan Vaughters admits it's going to be no
holiday for his riders. "These races are going to be a stretch for a
team that is so young, like ours," he says. "But, we have to learn to
compete with the ProTour teams if Team TIAA-CREF is truly to fulfil its
mission of producing the next American champions.
"No matter how the guys do, as long as they finish, these races will be
absolutely ideal preparation for Tour de L'Avenir," said Vaughters.