Huffman 1st in Georgia

Cal Giant/Specialized riders Evan Huffman (center) and Eamon Franck (far right) pose for pictures at the podium on Thursday in Augusta, Ga. (Submitted)

California Giant/Specialized Cycling rider Evan Huffman took home first place in the 2012 USA Cycling Juniors U23 Elite Road Nationals on Thursday and was one of two members in the top five.

Huffman, from Elk Grove, prevailed in the U23 Division with a time of 36 minutes, 40.735 seconds. He was 17 seconds ahead of UCI/Livestrong rider Lawson Craddock.

His win comes one year after he finished seventh.

Huffman succeeded on the 30-kilometer course on a hot day in Augusta, Ga., as temperatures were on the brink of triple digits. The course was straight-forward, with the second half a little bit more hilly than the first half, Huffman said.

Eamon Franck, also from Cal Giant/Specialized, was fifth at 37:27.15. The race was Franck’s first since winning the Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship on June 10, in Sattley. It was his third straight top-five finish in a race.

It’s also Franck’s second straight top-five finish in the Elite Road Nationals; last year, he finished third in the same race.

Franck and Huffman were the only two Californians in the top five.

Nathaniel Wilson, who won the Mount Hood Cycling Classic earlier this month, finished 12th in the race just a shade past 38 minutes.

Torey Phillip was 17th.

In the Men’s Elite Division, Jesse Moore finished eighth with a time of 37:52.58. He was more than a minute behind winner Julian Kyer of Boulder, Colo.

Moore was the second-fastest Californian in his division.



For the complete article see the 06-23-2012 issue.

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