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USA Cycling's Austin Carroll and Guy East win the U.I.V. Talent Cup Amateur Six-Day series.

Published: Feb. 9, 2009
Madison team Carroll and East in action.
Madison team Carroll and East in action.
Photo: © www.bf-one.com

USA Cycling National Development Team riders Austin Carroll and Guy East become the first American Madison pair to win the U.I.V. Talent Cup Amateur Six-Day competition, which wrapped up with this weekend in Alkmaar, Netherlands.

The duo is now guaranteed a professional contract for competition in two UIV Professional Six-day events during the 2010-11 season.

Carroll and East combined their top four series performances to tally 65 points on the season and best the second-place Dutch team of Yoeri Havik and Barry Markus by nine points. The American pair finished second in Ghent, Belgiumm on Nov. 18-23, a first in Dortmund, Germany, on Oct. 30-Nov. 4, a sixth in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 29-Feb. 3 and a third-place finish in Munich, Germany on Nov. 6-11.

Carroll and East won the series based on their four top finishes.
Carroll and East won the series based on their four top finishes.
Photo: © www.bf-one.com

“These two riders showed dramatic improvement over last year, where they predominantly raced for sixth-place-finishes,” USA Cycling Madison Program Director Clay Worthington said. “They arrived for this race block physically prepared and with a much greater understanding of the exchange technique, racing tactics, and an idea about how to win these events.”

Worthington said the series victory gave USA Cycling’s recently initiated Madison Program the first major success for its newly-revamped curriculum.

“The short term goal for our Madison program is to facilitate the process of development and produce professional riders,” said Worthington. “In the long term, our vision is to produce Olympic, world and world cup champions. We wanted to get our guys over there competing against the best, against the countries that are consistently producing medals in those events so they can gain that race experience and put us in position to earn some of those titles.”

Carroll and East now plan to turn their attention toward the road where they will be racing all over the U.S. and Europe this summer as a part of USA Cycling’s National Development Team.

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