U.S. Women dominate Tour of New Zealand
The USA Cycling Women's National Team opened up the season in style with five out of six stage wins, the general classification, and the team classification at the NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand. Additionally, USA Cycling unveiled a new BMX Women's Development Program.
women's development program
 The USA Cycling Women's National Team closed out an extremely successful NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand on Sunday with five out of six stage wins, the general classification, and the team classification. With a remarkable four stage wins, Shelley Evans (Scotts Valley, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty 12) grabbed the general classification, and with a victory in the stage four time trial, Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.) was second in the general classification. Next up for the squad was Jessica Phillips (Aspen, Colo./Colavita-Baca) in 19th.
 Evans opened up the event on Feb 24 with a win in the stage one bunch sprint and closed it out the same way, by outsprinting a bunch of 20 for the stage six criterium victory. In between, she also picked up wins in stages two and five. During the podium presentation, where the USA Cycling Women's National Team was awarded the team classification over the Australian National Team, Evans gave credit to her teammates, which also included Janel Holcomb (San Diego, Calif.) and Alison Starnes (Mill Valley, Calif./TIBCO).
"We're all in this. It's not just me, but the whole team. We all share in the excitement. That's the best part," she said from the podium.
The five-member U.S. squad made lots of headlines among the Kiwis, like these articles in the Marlborough Express, The Waikato Times, and The Otago Daily Times.
For complete results from the event, click here.
See the video from the final stage, including the podium presentations, here:
usa cycling development camps
USA Cycling unveiled a new BMX Women's Development Program last week. Click here to read the full release about the new program. As part of the program, USA Cycling is currently hosting a camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The camp, which began on February 23, will continue until March 4. The following eight women are attending the camp: Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash.), Alise Post (Saint Cloud, Minn.), Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif.), Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.), Taylor Wolcott (Roseville, Calif.), Ashley Verhagen (Simi Valley, Calif.), Amanda Carr (Punta Gorda, Fla.), and Dominique Daniels (Gilbert, Ariz.).
Photos from Top to Bottom - The USA Cycling Women's National Team stands on the podium after winning the team classification at the NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand on Sunday; Shelley Evans opened up the event for the U.S. contingent with a win in stage one. Photos courtesy of Manel Lacambra
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