Alex Howes wasn’t part of the lead group on Sunday at the finish of the Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands. 31 riders finished within seven seconds of the leader in a large group before a gap opened up back to the second group. That second group was led by Howes who finished 32nd and 34 seconds back. Larry Warbasse was six seconds further back in 44th. They were the only Americans in the top 100.

The next event on the UCI Men’s World Tour is Wednesday, the 121.8 mile La Fleche Wallonne in Belgium. There is also a women’s version of the race that is part of the Women’s World Tour.

Previous UCI Men’s World Tour Coverage:
Amstel Gold Race Preview

Sunday is the one-day 154.5 mile Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands. This race is full of climbs and six Americans will be in the field. Chad Haga will be competing for the Giant-Alpecin team, Kiel Reijnen will be competing for the US based Trek-Segafredo team, Larry Warbasse will be competing for the IAM Cycling team, and Nathan Brown, Alex Howes, and Benjamin King will be competing for the Cannondale team.

Previous UCI Men’s World Tour Coverage:
Paris-Roubaix Recap

The one-day, 160-mile, Paris-Roubaix took place on Sunday featuring its remarkable 32.8 miles of cobblestone roads. Three Americans were in the field but two of them Tyler Farrar and Phillip Gaimon were among the 124 riders who did not finish the race. Taylor Phinney on the other hand was able to finish the race in 49th, 14:23 behind the winner Matthew Hamon of Australia. There was quite the finish in the velodrome where the race ends as the top four all finished with the same time and fifth place was just three seconds back.

The next race on the UCI Men’s World Tour is the 248.7km Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands on Sunday, April 17th.

A fantastic week for Lawson Craddock ended with the American sitting ninth in the overall standings at the Tour of the Basque Country. Craddock was not among the very top finishers in the ten-mile time trial on Saturday but despite finishing 1:58 back in 25th his strong first five days meant he stayed in the top 10. It was an exciting finish for the overall title as well as Alberto Contador of Spain finished 18 seconds ahead of Sergio Luis Henao of Colombia passing him to win the title by 12 seconds.

The 160-man starting field was narrowed to just 97 by the end. Four other Americans finished the event, Peter Stetina in 78th, Joey Rosskpof in 81st, Alex Howes in 91st, and Caleb Fairly in 97th.

Craddock will not be in the field tomorrow as the one-day Paris-Roubaix takes place. This race over 160 miles features 32.8 miles of cobblestone roads. I’m sure that’s as awful to ride on as it sounds like it would be. Americans in the 248-man field are Taylor Phinney, Tyler Farrar, and Phillip Gaimon.

We knew that day five would provide some separation in the Tour of the Basque Country and it lived up to expectations. The overall winner was Diego Rosa of Italy who managed to dominate the field by a whopping 3:13 with a time of 4:19:19. With just a ten-mile time trial you might think Rosa has locked up the event, but he was so far back going into today that he is still 11 minutes off the lead and will not be a factor. Lawson Craddock of the US finished in eighth, 3:56 back of Rosa but only 43 seconds behind second place. While Craddock probably won’t have a chance to catch Sergio Luis Henao of Colombia, who he trails by a minute, he sits in seventh place and with a strong time trials he can grab a top ten finish.

Three other Americans snuck into the top 100 on the day. Peter Stetina in 90th, Caleb Fairly in 95th, and Alex Howes in 97th. All three were 22:25 back of the winner. Stetina moved up to 83rd in the overall standings while Joey Rosskpof is 89th and Howes is 98th.

All that’s left is a ten-mile time trial on Saturday. With less than a half hour to go Craddock is set for a fantastic finish.

The best day of the Tour of the Basque Country so far for Lawson Craddock saw him finish in 9th place among a group of 17 riders that finished with a leading time of 4:13:12. Today’s winner was Samuel Sanchez of Spain while Wilco Kelderman of the Netherlands now holds the overall lead by four seconds. Craddock jumped from 14th to 13th and is 21 seconds behind the leader.

Peter Stetina finished 61st , 7:26 back, while Joey Rosskopf was 11:10 back in 81st. Stetina is back in the top 100 for the overall event as he finds himself 31:57 behind the leaders in 96th.

With all that’s left a 99-mile mountain stage tomorrow and a ten-mile time trial on Saturday separation is sure to occur soon. It will be interesting to see how Craddock fares over the final couple days.

Much like stage one a medium-mountain stage on day three resulted in over 50 riders finishing with the same time at the front of the pack in the Tour of the Basque Country. Stephen Cummings of Great Britain was the overall winner in 5:01:57, but finishing 24th with the same time actually allowed Lawson Craddock to jump one spot to 14th where he is still just 22 seconds off the overall lead held by Mikel Landa of Spain.

No other American was in the top 100 for the day however Larry Warbasse is still hanging in the top 100 overall, 23:40 back in 98th.

Stage four on Tuesday will be 103 miles and another medium-mountain stage.

The tour of the Basque Country hit their first mountain stage today and Lawson Craddock had a strong performance. Craddock found himself 15th today just 22 seconds behind winner Mikel Landa of Spain. Yesterday 51 riders had finished with the same time but Landa is now alone atop the overall standings after winning today’s stage by a full second.

Peter Stetina had a good 46th place finish, 1:37 back, and was the only other American in the top 100 today. Stetina is now 84th for the event and 10:39 behind the leader. Larry Warbasse is still in the top 100 overall, 9:47 back in 79th.

Stage three on Tuesday will be 120 miles and a medium-mountain stage.

It was a 51 rider bunch that crossed the line on Monday at the end of the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain was the winner but there was no separation in final time going back 51 spots. Lawson Craddock, riding for the Cannondale team, was the top American and the only one in that bunch finishing 30th.

Other Americans in the top 100 were Larry Warbasse (75th – 2:05 back), Joey Rosskopf (89th – 6:48 back), and Carter Jones (96th – 6:48 back). Tomorrow will feature stage two, a 108 mile mountain stage.