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PA Lightning Gears Up For Track Season.
Tuesday July 29, 2008
Having braved the 420 mile mountainous tour across the state of Pennsylvania in June, the PA Lightning will shift gears from the road and focus specifically on track and criterium racing for the remaining season. Throughout June and July, the squad logged over 1,000 racing miles across the United States at national caliber races including Superweek in Chicago, The Iron Hill Twilight Criterium in Pennsylvania, and Mount Holly Grand Prix in New Jersey. With a strong endurance base, the team looks forward to sacrificing volume for speed over the next two months with events such as the Elite Criterium Championships in Chicago in August and the USA Crit Series Finals in Las Vegas in September.
The season’s culmination for the PA Lightning will be at the Elite Track National Championships this October in Los Angeles where 22 year old, Michael Chauner will be riding the individual pursuit, points race, scratch race, and Madison with Tucker Brown of Fleetwood, PA.
TOUR OF PA PRESS CONFERENCE
Monday June 23nd
American Eagle Oufitters® Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5® gets ready to kick off its inaugural tour from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on June 24. Eighteen teams of U25 riders (ages 18-24) will tackle the 420-mile, six-day stage race for the world’s richest U25 purse of $150,000. Today, many of these elite, international athletes assembled at the National Constitution Center for their official send-off from Tour of PA organizers, sponsors and city and state officials.
PA LIGHTNING TEAM HOST FUND-RAISER
Sunday June 22nd
PA Lightning Team sponsored by Seagate hosted a kick off party and fund raiser. Members Taylor Brown, Mike Chauner, Eric Chrabot, Chris Ruhl, Jeff Salvitti and Ben Showman, director, Michael Hernandez and the Tour of PA Podium girls were introduced to the fans by voice of cycling announcers, Michael Aisner and Todd Gulgoski.
HERNANDEZ TO DIRECT TEAM FOR TOUR OF PA
Michael Hernandez of Santa Cruz, CA has been named director sportif for the six man PA Lightning squad at the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania June 24 to 29. Hernandez, 38, is a veteran cyclist, announcer, writer and team director with over two decades of experience in the sport. He most recently directed the Vanderkitten women’s elite cycling team at the Commerce Bank Triple Crown.
PA LIGHTNING TEAM GETS CAPPED
Members of the PA Lightning Team show off their new team hats.
PA LIGHTNING REPRESENTS COMMONWEALTH IN INTERNATIONAL BIKE RACE ACROSS THE STATE
Young Cyclists Among Twenty-two Teams Selected from Around the World
Philadelphia, PA. (April 13, 2008) - In a recent announcement, organizers of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5®, named PA Lightning as one of twenty national and international six-man teams selected to compete in the six day, 450 mile race across the state from June 24 to 29. Also named were international squads from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden and American teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New England, New York, North Carolina and New England.
The Pennsylvania Lightning, is an under age 25 cycling team whose mission is to promote competitive excellence, sportsmanship, teamwork, talent development and brand enhancement while competing in a full season of regional, national and international cycling events highlighted by the Tour of Pennsylvania.
The young PA Lightning team debuted in the 2007 season with just four cyclists and competed successfully in over 40 American track and road events with a dozen top three finishes in elite and professional races from March through August. Two Pennsylvania riders are returning from the 2007 squad, Taylor Brown, 20 of Fleetwood, PA and Michael Chauner, 21 ofWest Chester. Both are former junior national champions with international experience in road and track racing. They will be joined by fellow Pennsylvanians, Chris Ruhl, 21 of Quakertown, a four time national champion and former junior world’s team member; Kyle Wagner, 23 of Bethlehem, a former junior national team member with racing experience in Belgium, Canada and France, and newcomer Jeff Salvitti, 20 of West Chester. Also named to the team are Ben Showman, 22 of Fairfield, Ohio, a West Point Cadet and number one ranked rider in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference this Spring and Eric Chrabot, 22, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, captain of the Virginia Tech cycling team who spent last season racing in Belgium. Several other American cyclists who have competed with the internationally renowned Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy in Belgiummay also be named to the 2008 squad.
All of the PA Lightning team members are spending the early season representing their schools in intercollegiate events leading to the Intercollegiate National Championships in Ft. Collins, Colorado in mid-May. Official introduction of the team will take place at the Turkey Hill Country Classic in Washington Boro, PA on May 3 and at the Memorial Hall Criterium inPhiladelphia on May 4.
About the Pennsylvania Lightning
The mission of the Pennsylvania Lightning is to create enduring partnerships that will support and grow a top-quality Pennsylvania-based “Espoir” cycling team that promotes Pennsylvania cycling, competitive excellence, sportsmanship, teamwork, talent development and brand enhancement. Team sponsors include Liberty Sports Magazine, eye see studio, International Specialty Chemicals, Voler Cyclewear, Mavic, Fuji Bicycles, Davis Design Group and Pro Cycling Tour, LLC. For news about the team and to follow its progress, watch for its new website www.PALightning.com
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