Jake Keough Second in Somerville; Bowman Wins Iron Horse Classic

It may be the oldest race in the country, but that didn't affect Jonas Carney's and Ken Mills' decision to field one of the youngest KBS squads ever last weekend at the Tour of Somerville. The result? Second place from Jake Keough and the continued success of KBS' unofficial young rider development program.

"We brought a young team to Somerville," says performance manager/general manager Ken Mills. "I was very happy with how the whole squad performed. Although we didn't get the win, second place in the country's oldest race shows that our young riders are progressing well, just as we want them to."

The Kelly Benefit Strategies Somerville squad included seven riders, five of whom are 21 or younger, including Shane Kline (21), Clay Murfet (20), Cheyne Hoag (20), Ryan Anderson (21) and Jake Keough (21). While Keough was taking second in Somerville, teammate Dan Bowman won the overall at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Durango. It's a trend toward multiple podiums in single weekends for the squad that has also produced three victories in a single weekend when Zach Bell won the NRC Criterium in Wilmington, Delaware, Neil Shirley the Ventura County Stage Race and Shane Kline the Tour de Parc Criterium in Wantagh, New York.

"We are very happy with our recent results," notes performance director, Jonas Carney. "Not only are we winning NRC and UCI events but each weekend our riders are going out and winning regional events too. This shows we have real depth to our program, especially when the results have been generated by so many different guys on the squad."

Kelly Benefit Strategies race wins to date in 2009 Season:

1st The Primavera at Lago Vista - Scott Zwizanski

1st Stage 1 Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Jake Keough

1st Stage 2 Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Reid Mumford

1st Stage 3 Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Jake Keough

1st Stage 4 Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Jake Keough

1st Stage 7 Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Scott Zwizanski

1st Overall GC Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay (UCI 2.2) – Scott Zwizanski

1st Overall GC Tour of Thailand (UCI 2.2) – Andrew Bajadali

1st Team Classification Tour of Thailand (UCI 2.2) – Team

1st Turkey Hill Country Classic – Cheyne Hoag

1st Berkeley Hills Road Race – Scott Zwizanski

1st Bank of America Wilmington Grand Prix (NRC 1.4) – Zach Bell

1st Stage 2 Ventura County Stage Race – Neil Shirley

1st KOM Ventura County Stage Race – Neil Shirley

1st Sprint Ventura County Stage Race – Neil Shirley

1st Overall GC Ventura County Stage Race – Neil Shirley

1st Tour de Parc – Shane Kline

1st Overall Iron Horse Bicycle Classic – Dan Bowman

"We have a reputation for bringing on and developing young talent on our team," adds Carney. "It's part of our commitment to the sport to help create the stars of tomorrow and it's incredibly rewarding to see so many of our young riders performing so well."

The Kelly Benefit Strategies team races the Air Force Cycling Classic's Clarendon Cup in Arlington, VA May 30, followed by the US Air Force Cycling Classic the following day. The team then moves to the TD Bank Philadelphia Cycling Championships June 7 and to race internationally in Portugal and Canada.