USA Cycling selected Taylor Phinney and Mara Abbott of Boulder the recipients of its inaugural male and female athletes of the year award Thursday as the top cyclists in its national development program.
Phinney, 20, started 2010 with two world championship medals on the track, including a world title in the individual pursuit. He won several major international under-23 events on the road, then competed as a pro and won the USA Cycling Professional Time Trial National Championship in September. Later that same month, Phinney won the UCI U23 Time Trial World Championship. A few days later he became the first American to win a medal in the U23 World Championship Road Race, earning a bronze.
Abbott is a former collegiate swimmer in her second season as a pro cyclist and became the first woman to win the Giro Donne in Italy and that followed her second elite road race national title earlier in the year.
Phinney and Abbott will receive their awards at the induction ceremony at the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame on the campus of Cal-Davis on Saturday.
Akindele tabbed by Sports Illustrated.
Colorado School of Mines men’s soccer player Tesho Akindele is in the current issue of Sports Illustrated in the venerable “Faces in the Crowd” section.
Akindele, a freshman from Northglenn High School, had three straight hat tricks from Oct. 13-17, the first men’s player to do so in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Akindele is tied for lead in Division II in total goals (17), ranks third in total points (38) and goals per game (1.06) and is fourth in points per game (2.38).
