Durango, Colorado – On the eve of the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team heads into “America’s Race” on the heels of an impressive first week at the 2012 Tour of Portugal after having just completed a very successful Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. And as the eight riders from the U.S. based Pro Continental squad prepare to face off against some of the top talent in the world, they head into the high altitude of the Colorado Rockies riding a wave of recent success.

The summer of 2012 in the U.S. has been a scorcher. But as the lengthy heat wave that has blanketed most of the country for the past several weeks, Team UnitedHealthcare has been just as hot on the bike throughout the month of August. The team wrapped up an impressive showing in Utah earlier this month, where one or more of its riders stood on the podium presentation stage each day of the six-stage race. And the momentum gained in Utah seemed to surge across the Atlantic to Portugal, where Jay Thomson (RSA) held onto the yellow jersey and the overall top spot in the General Classification (GC) at the Tour of Portugal for three of the first four stages. Additionally, the Team held the Team GC lead during that same time period. Thomson still holds onto the King of the Mountains (KOM) for the fourth day.

2012 USA Pro Challenge: Roster Update: Danny Summerhill Joins Team in Veteran Philip Deignan’s Absence

Philip Deignan (IRE) will unfortunately not be able to join the Team in Colorado this week due to a family emergency at home in Ireland. In his place, Danny Summerhill (USA) will join the Team for the Second Annual USA Pro Challenge. Summerhill, a young, talented athlete who came through the USA U23 program, has ridden with the Garmin-Chipotle Development Team and has been picked up as a stagiaire to race with the squad for the remainder of the season.

Photo by Jonathan Devich (epicimages.us)

“Danny is an all-arounder who has experience racing in Europe and we’re hoping he can be instrumental as part of our lead out,” said General Manager and Team Director, Mike Tamayo. “He’s also got good climbing legs. He’ll be racing the Pro Challenge in Colorado and getting an opportunity to race with us at one of the highest levels in the United States. We’ve always been big on developing the future talent of pro cycling, and that’s being shown right now with riders like Jake Keough and his big stage win at the Tour of Utah and Jay Thomson taking the yellow jersey for three stages at the Tour of Portugal. We focus on fostering the future talent of professional bike racing and are happy Danny could join us.”

TEAM UNITEDHEALTHCARE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 USA PRO CHALLENGE (August 20-26):

Rory Sutherland (USA)
Jeff Louder (USA)
Robert Förster (GER)
Jake Keough (USA)
Chris Jones (USA)
Ben Day (AUS)
Karl Menzies (AUS)
Danny Summerhill (USA)

TEAM UNITEDHEALTHCARE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 VOLTA A PORTUGAL (August 15-26):

Jonny Clarke (AUS)
Marc de Maar (CUR)
Davide Frattini (ITA)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Kai Reus (NED)
Jay Thomson (RSA)
Boy van Poppel (NED)
Brad White (USA)
Hilton Clarke (AUS)
Team Director: Hendrik Redant (BEL)
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