Ashton Lambie rides in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup on Oct. 25, 2018 in Milton, Ontario.
The U.S. picked up its first medal of the sixth and final UCI track cycling world cup of the season in Hong Kong with a silver medal in team pursuit by the men on Friday.
The American team, consisting of Eric Young, Colby Lange, Ashton Lambie and Daniel Summerhill faced off against Italy for the championship and finished with a time of 3:59.215. However, the Italians were a shade faster and claimed the gold medal in 3:53.478. Australia defeated France to take third place.
The U.S. last won a world cup medal in the event in December 2017. Friday’s silver is Team USA’s best result in at least a decade; the UCI website’s results for the event date back to 2009.
The Americans were briefly ahead at the 625-meter mark, but Italy otherwise led the entire race.
The U.S. was second in qualifying, with a time of 3:59.127, which was 1.467 seconds behind Italy. The Americans defeated France in the first round with a time of 3:54.358 to earn their shot at the gold.
Gavin Hoover replaced Summerhill in the earlier rounds.
The championship matchup pitted the Pan American champions against the European champions in men’s team pursuit.
Young, Lambie, Lange and Hoover made up the squad that won gold in team pursuit at the Pan Am championships last August, setting a new national record with a time of 3:53.86.
The world cup competition in Hong Kong continues on Saturday with the men’s omnium, scratch and keirin races and the women’s Madison and sprint.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.