Marcotte, the current national road champion, and his teammates will work to defend the title, adding it to Marcotte’s recently acquired national crit championship in addition to the road jersey.
“On Monday we will be racing for the strongest rider in the race,” said Travis McCabe, Marcotte’s teammate and fellow Arizonan. “What we want is to defend the jersey, so we will be doing everything we can to win.”
Marcotte, a 34-year-old chiropractor, surprised many in 2014 with his nationals win after several other contenders bowed to his powerful final sprint and after favorite Taylor Phinney (BMC) suffered a broken leg during the race in a crash on a descent.
Smartstop’s Christopher Butler, Evan Huffman and Travis Livermon will add to the team’s fire power in its quest for another win.
“Whether it is me, Eric, or another teammate will be determined on the road,” McCabe said. “Our success as a team has come from being honest and selfless and we plan to continue racing that way.”
On the women’s side, Arizona’s Anna Sanders (Visit Dallas Cycling p/b Noise4Good) will look toward a top finish for her team in the road race.
“Visit Dallas Cycling can’t wait to crush this course,” Sanders said. “It is truly an all-arounder race as it offers a chance for sprinters to show their stuff during the downtown circuits and the climbers to attack Lookout Mountain. We are here with a super strong team firing on all cylinders.”
Phoenix’s Lindsay Fox (Jobing.com) will do double duty in both the individual time trial and the road race.
“I’ve been working on my TT over the winter/spring, so I’d like to have a solid ride for that,” Fox said. “And just like any road race, anything can happen. I’d be pretty stoked to make the front group if there is a split at some point. It’s a very strong field this year, so it’s going to be a great race no matter the end result.”
The women start Monday at 9 a.m. ET followed by the men at 1:30 p.m. ET and can be live streamed on USAC’s YouTube page.
Follow the action on Twitter with #USPRO.
Photos: Smartstop Pro Cycling