USGP U-23 leader Luke Keough (Champion Systems).
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Joins big brother Jake in the blue train
Luke Keough, the 2012 USA Crits series overall winner and USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar runner-up, will join his older brother, Jake, on the UnitedHealthcare roster next year.
Keough signed with the UCI Pro Continental team after spending two seasons with SmartStop-Mountain Khakis, a UCI Continental team, and storming through both of the major domestic criterium series this year. He also won the individual overall USA Crits title in 2011.
“It’s definitely a big step for me,” said the 21-year-old rider from Sandwich, Massachusetts. “It was sort of a far cry, but it was always on the back of my mind going into the season. Then, once the season started and I was riding well, it became more of a reality. To finally get the call from them saying they wanted me on the team was definitely a bit of a shock, but I can’t say I was super-surprised.”
Keough, who cut his racing teeth in BMX and then cyclo-cross before moving to the road, claimed six major wins in 2012, including the prestigious Athens Twilight, one of the crown jewels of the US criterium scene and the UCA Crits series. He also claimed wins at the Tour of Somerville, the Madeira Centennial Criterium and the Witches Cup.
In September, Keough won the TD Bank Mayor’s Cup in Boston after Karl Menzies posted a victory salute a bit too early. It was an ironic
twist after Keough lost this year’s U23 national criterium championship the same way, throwing his arms up a bit too early, only to see Ty Magner (BMC-Hincapie) slip past for the win. Keough followed the Boston triumph with another win the very next weekend at the Tour of Vail criterium, the final race of USA Crits, putting an exclamation point
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