Enzo Edmonds wins the 4-Days of Geneva

The 16-year-old from Brooklyn has just won his first truly international race from a field of top Swiss, French, Ukrainian and Colombian racers. The track race, held on the 166.66-meter Siberian pine velodrome, famed for its 56 degree banking, the steepest in Europe, finished out Enzo's U-17 career with a literal bang.

He crashed in the final points race, managed to get up and grab a spare bike, holding on to win the overall Omnium (series of races adding to a points total) over the excellent Swiss riders, Thibaud Contesse and Antoine Salamin.

"This is the most tired I've ever been in my life," he said after the win, "The level here is so much higher than in the US and I had to fight with everything I had."

It was heart-warming to see Enzo's two European host families, the French Cartier's and the Belgian De Roo's, trackside to support the young American star in Geneva. They are true friends of American cycling and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Enzo will (hopefully) now take a well-deserved rest before girding himself for the challenges of the 17-18 Junior racing class. He'll certainly go into it with a great deal of confidence having a win of this prestige in his pocket.

Photo:Thomas Casas