The Los Angeles-born racer won the Stars and Stripes jersey with a powerful sprint to the finish line in Charleston, West Virginia, after tag-teaming a late-race breakaway with Neilson Powless. The two EF Education-EasyPost riders made the winning move after a hot and hectic day of racing on a hilly, technical 21.2-km circuit around the city. This victory is a dream come true for Sean.

“I spent a lot of years in the juniors [trying],” he said after celebrating the title with Neilson. “This was my big target, and it never worked out. So it feels pretty good to be able to wear the jersey.”

Sean was full of praise for Neilson’s efforts. The two teammates were up against a stacked field of domestic racers and WorldTour pros and had to work together to whittle down the field. By the tenth of ten laps, and with over 200 kilometers in their legs, they’d dropped all but one of their rivals, Brandon McNulty from Team UAE, who could only hang on, as Neilson attacked him again and again, giving Sean a free ride to the finish line, where he dusted McNulty in the sprint.

“Brandon was so, so strong just bringing us back time and time again and then around the last climb I was starting to think realistically he looks pretty tired, I really think I can win a sprint," Sean said. "So Neilson just attacked him, like, I don’t know 10 times, and I left it a little bit late in the bike throw, I probably should have gone a little earlier ...”

Neilson rolled across the finish line in third place. He is now looking forward to racing in Europe and around the world with Sean.

"We couldn't really pick Sean or I. We knew we needed both of us playing our shot at the win if we were going to beat Brandon," Neilson said. “As we got closer to the finish when we were all together over the top of the climb. When Brandon pulled me back after the final climb, I think we all knew that Sean was going to have the stronger sprint out of the two of us. So I tried to just use every bullet I had left to try to weaken Brandon's legs for the sprint. I kind of did a faux sprint in the very end, trying to get Brandon to open it up early. But luckily Sean had good legs in the end, and he was able to take it home. I think this was the best-case scenario. We're super proud.”

We are, too. Great, great ride guys. The Stars and Stripes jersey belongs in this team!