Amber Neben

Amber Neben

Neben during the 2016 Giro d'Italia Femminile
Personal information
Full name	Amber Leone Neben
Born	(1975-02-18) February 18, 1975 (age 49) Irvine, California, United States
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight	48 kg (106 lb) (2008)[1]
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder[2]
Amateur teams
2001	Autotrader.com
2010	Webcor Builders
2014	FCS
2015	Visit Dallas Cycling
Professional teams
2002	Cannondale–USA
2003–2004	Team T-Mobile
2005–2008	Buitenpoort–Flexpoint[2]
2009	Nürnberger[3][4]
2011–2012	HTC–Highroad Women
2013	Pasta Zara–Cogeas
2015–2016	BePink–La Classica
2017	Team VéloCONCEPT
2019–2021	Cogeas–Mettler–Look[5][6]
Major wins
Stage races Tour de l'Aude (2005, 2006) Route de France Féminine (2007) Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche (2008) One day races UCI World Time Trial Championships (2008, 2016) Pan American Time Trial Championships (2006, 2012) National Road Race Championships (2003, 2017) National Time Trial Championships (2012, 2017, 2018) Chrono des Nations (2011) GP Stad Roeselare (2011)
Medal record Representing  United States Women's Road bicycle racing World Championships 2008 Varese Time trial 2016 Doha Time trial Pan American Championships 2006 São Paulo Time trial 2012 Mar del Plata Time trial 2018 San Juan Time trial 2023 Panama City Time trial 2024 São José dos Campos Time trial 2010 Aguascalientes Time trial 2019 Ixmiquilpan Time trial 2011 Medellín Time trial Representing Team Specialized–lululemon World Championships 2012 Valkenburg Team time trial

Amber Leone Neben (born February 18, 1975)^[2] is an American racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's Continental Team Cogeas–Mettler–Look.^[7] Neben won the UCI world time trial championship in 2008 and 2016 as well as the U.S. national road race championship in 2003^[8] and 2017.

At the age of four Neben survived a bout of spinal meningitis, which left her in a coma for three days. Doctors told her parents that she was unlikely to survive, and that if she did, she would probably have endured brain damage and have lost her hearing.^[9] Neben played soccer and ran cross-country in junior high and high school. She attended the University of Nebraska on a track and cross-country scholarship. Stress fractures stopped her running and she became an undergraduate assistant coach in distance running. She took up cycling after graduating from college with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She then obtained a master's degree in biology from the University of California, Irvine, having originally commenced studies for a PhD. Whilst she was at UC Irvine she scored a top 10 finish at the national collegiate cycling championships, which persuaded her to exit with her master's degree and focus on professional cycling.^[9]

She concentrated first on mountain biking but her greatest success was on the road. She won the Rupert to Pomerelle stage of the 2001 Women's Challenge race with its long, steep climb to the finish, the fourth American to win a stage at the Women's Challenge since it became a UCI event. She then concentrated on road cycling and was picked for the road world championship team in 2001 and 2002.

Neben raced again in 2004. She missed placing first by eight seconds in the time trial selection race for the Olympic Games. In spring 2005, she won the Tour de l'Aude in France. She won again in 2006. She was picked for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and came 33rd in the road race event in Beijing.^[10] Later in 2008 she became the World TT Champion.^[11]

Neben made the 2012 U.S. Olympic team for the Women's road race, along with Kristin Armstrong, Shelley Olds and Evelyn Stevens. In the Women's time trial she finished 7th.

Neben tested positive for the banned substance 19-Norandrosterone on May 31, 2003, after she won the Coupe du Monde Montreal World Cup race. The test results were not confirmed until after her "A" sample and "B" sample both returned 6.9 ng/ml, which is above the 5 ng/ml cutoff. Neben appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] and accepted a provisional suspension from mid-July 2003. Neben said the positive test came from contaminated supplements. As she was a member of the T-Mobile Women's Cycling Team, a trade team owned by USA Cycling, she enlisted USA Cycling top management as witnesses in her defense. Sean Petty, VP of Marketing of USA Cycling, Gerard Bisceglia, CEO for USA Cycling, Steve Johnson, COO and director of athletics for USA Cycling, Bob Stapleton, Vice Chair for T-Mobile USA all testified on her behalf. The North American CAS ruled in October 2003 that doping had occurred but that it was not intentional. Neben was suspended, in a split decision, for six months, starting from the provisional ban beginning on July 13, 2003. The ruling also stated that all competitive results which occurred on or after May 31, 2003 were cancelled. Therefore, her win at the Coupe du Monde Montreal on May 31 was cancelled, but not her Elite Women's Road Race National Title, which occurred on May 22. She would have to be tested for drugs regularly for the following 18 months.^[12]

She is married to Jason K. Neben, associate vice president of Data and Technology, and Founding Chair of the Data Governance Committee at Concordia University Irvine.^[9]

In 2007, she underwent a successful program of treatment for melanoma.^[9]

Event		2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Olympic Games	Time trial	Not held			—	Not held			—	Not held			7	Not held			—	Not held			5	Not held			—
	Road race				—				33				36				—				—				—
World Championships	Time trial	—	15	—	—	5	10	4	1	6	4	8	7	—	—	—	1	11	7	4	6	4	—	8	10
	Road race	30	DNF	—	46	33	12	16	22	DNF	17	73	4	—	—	—	98	73	—	—	69	—	—	—	—
	Team time trial	Did not exist											1	—	—	—	4	5	—	Not held
National Championships	Time Trial	—	2	3	2	2	2	2	—	—	2	2	1	—	11	3	2	1	1	1	—	2	2	3	3
	Road Race	2	2	1	—	5	3	3	14	—	—	9	7	—	—	4	21	1	9	14	—	7	—	13	—

• List of doping cases in cycling

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amber Neben.

• Official website
• Amber Neben's team (in English and Dutch)
• CAS arbitration ruling in Amber Neben case (pdf file)
• Daily Peloton interview
• Amber Neben at UCI
• Amber Neben at Cycling Archives
• Amber Neben at ProCyclingStats
• Amber Neben at Cycling Quotient
• Amber Neben at CycleBase