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2008 Olympic track cycling team nearly set

Published: Jun. 4, 2008

Three American track riders are locked and loaded for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and five spots are still up for grabs.

Californian Sarah Hammer, Coloradan Taylor Phinney and Washington’s Jennie Reed all own spots for Beijing based on their 2008 results. USA Cycling will hold a talent camp June 15-16 at the ADT Events Center in Carson, California, to decide the final spots for the games.

Hammer, 25, the 2006 and 2007 world pursuit champion, earned the United States an Olympic spot in that race by finishing second in the final UCI rankings for 2008. Her silver-medal ride at March 26-30 UCI world track championships in Manchester, England, secured her an automatic qualification under USA Cycling’s Olympic guidelines.

By earning an Olympic spot in the pursuit, Hammer also won the United States a spot in the women’s points race, which she will also ride.

Reed, 30, won the women’s Keirin at the Manchester world championships, however that event is not an Olympic race. But Reed finished 2008 atop the UCI rankings in the sprint, which earned the United States a spot for Beijing. Her subsequent bronze medal in the women’s sprint in Manchester secured her automatic qualification to compete in that race in Beijing.

Phinney, 18, earned the United States a spot for the men’s pursuit based on his third-place finish in the final 2008 UCI rankings. Phinney’s gold medal ride at the January 18 World Cup in Los Angeles, a race in which he clocked a time of 4:26:09, met USA Cycling’s time standard for the Olympics. Phinney’s spot is not entirely 100 percent locked — he could lose it, should any member of USA Cycling’s track talent pool ride a faster 4km pursuit during next week’s camp. The likelihood of that happening, however, is slim to none.

The California camp will consist of time trial races, and is strictly an invite-only affair for male members of USA Cycling’s Olympic talent pool. The camp will decide the two-man team to ride in the Madison, with one of those riders being chosen for the points race.

Americans Michael Friedman, Brad Huff, Bobby Lea and Colby Pearce will compete for the coveted spots. The qualification race for that event is a 3km time trial, with riders beginning from a flying start. Riders must complete the first 500 meters in 31.12 and then finish under 3:25.42 to meet the selection criteria. If more than one rider meets that criteria, the fastest riders will take the spots. If no riders meet the time standard, the choices will be discretionary.

The camp will also set the three-man squad for the men’s team sprint, and one rider from that group will then be chosen to represent the United States in the sprint and the Keirin. Sprinters Adam Duvendeck, Giddeon Massie and Michael Blatchford are in contention for that prize. Riders must complete a flying 200-meter sprint in 10.38 to meet the time standard for an automatic qualification. Should none of the three meet the time standard, the spot will go to a discretionary pick.

Stay tuned to velonews.com for the outcome of the track camp.