Nebraska Cycling News

Two-Time Defending World Champion Finishes Fifth in Pursuit, Phinney Lowers Personal Best to Place Ninth

SYDNEY - The opening round of the 2007-08 UCI Track World Cup Classics kicked off Down Under on Friday as 12 Americans were in action on the first day of the three-day competition.

Two-time defending world champion Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif./Ouch Pro Cycling) posted the best result for the U.S. contingent on Friday with a fifth-place effort in the women’s 3-kilometer individual pursuit.  Hammer recorded a time of 3 minutes, 38.680 seconds and failed to advance to the evening session’s medal round.

After qualifying second with a 3:36.784, Australia’s Katie Mactier beat top-seeded Vilija Sereikaite (LTU) in the head-to-head gold medal final for the victory.  In the bronze medal round, Karin Thurig (SUI) edged Wendy Houvenaghel (GBR) for the final spot on the podium.

In her first-career UCI Track World Cup, Dotsie Bausch (Irvine, Calif./Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light) placed 16th overall with a qualifying time of 3:44.290.

Also competing in his first-ever UCI Track World Cup, 17-year-old Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo./Slipstream-Chipotle) recorded an impressive time of 4:29.118 in the men’s 4-kilometer individual pursuit to finish ninth overall and shave over six seconds off his personal best.  Phinney, the reigning junior time trial world champion and member of USA Cycling’s junior national team, earned an elite national title in the pursuit in his first-ever track race last month with a 4:35.550.

Brad Huff (Fair Grove, Mo./Slipstream-Chipotle) qualified 27th for the U.S. with a 4:42.071.

With the top-four riders advancing to the medal round, Volodymyr Dyudya (UKR) captured the gold medal with a winning time of 4:25.485 with a win over runner-up Philip Thuaux (AUS) while Alexander Serov (RUS) claimed the bronze medal over Marc Ryan (NZL).

In the women’s 10-kilometer scratch race – a non-Olympic event – Becky Quinn (Quakertown, Pa./South Bay Wheelmen) finished sixth to give the U.S. its second-best finish on opening day while Christen King (Huntington Beach, Calif./South Bay Wheelmen) finished 15th.

Cuba’s Yumari Gonzalez sprinted to the scratch race win over runner-up Annalisa Cucinotta (ITA) and third-place finisher Anastasiay Chulkova (RUS).

In the women’s sprint, Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash./Momentum) qualified eighth with a flying 200-meter time of 11.417 seconds to advance to the 1/8 finals where she won her head-to-head match over Gong Jinje (CHN).  In the ensuing quarterfinals, Reed won the first of three battles against Willy Kanis (NED) but dropped the next two in the best-of-three format to end her hopes of a medal.  In the four-woman race to decide fifth through eighth place, Reed outsprinted Simona Krupeckaite (LTU) and Victoria Pendleton (GBR), but finished behind Clara Sanchez (FRA) to place sixth overall.

Also in the women’s sprint, Liz Reap (Jim Thorpe, Pa./T-Town Express) clocked a qualifying time of 12.002 seconds to finish 29th overall.

After ousting Reed from medal contention, Kanis went on to claim the gold medal over Anna Meares (AUS) while Natalia Tsylinskaya (BEL) won the bronze medal over Guo Shuang (CHN).

With 52 athletes entered in the men’s points race, a top-eight finish in one of three qualifying heats was necessary just to make the finals – a feat that none of the four Americans entered accomplished.  In the first heat, Colby Pearce (Boulder, Colo./Cody Racing) placed 11th.  Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa./Toyota-United) and David McCook (Mountain View, Calif./Proman) placed 12th and 13th respectively in the second heat. Kenny Williams (Kenmore, Wash./Cody Racing) was 11th in the third heat.

In the men’s 30-kilometer points race final, Greg Henderson (NZL) scored 31 points to win the gold medal ahead of Spain’s Toni Tauler Llull (27) and Australia’s Cameron Meyer (24). 

2007 UCI Track World Cup Classics

#1 – Sydney Australia

Day One Results:

Women’s 3-kilometer Individual Pursuit

1. Katie Mactier (AUS) 3:38.379

2. Vilija Sereikaite (LTU) 3:40.393

3. Karin Thurig (SUI) 3:40.300

5. Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.) 3:38.680

16. Dotsie Bausch (Irvine, Calif.) 3:44.290

Men’s 4-kilometer Individual Pursuit

1. Volodymyr Ddyudya (UKR) 4:25.485

2. Philip Thuaux (AUS) 4:30.279

3. Alexander Serov (RUS) 4:29.327

9. Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo.) 4:29.118

27. Brad Huff (Fair Grove, Mo.) 4:42.071

Women’s Sprint

1. Willy Kanis (NED)

2. Anna Meares (AUS)

3. Natalia Tsylinskaya (BEL)

6. Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash.)

29. Liz Reap (Jim Thorpe, Pa.)

Women’s 10-kilometer Scratch Race

1. Yumari Gonzalez (CUB)

2. Annalisa Cucinotta (ITA)

3. Anastasiay Chulkova (RUS)

6. Becky Quinn (Quakertown, Pa.)

15. Christen King (Huntington Beach, Calif.)

Men’s 30-kilometer Points Race

1. Greg Henderson (NZL) 31

2. Toni Tauler Llull (ESP) 27

3. Cameron Meyer (AUS) 24

DNQ. Colby Pearce (Boulder, Colo.)

DNQ. Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa.)

DNQ. David McCook (Mountain View, Calif.)

DNQ. Kenny Williams (Kenmore, Wash.)

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