Fwd: USA Cycling Weekly News Update: Feb. 21-27

[Kim Nutt]

Yeeeeaaaa!  Look down to the 5th "bulleted" paragraph ---- that's us!   Certainly a welcome sight for Doug's meeting-weary eyes.  :)

Bring it on!

Kim

USA Cycling Communications <communi...@usacycling.org> wrote:

From: "USA Cycling Communications" <communi...@usacycling.org>
To: <bike...@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: USA Cycling Weekly News Update: Feb. 21-27
Date: WED, 28 FEB 2007 17:12:59 -0600

USA Cycling Weekly News Update: Feb. 21 – Feb. 27

The USA Cycling Weekly News Update is a new feature from the communications department highlighting the latest news and information from USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport of competitive cycling in the United States .  Issued electronically and available on USA Cycling’s website, www.usacycling.org, this communication piece will focus on competitive cycling across all disciplines – Road, Mountain Bike, Track, Cyclo-cross and BMX – as well as notable items about National Events, Membership and other departments at USA Cycling.

ROAD

·          The first race on the inaugural USA Cycling Professional Tour concluded on Sunday as the Amgen Tour of California ended in Long Beach.  After eight days of racing, Levi Leipheimer ( Santa Rosa, Calif.) was crowned the overall winner.  Leipheimer captured the yellow jersey in the opening prologue in San Francisco and retained it throughout the entire race with the help of his Discovery Channel teammates. In addition to the 3.1-kilometer time trial, Leipheimer won the 23.5-kilometer stage-five time trial in Solvang.  The races against the clock were the only two stages won by an American as foreigners rode strong all week long. Other stage winners included world champion Paolo Bettini (ITA), Juan Jose Haedo (ARG), Jens Voigt (GER), Ivan Dominguez (CUB) and Graeme Brown (AUS).  Leipheimer’s Discovery Channel teammate, Jason McCartney ( Coralville, Iowa) placed third overall, 54 seconds behind Leipheimer in the general classification.

·          The USA Cycling National Development Team made its 2007 racing debut at the Tour of California as Brent Bookwalter ( Cedar Springs, Mich.) and Caleb Fairly ( Amarillo, Texas) placed 79th and 110th respectively.  Bookwalter finished 16:57 off the pace of Leipheimer, while Fairly finished 39:49 back.  Other participants, Chris Stockburger (Fort Collins, Colo.), Sheldon Deeny (Fort Collins, Colo.), Tejay Van Garderen (Fort Collins, Colo.), John Devine (Dixon, Ill.), Chad Beyer (Anthem, Ariz.) and Scott Stewart (Oxford, Mich.) did not finish. For all riders, this was their first competitive experience at a UCI .HC-rated event, the highest classification outside of a UCI ProTour race. In the Best Young Rider classification, Bookwalter finished 13th, 14:07 back from winner Robert Gesink of the Netherlands .

·          The USA Cycling Professional Tour continues with the U.S. Open in Richmond, Va. April 7.  The single-day road race is rated as a 1.1 event.

·          Tyler Farrar ( Wenatchee, Wash.), one of three Americans on a UCI ProTour roster that did not compete at the Tour of California, made his 2007 racing debut in the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal .  In the five-day event, Farrar’s top result was a 16th-place finish in stage one.  In stage two, Farrar spent most of the day in a two-man breakaway with Lars Boom (NED), before the move was caught. After making it through four stages, Farrar did not start the fifth and final stage.

·          The 2007 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar kicks off March 3-4 in Merced, Calif. with the Merco Credit Union Grand Prix and Road Race presented by McClane Pacific.

·          The international women’s season began in the Southern Hemisphere this week with the four-day Geelong Women’s Tour in Australia .  American Dotsie Bausch ( Irvine, Calif.) of the Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light squad captured arguably the biggest win of her career with a victory in the opening eight-kilometer prologue in Portarlington.  Other Americans competing Down Under include Laura Van Gilder (Pocono Pines, Pa./Cheerwine), Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga./Colavita), Brooke Ourada (Boise, Idaho/Cheerwine), Alison Powers (Boulder, Colo./Colavita), Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Cedar Springs, Mich./Landlink), and Sheba Farrin (Washington, D.C./MB Coaching).  With three of four stages complete, Bausch is currently third in the overall standings, eight seconds off the pace of leader Nicole Cook of Great Britain .

·          USA Cycling recently announced the selection procedures it will use to select the 2008 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team across all disciplines – road, track, mountain bike and BMX.  The procedures are available on the USA Cycling website at www.usacycling.org.

 TRACK

·          The final round of the 2006-07 UCI Track World Cup series took place in Manchester, Great Britain Feb. 23-25 as American Brad Huff (Fair Grove, Mo./Slipstream-Chipotle) won a bronze medal in the men’s scratch race.  Other American participants included Liz Carlson (Jim Thorpe, Pa./East Coast Velo), who placed sixth in the women’s 500-meter time trial and 16th in the women’s sprint, Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colo./Slipstream-Chipotle), who placed eighth in the men’s points race, Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, Calif./South Bay Wheelmen), who placed 12th in the women’s individual pursuit and 19th in the women’s scratch race and Christen King (Huntington Beach, Calif./South Bay Wheelmen), who finished 21st in the women’s points race.  Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa./Toyota-United) also combined with Huff to place 13th in the men’s madison.

·          With the conclusion of the four-race UCI Track World cup series came overall standings in 16 events.  The overall rankings illustrate consistency and success at the international level throughout the season. Top-ten overall rankings were attained by several Americans including Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif./Ouch), who placed sixth overall in the women’s individual pursuit standings thanks to a new American record and victory at the L.A. World Cup in January. Hammer also finished fifth overall in the scratch race standings and seventh in the points race standings after winning both events at the L.A. World Cup.  The third round was the only stop on the four-race circuit in which Hammer competed this season.  Becky Quinn ( Quakertown, Pa.) finished ninth overall in the scratch race standings after a silver medal in L.A.  Jennie Reed ( Kirkland, Wash.) placed fourth overall in the keirin standings after winning a silver medal in the World Cup opener in Sydney last November and a bronze in L.A.  Other top-ten rankings went to Brad Huff in the men’s scratch race standings with a tenth-place finish and the women’s team sprint squad, who also finished the season ranked tenth.  As a nation, the United States was ranked 16th overall among 52 countries and trade teams that scored points throughout the World Cup season.

·          Attention velodrome managers and directors:  Information regarding 2007 USA Cycling Velodrome Championships is now available. Hosting a velodrome championship provides local riders with a means of qualifying for the 2007 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships in October.  For more information on hosting a velodrome championship, contact National Events Director Justin Rogers at jro...@usacycling.org.  

MOUNTAIN BIKE

·          The inaugural USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendar kicked off in mid-February with two events, both in the ultra-endurance discipline.  Travis Brown (Durango, Colo./Trek-FRS) and Christina Smith (Denton, Texas/Ortho-Sage Cycles) won the marathon events at the Mas O Menos event in Terlingua, Texas Feb. 15-17, and Harlan Price ( Philadelphia, Pa./Independent Fabrication) and Darlene Angeler won the 12 Hours of Razorback in Reddick, Fla.  The ultra-endurance calendar goes on hiatus until the Payson Stampede May 5-6 in Payson, Ariz. while the cross country calendar begins March 25 with the Chickasaw Trace Classic in Columbia, Tenn. and the gravity calendar begins Mar. 31 with the National Mountain Bike Series event in Phoenix, Ariz.

·          Fifteen riders have been selected to represent the United States in next month’s Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Argentina .  Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant), Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va./Trek-Volkswagen), and Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./GT-Hyundai) were automatic selections to the elite men’s squad by holding the top four U.S. seats in the UCI individual rankings. Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven Cycles) will join the elite men’s squad as a discretionary selection.  The elite women will be led by defending Continental Champion Mary McConneloug (Fairfax, Calif./Kenda-Seven Cycles) and three other automatic selections: Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher), Willow Koerber (Horseshoe, N.C./Subaru-Gary Fisher), and Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo./Luna).  Current USA Cycling National Champion Georgia Gould ( Ketchum, Idaho/Luna) will also compete for Team USA in the elite women’s contest as a discretionary nominee.  Sam Schultz ( Missoula, Mont.), will compete in the U23 competition as the only automatic selection to the men’s U23 squad.  Sam Jurekovic ( Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Cycling Development Team) and Colin Cares ( Boulder, Colo./USA Cycling Development Team) will join Schultz on the team as discretionary picks.  2006 USA Cycling Collegiate National Champion Chloe Foresman ( Boulder, Colo./Luna) earned the only automatic nomination to the U23 women’s team as the top-ranked American in the UCI standings in 2006. Riding with Foresman will be discretionary pick Melanie Meyers (Flagstaff, Ariz./Kenda-X-Fusion-Titus).  The Continental Championships will play a key role in determining how many start positions the United States will receive at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing since it offers significant international ranking points.  The 2007 Continental Mountain Bike Championships will run March 6-12 in Neuquen, Argentina . 

·          Three riders were chosen to make up USA Cycling’s 2007 National Mountain Bike Development Team.  Sam Jurekovic ( Colorado Springs, Colo.), 21 and Colin Cares ( Boulder, Colo.), 19, return for their second and third seasons respectively while 18-year-old Tad Elliott ( Durango, Colo.), will join the squad in May as the newest recruit.

BMX

·          The United States is ranked number one in the world in men’s BMX racing according to the latest UCI rankings.  With 148 points, the United States is ranked just ahead of Columbia, which has 139 points.  The nation’s rankings calculate the top-three ranked riders from each country, in the United States ’ case, it’s Mike Day ( Santa Clarita, Calif.), Randy Stumpfhauser ( Sanger, Calif.) and Donny Robinson ( Napa, Calif.).  In the women’s standings, the United States is ranked fourth behind Argentina, the Czech Republic and New Zealand thanks to the efforts of Kim Hayashi (Chandler, Ariz.), Arielle Martin (Cedar Hills, Utah) and Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.).

·          The third and fourth U.S.-based BMX Continental Calendar events took place over the weekend in Boulder City, Nev. at the Lake Mead National Feb. 21-22.  On Saturday, Cristian Becerine won the elite men’s competition while Samantha Cools won the elite women’s race.  The following day, Becerine repeated his winning ways with his second victory of the weekend while Afton Schrimpf won the women’s race.

·          Four UCI Continental Calendar races remain in the United States for the 2006-07 season: The NBL Gator National in Sarasota, Fla. March 31, The NBL Easter Classic in Orlando April 7, The NBL Freedom National in Woodbridge, Va. April 28 and The NBL Golden State National in Prunedale, Calif. May 19.

·          The UCI recently released the 2007 BMX Supercross World Cup calendar, which includes a stop in the United States .  The four-race series kicks off April 13 in Madrid, continues with stops in Beijing Aug. 20 and Salt Lake City Sept. 21, and concludes in Frejus, France on Oct. 13.

NATIONAL EVENTS

·          Registration is now open for the 2007 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships set for Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vt. July 17-22.  Competitors can register at online at www.sportsbaseonline.com.

·          The website for the 2007 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships is now active at: www.usacycling.org/events/2007/mtbnationals. Here, members will find resources regarding the event schedule, eligibility and qualification procedures, lodging and additional information.

·          Next week, USA Cycling will announce information related to the 2007 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs.  Information set to be released includes an event schedule, course maps, lodging and registration information.  Registration for the event will also be available at www.sportsbaseonline.com beginning at 12:00 midnight, Thursday, April 5.

·          A reminder to race promoters interested in contributing to the overall junior development efforts of USA Cycling: Application deadlines for the Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Race Series and the Alison Dunlap Junior Olympic Mountain Bike Series are approaching. If you’re interested in hosting events on either of these two calendars, contact National Events Manager Tom Vinson at tvi...@usacycling.org.

STAFF ADDITIONS

·          Stuart Lamp has been named as USA Cycling’s Eastern Mountain Bike Regional Manager.  An avid cyclist, Lamp brings experience in managing events, sports marketing and coaching along with a Sports Management degree from Lees McRae College to his new position.

·          Jennifer Marjanovic recently joined the USA Cycling staff, taking over all travel-related duties as the new Travel and Logistics Coordinator.

·          Lindsey Luther, Member Services Representative, is another recent addition to the Colorado Springs staff.

·          Former Member Services Representative Andrea Noblitt has taken over a new role as USA Cycling’s Results and Rankings Manager.

MEMBERSHIP

·          USA Cycling members are now eligible to receive a 10% discount on all Zaavy merchandise.   Zaavy is a personalized products company specializing in custom sign and banner design, but also offers a number of unique products such as fabric flags, banners, magnetic signs, tent decorations, and more.  USA Cycling members can take advantage of this exclusive discount on all Zaavy products by visiting their website at www.zaavy.com and entering the promotional code 180474.

·          USA Cycling has issued 33,468 licenses so far in 2007, an increase of 1,553 compared to this time last year.

·          1,540 clubs have registered with USA Cycling thus far in 2007.

·          If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, you can do so online at www.usacycling.org/myusac.

·          USA Cycling members are encouraged to download a copy of the new USA Cycling Rulebooks. Road, Track and Cyclo-cross: www.usacycling.org/forms/RdTrkCx_rulebook.pdf. Mountain Bike: www.usacycling.org/forms/MTB_rulebook.pdf.

USA CYCLING DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

·          Join Saul Raisin at the first-ever “Raisin Hope” ride this March 31st in Dalton, Ga.  Raisin, a professional cyclist, continues his amazing road to recovery after a life-threatening brain injury sustained during a terrible crash in the Circuit de la Sarthe in France last year.  Raisin hopes to raise awareness and funds to benefit several spinal care and rehabilitation programs including the Shepherd Center (a catastrophic care hospital), Camp Twin Lakes (a special needs rehabilitation camp) and The Brain Injury Association of Georgia as well as the USA Cycling Development Foundation. Online registration for the March 31st event is available at www.sportsbaseonline.com and is limited to 2,000 riders. Don't miss this great opportunity to share a ride with Saul, witness his remarkable recovery and support these worthy causes in his honor.  For more information on Saul’s recovery, the Raisin Hope ride and various charities check out www.saulraisin.com.

About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,000 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information visit www.usacycling.org or contact, USA Cycling Director of Marketing and Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.

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[Ronald Phillips]

Well done Doug.  Cheers!  Speaking of bar talk, did someone say beer? 

~Ron

Kim Nutt <bike...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

~ Ron ~

[Charbroiled Orca (Charlotte & Eugene)]

refer to the after Merco discussion for hops & barley