More elite track titles contested

By Andy Lee-USA Cycling

Eight more national champions were crowned Friday on day three of the 2007 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships as elite and U23 categories of the men’s and women’s sprint and points race were contested.

After qualifying second behind Adam Duvendeck (Momentum) in the 200-meter time trial on Thursday, Michael Blatchford (Cody Racing) captured both the elite and U23 national titles in the men’s sprint. Blatchford dispatched silver medalist Ben Barczewski (T-Town Express) in two straight rides in the finals to claim the national title while Duvendeck took two straight from fourth-place finisher Giddeon Massie (T-Town Express) in the small final.

Rounding out the podium with a victory in the 5-8 ride was Ryan Nelman (T-Town Express) who sprinted to the final spot on the podium with a win over Ryan Watson, Ryan Cornell and Stephen Hill.

In the women’s sprint, Jennie Reed (Momentum) began the day by qualifying first in the 200-meter time trial with a time of 11.708 seconds and finished it by winning two straight rides over second-seeded Liz Reap (T-Town Express) to win the national title. In the consolation round, Anna Lang (Home Depot Center) took two of three head-to-head-rides against Cari Higgins (Cody Racing) for third place.

In the four-woman heat to decide fifth place, Becky Lang (Home Depot Center) claimed the final podium spot over Cristin Walker (Northwest Cycling Club), Heather Vanvalkenburg and Mindi Martin (Dent Wixard).

At 19, Walker claimed the U23 national title with a sixth-place overall finish.

In the men’s points race, Mike Friedman (Slipstream) lapped the field and scored a total of 32 points to claim the stars-and-stripes jersey over runner-up and U23 national champion Austin Carroll (Rock Racing). In addition to lapping the field for 20 points, Friedman also won two of the event’s 12 intermediate sprints to collect an additional ten points and factored into the top four in two others. Carroll scored 19 points to claim the silver medal over Bobby Lea (Toyota-United), who finished with 16 points. With 12 and 11 points respectively, Curtis Gunn (Successful Living) and Colby Pearce (Cody Racing) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth place.

In the women’s points race, Becky Quinn (South Bay Wheelmen) scored 29 points to take the national title by just one point over Heather Albert (America’s Dairyland). Although Albert lapped the field once to collect 20 of her 28 points, Quinn managed to score enough points in the ten intermediate sprints, placing in the top four in eight of them including a critical first-place finish in the final dash across the line to clinch the win.

Katharine Lundby (Karl Strauss-SDBC), Catherine Fiedler (Home Depot Center) and Shelley Olds (Proman-Paradigm) completed the elite women’s points race podium with 23, 13 and 9 points respectively, while 14th-place overall finisher Kacey Manderfield (Lees-McRae College) won the U23 national title.

The 2007 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships conclude on Saturday with national champions to be determined in the men’s keirin, the men’s and women’s team sprint, the women’s team pursuit and the men’s Madison.

---

2007 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships
Carson, Calif.
October 3-6Day Three Results:
Men’s Sprint
1. Michael Blatchford (Cypress, Calif.) *
2. Ben Barczewski (Breinigsville, Pa.)
3. Adam Duvendeck (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
4. Giddeon Massie (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
5. Ryan Nelman (Houston, Texas)Women’s Sprint
1. Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash.)
2. Liz Reap (Jim Thorpe, Pa.)
3. Anna Lang (San Diego, Calif.)
4. Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.)
5. Becky Lang (Paramount, Calif.)
6. Cristin Walker (Houston, Texas)*Men’s Points Race
1. Mike Friedman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 32
2. Austin Carroll (Orange, Calif.) 19*
3. Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa.) 16
4. Curtis Gunn (Tucson, Ariz.) 12
5. Colby Pearce (Boulder, Colo.) 11Women’s Points Race
1. Becky Quinn (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) 29
2. Heather Albert (Eagle, Idaho) 28
3. Katharine Lundby (Solana Beach, Calif.) 23
4. Catherine Fiedler (Long Beach, Calif.) 13
5. Shelley Olds (Los Gatos, Calif.) 9
14. Kacey Manderfield (Davisburg, Mich.) 0 *
*U23 National Champions