Newly-crowned Olympic keirin champion Chris Hoy is primed for a semi-final clash with three-time world sprint champion Theo Bos as he looks for more gold in the men's sprint. Scottish sprint king Hoy continued his bid for his third Beijing gold medal after coasting into the quarter-finals of the men's sprint Sunday. Hoy, 32, beat a 12-year-old Olympic record for the 200 meters flying start in the qualifying round in a stunning time of 9.815 seconds.
A month before facing the world’s best at the Beijing Olympics, USA Cycling squared off against one of its own, track rider Rebecca Quinn, in a Colorado Springs courtroom. On July 9 Quinn took USA Cycling to arbitration after the governing body’s selection committee did not name her to its Olympic squad. Quinn, who hoped to compete in the Olympic points race, complained that favoritism and a conflict of interest involving team coach Andy Sparks and individual pursuit rider Sarah Hammer — Sparks’ fiancé — kept her from making the team.
Britain's Rebecca Romero made Olympic history in Beijing Sunday when she became just the second woman to claim medals in two different sports at the summer Games. England's Romero dominated the 3km individual-pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of three minutes, 28.32 seconds. Lesya Kalitovska of Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal.
Laura riding the Cheat Mountain Challenge
To the cheers of a partisan crowd, BMC’s Jeff Louder won the queen stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Saturday, a grueling slog from Park City to Snowbird Ski Resort that delivered 15,000 feet of climbing and three KOM points over 98.7 miles. At Snowbird Ski Resort at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon the Salt Lake City native finished seconds ahead of Garmin-Chipotle’s race leader Blake Caldwell, who finished second on the stage. Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick, less than one week off a return flight from Beijing, finished third.
Greg LeMond has reached a $39.5 million settlement with the owners of an exclusive retreat for the super rich that has its own ski resort and uses ex-Secret Service agents for security. Last week's settlement resolves a two-year legal dispute in which LeMond, his in-laws and an associate accused businessman Tim Blixseth of trying to buy out their minority stake in the Yellowstone Club for less than its actual value. A related settlement between Blixseth and his estranged wife, Edra Blixseth, in their divorce case also resolves a bitter struggle over control of the enterprise.
With three golds, a silver and a two bronzes through four events on the Laoshan Velodrome, Great Britain is living up to its pre-Olympics hype as the track dominator. So far it hasn’t been a benevolent ruler. Day Two saw Chris Hoy take a crushing victory in the men’s keirin (with Ross Edgar in silver), just 24 hours after the Brits mowed their way to gold in the Team Sprint.
Joan Llaneras is one of those oddball eccentrics who disappear into the woodwork and barely cause a stir for much of the racing season. That’s not until the big-time events roll around and they sprout out of the background like tulips in spring. Llaneras, 39, won the Olympic points race on Saturday. He plans to compete in the Madison and then hang up the bike for good.
Spaniard Joan Llaneras produced a stunning display of endurance and sprint riding here at the Laoshan velodrome to reclaim his Olympic crown in the men's points race. Germany's Roger Kluge took the silver with Britain's Christopher Newton taking the bronze. Llaneras, 39, reclaimed the title he won at Sydney in 2000 after a stunning ride in the 160-lap race which he finished with 60 points. Kluge, the halfway leader, finished on 58 with Newton on 56.
Jennie Reed is heading into Sunday’s sprint qualifying rounds with the added air of confidence that comes with owning a world championship gold medal. True, Reed did not take her world title at this year’s worlds in Manchester in the sprint — she won it in the keirin, which is not an Olympic event. But the fast and furious keirin is often a litmus test for how strong a track sprinter’s legs are firing. And this year, Reed’s legs have been firing full blast.
The motorcade of team cars raced through downtown Beijing, the usually congested roads virtually emptied for the Olympics, to the start. In each unbranded white car, the riders were piled in the back, as the directors drove. A small flag on the side was the only thing differentiating each team. On the roof, the bikes were covered in tape and the carbon wheels logo-less to appease the Olympic rules that control which companies can be featured in their event.