Victoria, Canada World Track Cup, Round 2, May 29-31, 1998:

Day 2 evening session - Aussies did well!

Men’s Sprint

The pairings were Marty Nothstein USA vs Jens Fiedler GER for the gold, and Frederic Magne FRA vs Jan Van Eijden GER for the bronze. Nothstein and Fiedler have met up many times in the finals, and this time Fiedler proved to be the stronger of the two, taking the medal in two straight rides. Fiedler led out the first ride, but Nothstein dropped down when the German left a window of opportunity open to come through the bottom at the last corner. The two bumped elbows all the way to the line, and the photofinish gave Fiedler the nod. "He left the pole (line) and I came down. He broke the rules, it’s pretty simple." said Nothstein. "I’m surprised the officials didn’t call it." In the second ride Nothstein led out, but Fiedler went to the front on the second lap and held off the American in another photofinish. Despite this, Nothstein felt the track suited him, "it’s a big track, which is like my home track in Pennsylvania, and is good for big and powerful riders like me."

The most tactically interesting races were the ones between Magne and Van Eijden for the bronze. Both times Magne managed to drop down on Van Eijden from behind and then close the door for the win. In the semifinals, Magne forced the stronger Fiedler into a track standoff twice - the second time for 3 minutes. Afterwards he said: "Yes, tactics are my strong point. I try to ride smart, but he (Fiedler) was stronger than me today. I am happy with my race."

Women’s Sprint

The favourite for the gold medal race was Michelle Ferris of Australia, who was extremely strong throughout the heats. She did not disappoint, beating Oksana Grichina in two straight; the first time jumping the Russian as she went into a trackstand and taking a long sprint. Ferris said that she is trying "to work on my tactics. I’m one of the strongest (riders), but I want to practice at the World Cups tactically." Ferris said that she was "much happier with the way I rode (this week). Last week (in Cali, Colombia) I was sick, and wasn’t pleased with the way I rode."

Tanya Dubnicoff, the crowd favourite, rode extremely strongly in the bronze medal races, using her years of experience to defeat the tentative U.S. rider Jennie Reed in two straight heats. "I was a little disappointed, since I had hoped to be in the final against Michelle. But this is my first major competition of the year, so I’m not too unhappy." Dubnicoff will be going to the remaining World Cups in Germany and France.

Team Pursuit

The race was between the Australians and New Zealanders. The wind had picked up since the earlier session, so the time were slower, but Australia once again proved to be the strongest team. New Zealand said that they were just coming off their road training, so that they were actually quite pleased to finish so well.

Women’s Individual Pursuit

As expected, Lucy Tyler-Sharman of Australia was the easy victor over Svetlana Samokhvalova (Russia), winning by 10 seconds. The wind played havoc with Tyler-Sharman’s prediction of going faster than she had in the morning.

Points Race

Local favourite Brian Walton was a very popular winner in the 30 kilometre race. "It was so windy out there that I was just sitting in at the start, plus everybody was busy watching me. With the wind it was more like a road race than a track race." Just after the halfway point, he and Danish rider Jimmi Madsen managed to get away and take a lap on the disintegrating field. That combined with the second and third place place points he had picked up earlier were enough to give Walton the win.

We have full results for today’s evening session, plus photos.

In another rematch of the 1996 Olympic match sprint final, Jens Fiedler of Germany beat American Marty Nothstein as the second round of the UCI World Track Cup continued.

Fiedler won in two straight rides, though both rides ended in photo finishes. Fiedler led out the first ride, but Nothstein dropped down when the German left a window of opportunity open to come through the bottom at the last corner. The two bumped elbows all the way to the line, and the photo finish gave Fiedler the nod.

"He left the pole (line) and I came down. He broke the rules, it’s pretty simple." said Nothstein. "I’m surprised the officials didn’t call it."

In the second ride Nothstein led out, but Fiedler went to the front on the second lap and held off the American in another photo finish.

It was not a successful day for Jennie Reed in the women’s match sprint as she lost to Russian Oksana Grichina in two rides in the semifinals and then lost the bronze medal to Canadian Tanya Dubnicoff, also in two rides. Michelle Ferris of Australia beat Grichina for the gold medal.

Erin Veenstra placed third in the women’s individual pursuit, earned her second straight World Cup bronze medal in the event. Australian Lucy Tyler won the gold medla.

Australia also won the team pursuit, beating New Zealand in the final. The United States placed fifth in qualifying.

In other action, Zach Conrad finished seventh in the men’s points race, won by Canadian Brian Walton, the Olympic silver medalist.

New York State, Enchanted Mountain Stage Race, Day 1

The event began with an 8.6 mile time trial, held on a relatively flat out- and back course in Ellicottville, N.Y. Three sharp turns in the first mile - and therefore also in the last mile - allowed for good technical riders to shave seconds, while a gusty wind made the ride out fast, and the return ride slow.

In the men's event, David Zabriskie (Team Jeep) scored the win by two seconds over Mercury's Rhode scholar, Matt Anand, with New Englander Curt Davis (Wheelworks) taking third. Only 19 years old, Zabriskie was fourth in the individual time trial at the Junior World Championships last year.

Among the women, Manhattanite Elizabeth Emery (Saturn) took the win by 16 seconds over teammate Dede Demet, with Saeco-Timex's Pam Schuster in third, four seconds behind Demet. Emery, the national individual time trial champion, stands a good chance of defending her lead through tomorrow's hilly 48-mile road race.

Austin Walsh Memorial Time Trial, May 29, 8.6 miles

Men:

1. David Zabriskie (Team Jeep), Salt Lake City, Utah, 17 mins, 59 secs; 2.
Matt Anand (Mercury), Quebec, Canada, 0:02; 3. 3. Curt Davis (Wheelworks),
Branford, Conn., 0:10; 4. Adam Sbeih (Nutra Fig), Sacramento, Calif., 0:23;
5. Tom Davis (Team Jeep), Mashpee, Mass., 0:23.

Women:

1. Elizabeth Emery (Saturn), New York, N.Y., 18 mins, 57 secs; 2. Dede Demet
(Saturn), Boulder, Colo., 0:16; 3. Pam Schuster (Saeco-Timex), Northridge,
Calif., 0:20; 4. Giana Roberge (Saeco-Timex), Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 0:27; 5.
Tina Mayolo (PowerBar), Athens, Ga., 1:08.

EDS Track Cup, May 29-31, Major Taylor Velodrome

Dunne, an Indiana University graduate, managed to sneak past a crash which occurred about one-third of the way through the 18km race. The crash caused six riders to fall and two riders -- Ryan Kelly (Team EDS) and Leah Toffolon (Fraysse’s Sports Resort) -- were transported to Wishard Hospital for examination. Details about their condition were not immediately available.

"I missed Ryan by inches," said Dunne, the current national champion in the event. She was involved in a major crash in the women’s points race during the 1995 National Championships on the same track.

Once the race resumed, Dunne dominated the race, finishing with 31 points. Six-time national points race champion Janie Quigley (PowerBar), who flipped over her handlebars in the crash and suffered several scrapes, returned to the race and finished second with 26 points. She won the final two sprints.

With the victory, Dunne will represent the United States in the points race in the final two World Track Cups next month in Europe.

In other action, Kent Bostick (Shaklee), Corrales, N.M., won the men’s 4km individual pursuit. His opponent, teammate Jame Carney, did not compete in the final.

"When you can come out and do okay, it’s great," said Bostick, 44.

In qualifying, Bostick was almost five seconds faster than Carney.

The other final of the evening, the men’s kilometer time trial, was postponed due to rain and will be re-run Saturday.

In the Junior Track World Championship Long Team Trials, Sam Baker (Tri State Velo) won the junior men’s sprint tournament, defeating A.J. Smith (Team Big Wheel) in the final. Both are among four riders who qualified for the Long Team. Cheynna Treto (Jane’s Cosmetics) was the lone eligible junior female to finish the women’s points race and thus earned a spot on the Long Team. Final selection for the Junior Track World Championship team will take place next month at the EDS National Cycling Championships.

Competition at the EDS Track Cup will continue Saturday, including finals in the kilometer time trial, men’s match sprint, men’s points race and team pursuit.

Men’s 4km Individual Pursuit

1. Kent Bostick (Shaklee), Corrales, N.M., four mins, 49.370 secs; 2. Jame
Carney (Shaklee), Durango, Colo., did not start final; 3. Chris Carlson (Team
EDS), Dallas, Texas, 4:50.228; 4. Craig McLaughlin (Cox Atlanta Velo),
Decatur, Ga., 4:53.363; 5. Ben Sharp (Ikon-Lexus), Indianapolis, Ind.,
4:50.898; 6. Sheldon Serrao (unattached), Trinidad and Tobago, 4:51.579; 7.
Steve Hegg (Shaklee), Cardiff, Calif., 4:51.782; 8. Dave Bailey (Sons of
Italy), Brookline, Mass., 4:56.435; 9. Tim Hancock (Fraysse’s Sports Resort),
Rockville, Md., 4:57.106; 10. Carl Sundquist (BMC-WalMart), Ft. Smith, Ark.,
4:58.803.

Women’s 18km Points Race

1. Karen Dunne (Team EDS), Colorado Springs, Colo., 31 pts (3 sprint wins); 2.
Janie Quigley (PowerBar), Encinitas, Calif., 26 (4); 3. Brenda Brashears
(PowerBar), Grants Pass, Ore., 12 (0); 4. Marisa Vande Velde (BMC-WalMart),
Lemont, Ill., 10 (1); 5. Jen Evans (Team EDS), Austin, Texas, 8 (0); 6.
Bettina Younge (unattached), Boulder, Colo., 5 (1); 7. Megan Troxell
(Stanford-Nations Bank), Palo Alto, Calif., 5 (0); 8. Sarah Hammer (Celo
Pacific), Temecula, Calif., 4 (0).

Junior Men’s Match Sprint

1. Sam Baker (Tri State Velo), Ventura, Calif.; 2. A.J. Smith (Big Wheel), Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla.; 3. Jason Orowitz (Tri State Velo), Bethlehem, Pa.; 4. Shawn
Obyle (East Coast Velo), Lenhartsville, Pa.; 5. Ross Letwin (Tri State Velo),
King of Prussia, Pa.

Senior Men’s Match Sprint, Quarterfinal Pairings

Trey Gannon (Team EDS), Plano, Texas, vs. Garth Blackburn (Cox Atlanta Velo),
Houston, Texas.
Marcelo Arrue (Cox Atlanta Velo), Alburtis, Pa., vs. Bill Clay (Ikon-Lexus),
Gurnee, Ill.
Al Whaley (Coastal-Southern Elite), Humble, Texas, vs. Stephen Alfred (Ikon-
Lexus), Trinidad and Tobago.
John Bairos (Ikon-Lexus), Redlands, Calif., vs. Paul Swift (Shaklee), Kenosha,
Wis.