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Olympic selection news for July 10
US Olympic track team named10 men and 3 women have been named as the USA's Olympic Track team for 2000. Included amongst them are past Olympians Marty Nothstein and Erin Hartwell, who are part of the strongest teams that USA cycling has fielded. Nothstein won silver in Atlanta 1996 in the sprint, and Hartwell won a silver in the Kilo in the same year. The latter has changed from the shorter event to contest the 4,000 m teams pursuit, along with Derek Bouchard-Hall, Dylan Casey, Tommy Mulkey, Mariano Friedick and Christian Vande Velde. The Carney brothers, Jame and Jonas will contest the points race and the Kilo/Olympic sprint respectively. The other rider in the men's team in Marcelo Arrue, who will form part of the sprint team. In the women's three member team, Tanya Lindenmuth will be the likely representative for the match sprint, after placing second in this event in two World Cups this year. In the 500 m time trial, former speed skater, Chris Witty will ride. She becomes the ninth U.S. Olympian to compete in both the Winter and Summer Games. She was an alternate on the 1996 Olympic team and finished fourth in the 500m time trial at the 1998 World Track Cycling Championships in Bordeaux, France. She won the national title in the 500m time trial in 1996 and 1998. In 2000, she finished second at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track Cycling. Erin Veenstra-Mirabella recorded sixth-place finishes in the points race at the past two world championships, in addition to an eighth place in the individual pursuit in 1999. A double gold medallist at the '99 Pan Am Games, she won the individual pursuit at the EDS World Cup of Cycling in Frisco, Texas in May 1999. 2000 US Olympic track team Men (10) Marcelo Arrue, match
sprint, Keirin, Olympic Sprint Women (3) Tanya Lindenmuth,
match sprint
Australians getting tenseWith the final Olympic selections scheduled in approximately one week's time, the Australian track squad is currently undergoing their last round of tests and ride-offs in the Adelaide Superdrome. The doors have been closed however to both media and spectators so no details of times are available at the moment. The women's team will come down to just three riders, likely to be sprinters and one endurance specialist to compete in four events. The battle will be between Lyndelle Higginson, Michelle Ferris, and Alayna Burns and Kathy Watt. Both Ferris and Higginson may be considered better medal chances in the sprint and the 500 metre time trial, and the final spot will therefore be between Burns and Watt. Hopefully, the selection disputes of last Olympics will not arise this time, and the selectors give the better rider the nod. The results will not be known until next Monday however. In the men's squad, there is more leeway as there are 11 positions up for grabs. Four of them will be for sprinters, while the rest for endurance riders. 'Minute man' Shane Kelly is expected to take one of these, while the other three will be between Gary Neiwand, Darryn Hill, Sean Eadie, Ben Kersten and Jobie Dajka. McCann scores last spotIrishman David McCann has snared the final spot in his country's Olympic squad, getting the nod in front of riders such as David O'Loughlin, Morgan Fox, and Mark Scanlon. The team had only two positions for the road race, and Ciaran Power (Linda McCartney) had already been awarded the other one. For their part, Linda McCartney are expanding their team in order to realize their goal of a Tour de France start next year. Firstly, they want another team manager to help Sean Yates and then they will look for more riders with points to try and move into the second division. The team scored a big boost this year with their ride in the Giro d'Italia, where they had several top stage placings as well as one memorable win courtesy of David McKenzie. |
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