Sarah Takes Women's Track Racing to the Next Level!!
OUCH Pro Cycling’s 1st World Cup a Triumph!
Here is a quote from the U.C.I. that concisely sums up the stellar three day event:
“After Sydney and Moscow , the third of the four rounds of the 2006-2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup took place in Los Angeles ( USA ) from 19 to 21 January. A new participation record in this fifth edition of the series was set at this event. In fact, 254 athletes representing 36 countries and 13 professional teams gathered together in the Home Depot Center velodrome, where the UCI World Championships took place in 2005.
The undeniable star of the weekend in front of a huge Californian crowd, who gave superb performances, was Sarah Hammer winning three gold medals. The World Champion pursuit titleholder triumphed in her preferred specialty achieving a new American record in the qualifying rounds. She also rode to victory in the point’s race and the scratch. The excellent form which the American displayed in Los Angeles has made her one of the biggest stars in the upcoming World Championships in Palma de Mallorca (ESP), scheduled at the end of March.”
How does one define athletic domination? Sarah and the OUCH Pro Cycling squad made their statement at the 2007 Los Angeles World Cup. Starting on Friday, January 19th, the World’s finest cyclist held court at the ADT Event Center Velodrome at the Home Depot Center in Carson , California .
With three days of racing on tap, OUCH Pro Cycling placed primary importance on Friday’s Women’s Points Race. The morning session saw Sarah breezing through qualifying and establishing herself as the race favorite. In the all-star final, which included the reigning Points Race World Champion, attack upon attack sprang from the field. Sarah found herself with few friends, and was forced to chase most of the dangerous moves alone. Going on the offensive 30 laps into the 80-lap race, Sarah clawed her way into a tie for the lead with a Cuban rider with only the final sprint to be contested. Sarah only had to beat the Cuban to the finish. With fellow American Becky Quinn bringing Sarah to the front, Sarah came across the line with a nail-biting win before a crazed, hometown crowd!
The morning of day two saw Sarah lining up for the event in which she is the reigning World Champion—the Women’s 3000 Meter Pursuit. Despite the taxing effort of the prior night’s Points Race victory, the morning qualifying round ended with Sarah breaking her own American record and dominating the competition. In an event usually decided by fractions of a second, Sarah’s next closest qualifier found themselves seven seconds slower! In the evening final, Sarah rode easily to claim her second World Cup gold medal.
By day three, the OUCH Pro Cycling Team had demonstrated its dominance, and it was clear that every rider in the field would be marking Sarah’s every move. The question on everyone’s lips was simple: Could Sarah and OUCH complete the hat trick by winning the Scratch Race? After once again moving easily through the qualifying rounds, Sarah lined up against the World’s best female cyclists (including the reigning World Champion in the Scratch Race) for the 10-kilometer final. At a short 40 laps, there is no room for error in this race. The first half of the race saw Sarah keeping a watchful eye on her competitors, and being closely watched herself, as some small attacks sprang from the field. With five laps to go, and in near a replay of her victory in last year’s L.A. World Cup, Sarah seized control of the race. The hometown crowd was on its feet, witness to Sarah’s strength and speed. At three laps, Sarah took the lead and never looked back, leaving the competition powerless to contest the finish.
With the hat-trick completed, Sarah closed the Los Angeles World Cup in true dominating style!
Here is a quote from the U.C.I. that concisely sums up the stellar three day event:
“After Sydney and Moscow , the third of the four rounds of the 2006-2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup took place in Los Angeles ( USA ) from 19 to 21 January. A new participation record in this fifth edition of the series was set at this event. In fact, 254 athletes representing 36 countries and 13 professional teams gathered together in the Home Depot Center velodrome, where the UCI World Championships took place in 2005.
The undeniable star of the weekend in front of a huge Californian crowd, who gave superb performances, was Sarah Hammer winning three gold medals. The World Champion pursuit titleholder triumphed in her preferred specialty achieving a new American record in the qualifying rounds. She also rode to victory in the point’s race and the scratch. The excellent form which the American displayed in Los Angeles has made her one of the biggest stars in the upcoming World Championships in Palma de Mallorca (ESP), scheduled at the end of March.”
How does one define athletic domination? Sarah and the OUCH Pro Cycling squad made their statement at the 2007 Los Angeles World Cup. Starting on Friday, January 19th, the World’s finest cyclist held court at the ADT Event Center Velodrome at the Home Depot Center in Carson , California .
With three days of racing on tap, OUCH Pro Cycling placed primary importance on Friday’s Women’s Points Race. The morning session saw Sarah breezing through qualifying and establishing herself as the race favorite. In the all-star final, which included the reigning Points Race World Champion, attack upon attack sprang from the field. Sarah found herself with few friends, and was forced to chase most of the dangerous moves alone. Going on the offensive 30 laps into the 80-lap race, Sarah clawed her way into a tie for the lead with a Cuban rider with only the final sprint to be contested. Sarah only had to beat the Cuban to the finish. With fellow American Becky Quinn bringing Sarah to the front, Sarah came across the line with a nail-biting win before a crazed, hometown crowd!
The morning of day two saw Sarah lining up for the event in which she is the reigning World Champion—the Women’s 3000 Meter Pursuit. Despite the taxing effort of the prior night’s Points Race victory, the morning qualifying round ended with Sarah breaking her own American record and dominating the competition. In an event usually decided by fractions of a second, Sarah’s next closest qualifier found themselves seven seconds slower! In the evening final, Sarah rode easily to claim her second World Cup gold medal.
By day three, the OUCH Pro Cycling Team had demonstrated its dominance, and it was clear that every rider in the field would be marking Sarah’s every move. The question on everyone’s lips was simple: Could Sarah and OUCH complete the hat trick by winning the Scratch Race? After once again moving easily through the qualifying rounds, Sarah lined up against the World’s best female cyclists (including the reigning World Champion in the Scratch Race) for the 10-kilometer final. At a short 40 laps, there is no room for error in this race. The first half of the race saw Sarah keeping a watchful eye on her competitors, and being closely watched herself, as some small attacks sprang from the field. With five laps to go, and in near a replay of her victory in last year’s L.A. World Cup, Sarah seized control of the race. The hometown crowd was on its feet, witness to Sarah’s strength and speed. At three laps, Sarah took the lead and never looked back, leaving the competition powerless to contest the finish.
With the hat-trick completed, Sarah closed the Los Angeles World Cup in true dominating style!
More coverage and photos can be found here:
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2730
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2733
http://www.cyclingnews.com/track.php?id=track/2006/worldcup0607/losangeles07/losangeles075
http://www.cyclingnews.com/track.php?id=track/2006/worldcup0607/losangeles07/losangeles074
posted by Andy Sparks and Dotsie Bausch at 7:58 PM
