DENMARK WORLD CUP
The final Track World Cup was in Ballerup, Denmark starting on February 15, 2008. Becky rode for the US team for this World Cup and left with the team on the Friday leading into the event. Neva and Christen followed leaving on Sunday and Monday respectively. Once in Copenhagen, Christen and Neva’s bikes and wheels didn’t make the flight.
Becky and Christen stayed at the ZLeep hotel in Ballerup which is very minimalist. No telephones, no minifridge, no microwave and equipped with bunk beds and a flat screen. The breakfast at the hotel was interesting. There was fresh bread every morning and the coffee was great. Our choice for breakfast included turkey, salami or ham cold cuts with veggie or chicken paté. The other option was corn flakes or raw oatmeal. Since the only food in walking distance of the hotel was Mc Donalds or a very over priced Italian restaurant, many of us opted to make turkey sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Neva stayed downtown Copenhagen which is about 20 minutes from the track, but close to many restaurants.
On Wednesday Becky and Neva jumped in behind the pace lines while Christen rode Becky’s bike on rollers because her bikes still did not arrive. The track itself is beautiful with the addition of its new roof (see picture below). We decided to take the train into town after our training to get a bite to eat. It was really nice to eat at a little café and have a nice meal. When we arrived back at the hotel, Christen’s bikes finally arrived.

Thursday was business as usual one day before competition. Get up in the morning, eat breakfast and hop on the rollers for 30 minutes. We had our track time in the afternoon which we used as one final check on our equipment and our legs.
Day one of racing was fast and furious. Becky and Christen were in the first heat together. Neva was in the second heat. Becky was nearly in the crash, but held on to advance to the finals with Christen. In the Scratch Final Becky finished in sixth place.
Day two of racing started off very aggressive. Neva was in the first heat and Becky and Christen were in the second. Becky was the only one to advance to the finals. The heats were very competitive with many of the top riders not making it to the finals. Becky placed 10th in a very exciting Points Race final. Becky’s combined performances in all four World Cups in the Points Race placed her second in the overall UCI standings.

Since we didn’t race on Sunday, Neva and Christen ate at a steakhouse downtown. Becky decided to stay and watch racing. For the most part Copenhagen is a cute city with numerous cafes and great interior design. We had a great weekend of racing and look forward to the World Championships.

Quinny Going to Worlds!

Becky Quinn just received the golden ticket to the Track World Championships in Manchester England at the end of this month! Quinny will be riding both the Scratch and Points Race for the USA! There is only (1) rider per country allowed to ride each race and the top 24 UCI ranked qualify. The World Champion will automatically qualify her spot to the Olympics in the Points Race. Becky rode the 2007 World Championships in the Scratch race and placed 3rd but was relegated with an extremely controversial call.

Road Season is Here!

The road season is definitely here. It felt like we were picking up just where we left off with our summer traveling and racing. Boulevard was a great opener. It was much colder this year. I met Jen Wilson (JW) at her RV site and we trekked up to the start. It was a decent size field for the early season. There was an early attack where a rider stayed away for about a lap. After a few smaller surges the final climb finally broke up the remaining field. Morgan- 6th, JW- 9th.
JW stayed in San Diego and braved the rain at Red Trolley and tore up the race with a second place finish.
We've been doing the local racing as well. JW finished 4th at Brea and I, 9th. The following weekend I did CBR before the drive up to Santa Rosa. Finished 6th.
Santa Rosa was a very well organized race. The streets were lined with spectators, bells and music. The field was well attended by most major teams. Throughout the race a few small attacks attempted to stay away but the long straightaways, head/tail winds and organized efforts brought everything back. There were primes almost every other lap throughout the race. Jen Wilson went for one and got it about halfway through. She kept her effort up with a small group to see if they could stay away, but were brought back by the field. Jennifer Reither (JennX) and I stayed active in the front and moving with potential breaks to keep JW in a good spot for the finish. In the final laps, larger teams set up their lead outs and JW was right there. She sprinted to a top finish of 6th place.
I'll be heading to Merced for the crit and road race this weekend. -Morgan

Awaiting World Championship Roster, Road, Club Picnic

The UCI Track season is wrapping up and the big announcement on the World Championship team should be finalized this week. Here's some insight:

Becky Quinn is ranked in the top 5 in the world in both the Points and Scratch races. She should be selected for the (1) World Championship spot for the USA in both the Points and Scratch. Becky is in a fierce fight for the (1) Olympic spot for the Points race and a World Championship jersey would secure her that position. Sarah Hammer wants to ride the Points Race in the Olympics and when she qualifies her Pursuit spot she is eligible for that position. It ultimately will come down to USA Cycling to decide who is the best candidate for the Olympic Points position...or who can politic better.

Neva's ranking should move her into the top 24 world ranking in the Individual Pursuit (IP)when the final UCI points get input, however, Neva did not meet the US Talent Pool time standards in 2008 so her spot, if qualified, will go to a US Talent Pool rider- yea, kinda sux but for now that's the rules (this changes in 2009). Neva's on a work vacation in Hawaii during World's, so she said Hawaii vs. Manchester is an OK exchange.

Christen King could be the lucky winner of Neva's IP spot and then would ride the Team Pursuit. Christen earned a bronze medal in the LA World Cup in the Team Pursuit. This year the US gets up to (3) IP spots because Sarah Hammer is the World Champion and that automatically keeps the potential (2) available spots open for qualification. Sarah has qualified a 2nd spot with her UCI rankings. Neva's would be the 3rd qualifying spot. This leaves Christen in contention for that spot. Other rider's vying for those positions would be Kristen Armstrong who placed 4th, only .10 seconds behind World Champion Hammer in the IP at LA and 2007 National IP champion Dotsie Bausch. Lauren Franges who received a free pass from USA Cycling on the track this year being a coach's selection without having to try to meet the mass start or pursuit time standards is also a candidate for the TP position. Lauren rounded out the LA Bronze medal team pursuit team taking 1/2 lap pulls vs Kristen Armstrong and Christen King's full lap pulls. Lauren started her career on the track so she too is a viable candidate.


In other news, the road girls started the season at Tour of California. Some will be road tripping up to Merced although the race is not NRC this year, it should still be a good field. More to come on the road updates by one of the riders.

SBW Club picnic is 3/2 and FRS, PowerBar, Cynergy Cycles, and Patagonia will all be represented along with Ole food!