Seventeen Year Old Sets First-Ever World Record on The Home Depot Center’s Velodrome

Carson, CA (June 16, 2008) – Seventeen year old cyclist Taylor Phinney of Boulder, Colorado, has set a new world junior record in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit event with a time of 3:16.65 this afternoon at the ADT Event Center located at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The record set by Phinney, nominated to the United States Olympic Team which will announce its members on July 1, is the first world record set on the velodrome inside the ADT Event Center.

Phinney, talking part in USA Cycling’s team selection camp, said, “Achieving this mark was one of my goals when I started my Olympic training this year,” said Phinney. “As our team prepares for Beijing, I couldn’t be more proud to set this record and am excited to represent the United States in the Olympics.”

The new world record eclipses the old mark of 3:17.775 achieved by Michael Ford (Australia) in 2004.

Having opened July 21, 2004, the 2,450-seat ADT Event Center features North America’s only indoor cycling velodrome and has hosted such prestigious events such as the 2004 UCI Junior Track Cycling Championships, the 2005 UCI Track Cycling Championships and the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classic among other prestigious events.

Unfortunately, Allen Iverson (formerly of the Philadelphia 76ers) never fully comprehended the true message of his former coach, Larry Brown. As cyclists, we all know too well how valuable practice and training can be not only to our own ambitions, but also to our welfare and the welfare of those around us in the pack.

If you ever wondered what it's like on the track during practice, one of the coaches, Ed Gostin (Wolverine Sports Club), out at the Mike Walden Velodrome (Rochester Hills, MI) shot this great video with a handlebar mounted camera.

That's how Dale Hughes, NAS-Track Chairman at the Mike Walden Velodrome (Rochester Hills, MI) described the racing at the end of the 2007 NAS-Track International 3-Day.

The weekend was filled with thrills, spills, fans, and bands [alright only 1 band, The Pit Crew].

The event featured 10 teams from 8 different velodromes, which by the third day was pared down to 8 teams with a couple of DNFs. The teams included:
Austin Carroll & Dan Vogt - ADT Velodrome, California
Brian Crosby & Luke Winger – National Sports Velodrome, Minnesota
Kevin Suhr & Jason Luttrell – 7-Eleven Velodrome, Colorado
Jarred Faciszewski & Luke Canvender – 7-Eleven Velodrome & VBP
Kelly Sparks & Chris Mosora – Major Taylor Velodrome, Indiana
Danielle DeFransica & Dave Byer – Forest City Velodrome, Canada
Rick Denman & Tony Bruley – Encino Velodrome, California & VBP
Andre Champoux & Paul Hertzler – Velodrome at Bloomer Park, Mi
Matt Walp & Brendan Benson – Velodrome at Bloomer Park, Mi
Paul Jaqua & Nick Bayma – Dick Lane Velodrome, Georgia & VBP

And the schedule featured 3 days of 3 different disciplines:
1 Mile Sprint – 1st team member 10 – 1pt
1 Mile Sprint – other team member 10 – 1pt
8 Mile Madison – 3 sprints 10 -1pt
Miss & Out – all riders 15 – 1pt
15 Mile Madison – 6 sprints 10 – 1pt, double pt last sprint

The overall winners, and quite literally the last ones standing, were Danielle DeFransica & Dave Byer of the Forest City Velodrome in Canada who compiled 327 points.

Photos: Courtesy of Bob Bruce

The Detroit Free Press, which has one of the more memorable URLs, FREEP.com, recently featured the Mike Walden Velodrome in Rochester Hills, MI and those who run it and ride on it. If you still haven't taken a ride on the boards, just listening to (reading) what Maia Orabi (Wolverine Sports Club) has to say about it should at the very least pique your interest. Having met Maia out on the track, her personality is just as infectious as her love for it.

Gina Damron writes:
And then there's Maia, the 21-year-old newbie with the red, scabbed-over scrapes on her knees to show for it. Maia Orabi (inset) of Shelby Township is one of the few women racing against the men.

"Like how a mosquito tastes blood and wants more, more, more," she said, "I'm like that with the track."

[MORE]

Last year was my first in organized racing, and the first time I had ever ridden a fixed gear (at least a true fixie, as I've had many a rear derailleur mishap). But, it didn't take long for me to come down with "fixed gear fever."

Having lived in close proximity to two velodromes, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbrook, IL and the Washington Park Velodrome in Kenosha, WI, and with three Chicagoland area bike shops offering free fixed gear rentals, it was hard not to get hooked. I considered myself truly blessed.

But since I moved to Michigan, I now consider myself just plain spoiled.

Just northeast of Ann Arbor is the Velodrome at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills, MI. The 1/8th of a mile wooden track was designed by Dale Hughes, who also designed the Olympic velodrome for the Atlanta Games (among others).

The banking is 18 degrees in the straights and 44 degrees in the corners. At a little over 28mph in the corners, you are perfectly perpendicular to the ground; anything over that you actually begin to tilt inward past perpendicular.

Considering that I learned on a track where the banking is only 18 degrees in the corners, my interests, as well as my nerves, were immediately piqued.

I spent all weekend out on the track getting comfortable and relearning most of the skills I developed last year. I essentially felt like a track newbie. The regulars who run the track, however, were more than happy to take me through the paces and provide me with any instruction I needed. I even got a helping hand from one of my former xXx-Athletico racing teammates, Dave, who is originally from the area and comes back often to race.

Atlhough I have yet to "cut my racing teeth" at Bloomer Park, with the Madison being this velodrome's bread-and-butter, any reason to get this "late bloomer" out on the track suits me just fine (just don't ask me to do another cone drill).

In the spirit of Graeme Obree, but in a different discipline altogether, Scotsman and current World Champion in the Kilometre, Chris Hoy (Photo: AFP) went after the World Record in the same.

Hoy attempted to break Arnaud Tournant's record set in 2001 on the same "at altitude" velodrome in La Paz, Bolivia. In his second attempt, Hoy narrowly missed the record by 5 one-thousandths of a second, clocking the second fastest kilometre ever (58.880 to Tournant's 58.875).

Hoy didn't leave La Paz empty handed, however, as he set the World Record in the 500m from a standing start. He bettered the previous mark of 25.85 by another Frenchman, Arnaud Duble.

Twice As Nice...
It has been said that its easier to get to the top than to stay there. Regardless, Sarah Hammer, now knows the feeling from both sides of the fence as she was able to repeat in the 3km Individual Pursuit.

For those who don't have a velodrome nearby or have never ventured onto the pine, the pursuit is considered one of track cycling's endurance events. But that can even be a misnomer as the speeds can be very fast. The event I liken it most to is the 800m in track, where you need the speed of a sprinter, but the endurance of a 1-2 miler.

The individual pursuit is held in the men's (4km) and women's (3km) category. The team pursuit is held only in the men's category, at the same distance. A rider, or team of four, starts at opposite ends of the track and attempts to cover the distance as quickly as possible. If there's a huge disparity between the competitors the race looks almost like greyhounds chasing a mechanical rabbit around the dog track. If an individual or team catches and passes the other before the covered distance, the race is over.

Other Champions include:
Men's:
Chris Hoy (GBR) - Kilo & Keirin; Theo Bos (NED) - Sprints; Alois Kankovsky (CZE) - Omnium; Bradley Wiggins (GBR)- Indiviual Pursuit; Kam Po Wong (CHN) - Scratch; Joan Llaneras (ESP) - Points; Mickaël Bourgain and Arnaud Tournant (FRA) - Team Sprints; Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli (SWI) - Madison; Great Britain - Team Pursuit.

Women's:
Victoria Pendelton (GBR) - Sprints & Keirin; Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso (CUB) - Scratch; Katherine Bates (AUS) - Points; Victoria Pendelton and Shanaze Reade (GBR) - Team Sprints.

Wonder What 44 Degree Banking Looks Like?
Photo: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews.com

America's hope for medals will hinge on the legs of our women, lead by World Champion Sarah Hammer (Photo: Mitch Clinton).

Team USA
Women:
Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.) - Individual Pursuit, Points Race
Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) - Individual Pursuit
Becky Quinn (Quakertown, Pa.) - Scratch Race
Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash) - Sprint, Keirin

Men:
Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Points Race
Brad Huff (Fair Grove, Mo.) - Points Race, Omnium

The Fixed Gear Fever that is...

If you're a regular reader of this blog or have stopped by on occasion, you probably know that Oude Granny tried out his cycling skills on the track this summer/fall. Well in order to incorporate another flavor to this blog, we've added the site Fixed Gear Fever to our list of sites to visit (see sidebar). The site is probably the most comprehensive of its kind on the internet (although I've seen some great track site solely devoted to juniors). Anyway, if you don't have a local velodrome or don't know much about Track Cycling, give The Fever a whirls.

Oude Granny has been meaning to write something up about track racing for quite some time now. And I couldn't have picked a more perfect time (or night) to head out to the Ed Rudolph Northbrook Velodrome for the Roger DeLanghe Trophy Race. Directly from the Northbrook Velodrome website:

And this year, Mr. DeLanghe looked as good as ever leading out the 58 rider field. Yes that's not a typo, a 58 rider field. That may seem like an exceptionally overabundant field, but because of the way the Northbrook Velodrome was constructed, its probably one of the only velodromes in the country that could accomodate such a large mass of humanity.

Roger DeLanghe (Center) Still Going Strong

Robbie Ventura - 2001 Winner of the Roger DeLanghe Trophy
Getting Numbers Pinned On

But perhaps the biggest treat of Granny's night had to be watching Natalie Klemko. A member of America's Dairyland Cycling Team, this 19 year old from Bristol, WI was clearly the class of the Womens' field. But the high school senior wasn't out on the track merely to collect easy prizes, cash, or medals last night. She came to race! If you look closely at the photo of Roger Delanghe above, you'll see Natalie to the right (kit trimmed in pink). She mixed it up with the big boys, placing in the front of the pack for the 50 lap scratch race, and immediately following the cool down/neutral lap, Natalie jumped right into the next Women's scratch race. Udderly AMAZING! (Sorry Granny couldn't resist the pun)

Natalie Klemko - Breezing To An Easy Victory