July 28, 2004 – The official grand opening of the ADT Event Center welcomed the future stars of international track cycling as the 2004 UCI Junior Track World Championships kicked off this morning at the nation’s only indoor velodrome.

Action began this morning with individual pursuit qualifying as 30 competitors from 18 countries took to the track with the hopes of clocking one of the best eight times, a feat that would advance them to the proper first round on Thursday. Current U.S. Junior National Champion, Elliot Gaunt and Daniel Holloway comprised the American contingent that would test their talent against a formidable field.

In the morning’s fourth heat, Germany’s Patrick Gretsch set the early standard posting a 3.26.053 giving the rest of the field a challenging benchmark to set their sights on. In the following heat Holloway rode a 3:41.003 to temporarily place him fifth. Maintaining the eighth and final qualifying spot as the eighth heat began, Holloway was bumped down to tenth as Alex Pliuschin (MDA) rode a 3:26.962 officially ending Holloway’s chance at advancement.

In the tenth heat, Gaunt took to the track and posted a 3:48.619, a time that placed him 19th at the moment, well off the mark needed to move on to the first round.

As competition continued, Miles Olman (AUS) surpassed Gretsch’s mark by over six seconds, clocking a 3:20.429 in the 13th heat, but in the final pairing, current world record holder, Michael Ford (AUS) bested all 30 riders with a time of 3:20.364 edging his countryman for the top qualifying mark.

The 2004 UCI Junior Track World Championships continue with Wednesday’s evening session which includes the women’s points race, the men’s kilometer time trial and the men’s scratch race. In the women’s points race, Kimberly Geist will ride for the U.S. while Aaron Kacala and Michael Schnabel will represent the U.S. in the men’s kilo and scratch race respectively.