TREXLERTOWN, Pa. (Aug. 31) – Competition finished on Saturday night at the
USCF National Track Cycling Championships at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome
with the men’s team sprint, women’s points race, men’s 10-mile scratch and
the tandem sprint finals. It also brought the championship win local cycling
hero Mary Nothstein (Trexlertown, Pa) has been searching for this week.

2000 Olympic gold medallist Nothstein has shifted his focus from track to
road racing, and has not defended his national sprint titles in these U.S.
championships. The men’s 10-mile scratch race was Nothstein’s focus coming
into these championships.

“The 10-mile race has been my focus all year, and I haven’t lost one yet,”
said Nothstein. “I wanted to ride really aggressive and put the pressure
on…going into it, I knew this was going to be a race between Jame [Carney]
and his teammates [Prime Alliance]. It was a tough race, but I was
determined. After a silver medal in the points race [Thursday], I was
disappointed…I rode that race strong, and I was fast but it was tough
sprinting 20 times. So I came out aggressive in this race, and I rode like I
wanted to ride.”

In the women’s points race, Sarah Uhl (Perkasie, Pa.) won her first elite
national title. It was a very challenging race for the women, as a short
rainstorm forced two stops in the 72-lap competition. And the finish came
down to a very exciting battle between Uhl and defending national points
race champion Erin Mirabella (Oceanside, Calif.), with Uhl surging ahead for
the victory

“I was in pain the whole way, and I was really emotional,” said Uhl, who has
had a very grueling week, competing in all events of these championships. “I
was crying…I felt like I was in really bad form. I have really bad shin
splints and really bad pain in my muscles because I’ve competed this week in
every event. So I finally got it back together and won a couple of sprints.
After that, when the first rain break came, I realized that I was winning
and I was hoping the race would be over and we wouldn’t have to go back out.
But we had to complete the race so that it would be valid for World
Championships selection.

“It was hard because I was winning, and if it kept raining I would have the
jersey [and national championship title],” said Uhl. “But then we had to
come back to the line, and it could be anyone else’s race in a second.”

Team Focus 2004 won the men’s team sprint event, in which teams of three
complete a kilometer of laps on the track, with one team member peeling off
from the team each lap and one team member finishing the sprint. Team Focus
2004 consists of Garth Blackburn (Houston, Texas), Jeffrey LaBauve (Frisco,
Texas), Giddeon Massie (Quakertown, Pa.) and Adam Duvendeck (Colorado
Springs, Colo

“The keirin is a great event, but the truth is it’s an individual event,”
said Blackburn, who won his first national championship title in the men’s
keirin Thursday. “It’s really special to come together as a team, and to
work together as a team to win the gold.”

“A lot of people are nervous about the team event because you have to depend
on other people to win,” said LaBauve, who won gold in the men’s sprint
Friday. “But I don’t think any of us [Focus 2004] feel that way. We each
have the ability to come out here and post the fastest time, and it’s great
to be able to train together as a team all year.”

In the men’s tandem sprint, Team East Coast Velo members Josh Weir
(Indianapolis, Ind.) and Erik Bonser (Parryville, Pa.) won the championship
title. The men’s round-robin-format race was cut short by one full round,
due to the threat of impending rain.

With the conclusion of the 2002 USCF National Track Cycling Championships,
athletes will now look forward to competition at the World Track Cycling
Championships to be contested in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sept. 25-29. USA
Cycling will announce the full World Championships team next month.

For a full results wrap-up from the 2002 USCF National Track Cycling
Championships, please visit www.veloresults.com

TREXLERTOWN, Pa. (Aug. 31) – Competition finished on Saturday night at the
USCF National Track Cycling Championships at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome
with the men’s team sprint, women’s points race, men’s 10-mile scratch and
the tandem sprint finals. It also brought the championship win local cycling
hero Mary Nothstein (Trexlertown, Pa) has been searching for this week.

2000 Olympic gold medallist Nothstein has shifted his focus from track to
road racing, and has not defended his national sprint titles in these U.S.
championships. The men’s 10-mile scratch race was Nothstein’s focus coming
into these championships.

“The 10-mile race has been my focus all year, and I haven’t lost one yet,”
said Nothstein. “I wanted to ride really aggressive and put the pressure
on…going into it, I knew this was going to be a race between Jame [Carney]
and his teammates [Prime Alliance]. It was a tough race, but I was
determined. After a silver medal in the points race [Thursday], I was
disappointed…I rode that race strong, and I was fast but it was tough
sprinting 20 times. So I came out aggressive in this race, and I rode like I
wanted to ride.”

In the women’s points race, Sarah Uhl (Perkasie, Pa.) won her first elite
national title. It was a very challenging race for the women, as a short
rainstorm forced two stops in the 72-lap competition. And the finish came
down to a very exciting battle between Uhl and defending national points
race champion Erin Mirabella (Oceanside, Calif.), with Uhl surging ahead for
the victory

“I was in pain the whole way, and I was really emotional,” said Uhl, who has
had a very grueling week, competing in all events of these championships. “I
was crying…I felt like I was in really bad form. I have really bad shin
splints and really bad pain in my muscles because I’ve competed this week in
every event. So I finally got it back together and won a couple of sprints.
After that, when the first rain break came, I realized that I was winning
and I was hoping the race would be over and we wouldn’t have to go back out.
But we had to complete the race so that it would be valid for World
Championships selection.

“It was hard because I was winning, and if it kept raining I would have the
jersey [and national championship title],” said Uhl. “But then we had to
come back to the line, and it could be anyone else’s race in a second.”

Team Focus 2004 won the men’s team sprint event, in which teams of three
complete a kilometer of laps on the track, with one team member peeling off
from the team each lap and one team member finishing the sprint. Team Focus
2004 consists of Garth Blackburn (Houston, Texas), Jeffrey LaBauve (Frisco,
Texas), Giddeon Massie (Quakertown, Pa.) and Adam Duvendeck (Colorado
Springs, Colo

“The keirin is a great event, but the truth is it’s an individual event,”
said Blackburn, who won his first national championship title in the men’s
keirin Thursday. “It’s really special to come together as a team, and to
work together as a team to win the gold.”

“A lot of people are nervous about the team event because you have to depend
on other people to win,” said LaBauve, who won gold in the men’s sprint
Friday. “But I don’t think any of us [Focus 2004] feel that way. We each
have the ability to come out here and post the fastest time, and it’s great
to be able to train together as a team all year.”

In the men’s tandem sprint, Team East Coast Velo members Josh Weir
(Indianapolis, Ind.) and Erik Bonser (Parryville, Pa.) won the championship
title. The men’s round-robin-format race was cut short by one full round,
due to the threat of impending rain.

With the conclusion of the 2002 USCF National Track Cycling Championships,
athletes will now look forward to competition at the World Track Cycling
Championships to be contested in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sept. 25-29. USA
Cycling will announce the full World Championships team next month.

For a full results wrap-up from the 2002 USCF National Track Cycling
Championships, please visit www.veloresults.com