U.S. earns eight medals so far at Pan American Championships

  
  


Christin Walker earned a bronze medal in the 500-meter time trial on day one.
Christin Walker earned a bronze medal in the 500-meter time trial on day one.
Bogota, Colombia (May 6, 2011) – American cyclists have earned eight medals so far at the UCI Pan American Road and Track Continental Championships which will continue in Bogota, Colombia through Sunday, May 8.

U.S. riders picked up six medals during the track portion of competition, and an additional two once the road racing portion opened up with time trials on Friday. Only the road races remain, and those will be contested on Sunday.

On day one, last Sunday, Dean Tracy (Portland, Ore./Project 2012), Jimmy Watkins (Bakersfield, Calif./OUCH Pro Cycling), and Michael Blatchford (Cypress, Calif./Project 2012) got things off to a good start by qualifying in first in the men’s team sprint. The trio went on to post a time of 45.416 to finish second to host country Colombia and take the silver medal. Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo./Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY 12) then grabbed 36 points to earn the bronze medal in the women’s points race while Christin Walker (Houston, Texas) posted a time of 36.221 to take the bronze in the women’s 500-meter time trial.

Cari Higgins earned two bronze medals during the week - one in the points race and one in the omnium.
Cari Higgins earned two bronze medals during the week - one in the points race and one in the omnium.
The U.S. grabbed another medal, compliments of Jimmy Watkins, on the fourth day at the velodrome. Watkins rode to his second silver medal of the week in the final of men’s sprint, finishing behind gold medalist Hersony Canelon of Venezuela.

The fifth and final day on the track saw the U.S. earn one more silver and one more bronze. Christin Walker earned another medal, a silver, when she finished second it he women’s keirin. Cari Higgins took another bronze in the women’s omnium, with her best result being a first-place effort  in the elimination race.
 
Other action on the track included Walker teaming up with Tela Crane (Seattle, Wash./Lake Washington Velo) for a fourth-place effort in the women’s team sprint. The pair then grabbed 5th and 6th respectively in the women’s sprint. Other strong results came from Kevin Mansker (Long Beach, Calif./Momentum Coaching Group) and Michael Blatchford who were 5th and 8th in the men’s sprint. Mansker and Watkins were 9th and 10th in the men’s keirin, and Kit Karzen (Beverly Hills, Calif./NOW-MS Society) was 12th in the men’s points race and 17th in the men’s scratch race.

Evelyn Stevens and Amber Neben warm up before the time trial on Friday, the first day of road racing.
Evelyn Stevens and Amber Neben warm up before the time trial on Friday, the first day of road racing.
After track racing concluded on Thursday, the road race portion of the continental championships kicked off on Friday with the time trials. In the women’s race against the clock, Evelyn Stevens (Dennis, Mass./HTC-Highroad) was the second fastest for the silver medal while her compatriot, Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif./Veloce Velo) posted the third fastest time for the bronze medal.
 
Stay tuned to www.usacycling.org to find out how the U.S. team fares in Sunday’s road race.


This Article Published May 6, 2011 For more information contact: