Track nationals washed away
Day 3 of the five-day USCF elite track national championships came to an abrupt halt at 6:35 p.m. local time when ever-threatening skies finally opened up and drenched the track at the National Sports Center velodrome in Blaine, Minnesota. Racing was immediately postponed until Friday, because even if the rain had receded quickly, there was no hope of the wooden track drying during the nighttime session. The men’s sprint 1/8th final was the only portion of the evening’s program contested. Those moving on to the next round were Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, Garth Blackburn, Giddeon
By Jason Sumner, VeloNews Associate Editor
Photo: Jason Sumner
Day 3 of the five-day USCF elite track national championships came to an abrupt halt at 6:35 p.m. local time when ever-threatening skies finally opened up and drenched the track at the National Sports Center velodrome in Blaine, Minnesota. Racing was immediately postponed until Friday, because even if the rain had receded quickly, there was no hope of the wooden track drying during the nighttime session.
The men’s sprint 1/8th final was the only portion of the evening’s program contested. Those moving on to the next round were Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, Garth Blackburn, Giddeon Massie, Joshua Weir, Jeff LaBauve, and Adam Duvendeck. The losers in those six heats will have one more chance to advance in the two 3-up repechage heats.
Feature events that had to be rescheduled included the women’s sprint final and the team pursuit final. Those races, plus a full slate of qualifying events will no take place Friday morning starting at 10 a.m. Events on tap for Friday’s evening session includes the men’s sprint final and the men’s points race.
The weather forecast for Friday called for partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers and highs in the mid-70s.
In Thursday’s morning session Prime Alliance and the Beasty Boys advanced to the final of the team pursuit. Members of the Prime Alliance squad include brothers Jonas and Jame Carney, Ryan Miller, Colby Pearce, John Walrod, and Mike Tillman. The Beasty Boys lineup is Erik Sperling, John Kelly, Joey D’Antoni, and Tim Reinhart.
Check back later to VeloNews.com for results, photos, and race reports.