Previous 2014 Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

Sarah Hammer came into the day with a six point lead at the top of the omnium standings and maintained that lead all day en route to her second straight women’s omnium World championships. Hammer started things off with a win in the individual pursuit by over a second over Laura Trott. That took some of the pressure off as she held a seven point lead on Trott with just two events left.

Next up was the 10km scratch race. Hammer didn’t come tops, in fact Xiao Juan Diao had a great race and gained a lap on the field. Still Hammer finished ahead of Trott all but sealing the title with an eight point lead. In the final event, the time trial, Hammer came in fourth which was more than enough to give her the omnium title.

 

Hammer’s title this year was even more dominant that last year as she accumulated just 14 points this year after 20 last year. Her margin of six was also better than the four point win she had last year and the 14 point total was the first time in the six-year history of the event that someone finished with less than 20 points.

This ends the major track cycling events for the 2013-14 season. The next Track Cycling World Cup will begin with an event at a location yet to be announced on November 7th-9th. Next year’s world championship will be held from February 18th-22nd but the location for that has not been announced either. The next cycling on our schedule is the start of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Pietermaritzburg on April 10th-13th. Check back then for more cycling coverage on WeSupportTheUS.com.

Previous 2014 Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

The best chance for the US to win a World Championship in Cali is probably going to be the Women’s Omnium. After one day it certainly looks like the US is the favorite to win with Sarah Hammer sitting on top with a six point margin.

Men’s Omnium

In the first event of the second day of the men’s omnium Jacob Duehring finished the individual pursuit in 4:41.062. That placed him 13th around 17 seconds behind the winner. The second event was different event, same result, as Duehring placed 13th in the 15km scratch race.

Duehring placed 14th in the time trial to wrap up the omnium. He finished in 1:06.297, a little over 4.5 seconds behind the winner. In the final standings he had 74 points and placed 15th. He was in 12th-15th for all of the events except for the points race where he was 7th.

Women’s Omnium

Sarah Hammer didn’t get the women’s omnium off with a win but she came very close as she placed second in 14.165 but was topped by a little over a tenth of a second by Annette Edmondson. Hammer did get the win in the points race where she was one of only two women to gain a lap on the main pack. Hammer didn’t do much in terms of sprinting, she only finished in the top four on one sprint, the seventh, which she won. That combined with the 20 point bonus for gaining the lap was enough to put her on top.

The final event of the day was the elimination race where Hammer once again took top honors. That left her leading the overall standings with just four points through three events. Laura Trott sits second but is six points behind Hammer so there is a good margin heading into the final three events on Sunday. Hammer is looking to defend her World Championship in the event from last year and is five points ahead of her winning pace in the event from last year.

Women’s Points Race

In the women’s point race on Saturday Elizabeth Newell wasn’t able to gain a lap on the field and didn’t do much in terms of being at the front on the sprints. That left her with just three points gained from a second place finish on the final sprint and a 14th place finish with 3 total points.

Sunday Preview

Sunday wraps up the World Championships with Sarah Hammer the only one left for the US in action. She’ll have the final three events of the women’s omnium as she bids to repeat as World Champion. Check back to WeSupportTheUS.com for coverage of the final three events.

Schedule:

• March 2nd
  • 12:20-1:15 PM – Women’s Omnium IV – Individual Pursuit 3km
    • Sarah Hammer
  • 3:40-4 PM – Women’s Omnium V – Scratch 10km
    • Sarah Hammer
  • 4:25-4:50 PM – Women’s Omnium Final – 500m Time Trial
    • Sarah Hammer

Previous 2014 Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

The US took home their first medal of the 2014 Track Cycling World Championships on Friday and also saw the men’s omnium get underway.

Women’s Individual Pursuit

Two American women were in the field for the individual pursuit and Sarah Hammer got the event off to a great start with a 3:29.711 that was tops in qualifying by almost a full second and put her into the gold medal race. The other American, Ruth Winder, finished 10th in 3:42.908. Hammer wasn’t able to find the same speed in the gold medal race and actually finished nearly two seconds slower than in qualifying. That left her with a silver medal. Hammer will be back in action on Saturday when the women’s omnium starts.

Continue reading Sarah Hammer Finishes Second in Women’s Individual Pursuit at 2014 Track Cycling World Championships →

Previous Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

After the first two events that the US has competed in at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships they have yet to medal but they do have two top five finishes. Starting things off on Wednesday was Jennifer Valente. The 19-year old competed in the women’s scratch race (just a simple 10km race) and placed 4th in the field of 20.

On Thursday the women’s team pursuit event was held with the American team of Cari Higgins, Lauren Tamayo, Ruth Winder, and Jennifer Valente taking part. The top two teams from the qualifying round would be in the gold medal race with the third and fourth teams racing for bronze. Unfortunately the US team placed fifth, over ten seconds behind the top team and a little over a second behind the fourth place team.

Friday sees the start of the 18-man men’s omnium and the first three parts of the event. Jake Duehring will represent the US in the event. Friday is also when the women’s individual pursuit is contested. Sarah Hammer and Ruth Winder will both be in the 15-woman field for the qualifying portion of the individual pursuit and hoping to make the gold or bronze medal races. The events will be going on all afternoon so I’ll have coverage of the results on Saturday morning.

Schedule:

• 12:35-1:05 PM – Men’s Omnium I – Flying Lap
  • Jake Duehring
• 1:35-2:35 PM – Women’s Individual Pursuit – Qualifying
  • Sarah Hammer
  • Ruth Winder
• 3:05-3:45 PM – Men’s Omnium II – Points Race 30km
  • Jake Duehring
• 8:35-8:50 PM – Women’s Individual Pursuit – Finals
  • Sarah Hammer
  • Ruth Winder
• 9:45-10 PM – Men’s Omnium III – Elimination
  • Jake Duehring

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships begin on Wednesday evening in Cali, Colombia with seven women and one man set to represent the US. The first American to get underway will be Jennifer Valente. Valente will take part in the women’s scratch 10km race on Wednesday evening. The scratch race is the simplest race in the World Champions to explain. It starts with all of the competitors together at the start and the first one across the line wins. Just your basic race. Valente is just 19 and won the Junior World Championship scratch race in 2011.

We’ll have coverage of the results of Valente’s event tomorrow along with information about tomorrow’s women’s team pursuit event.

Schedule:

• 7:40-8 PM – Women’s Scratch 10km
  • Jennifer Valente