Denver, CO
4 Handcyclists were named to the 2008 U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team Friday, following the completion of the opening race at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Omnium. The Bear Creek Lake Time Trial doubled as the only road selecion race for the 2008 team, and the racing was very close among the record field of 53 athletes.
Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, CA), Oscar "Oz" Sanchez (San Diego, CA), Matt Updike (Denver, CO) and David Lee (Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA), were named to the team at the official team presentation in downtown Denver at Lodo's Bar & Grille.
Friday's Time Trial was a very tight race that put athletes from multiple disability groups together in a ranking list where each athlete was given a percentage against the per kilometer elite standard for their category. Athletes who won medals in Bordeaux, France had already essentially qualified (that includes Lee and Albor), so there were only 2 men's spots, and one women's spot open for contention on Friday, with Updike and Sanchez snapping up the mena's, in front of some very serious competition from the 2-wheeled cyclists. On the women's side, Greta Neimanas (LC1) earned the team spot. Top women's handcyclists, MOnica Bascio and Alicia Dana both performed well against their standard, but neither were near top form for this year's RMO, with Dana just returning to racing after a 3-year absence, and Bascio coming back from childbirth last July and a broken leg in February.
More details about the team selection can be found on the U.S. Paralympics website, and results from the RMO races can be found via the event website.
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