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Participants for Olympic Trials announced
 Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 4, 2008)—USA Cycling announced today the eight athletes who will compete at next week’s 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Cycling (BMX).
With the overall winner of the event earning an automatic nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, the competitors include: Tyler Brown (San Clemente, Calif.), Danny Calaug (Chino, Calif.), Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.), Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Kristopher Fox (Phelan, Calif.), Bubba Harris (Goodyear, Ariz.), David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) and Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.).
Following the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships last weekend, USA Cycling selected its Long Team – a list of athletes eligible to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition to the eight aforementioned athletes, Kyle Bennett (Conroe, Texas) and Randy Stumpfhauser (Sanger, Calif.), were also nominated to the Long Team, but neither will compete at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Bennett has already secured an automatic nomination to the Olympic Team as the overall leader of the 2008 USA Cycling BMX Rankings, while Stumpfhauser declined his nomination.
Robinson (2nd), Day (3rd) and Cisar (4th) all earned automatic nominations to the Long Team and invitations to the Olympic Team Trials by virtue of their top five ranking in the final standings of the 2008 USA Cycling BMX Rankings. Since Stumpfhauser (5th) declined his nomination, Calaug (6th) then received an automatic bid as the next athlete in the rankings.
Brown, Fox, Herman and Harris were all discretionary nominations to the Long Team and were extended invitations to the Olympic Team Trials based on various factors, including UCI BMX Supercross World Cup results, USA Cycling BMX Rankings, podium finishes and recent performance trends.
Despite suffering a mid-season injury, Brown is one of only six Americans to qualify for a Supercross final this season and placed fourth at the opening round in Madrid last February.
The youngest invitee at 19 years of age, Fox qualified for the semifinals of the season’s third Supercross last month in Copenhagen.
Herman is one of only two Americans to win a Supercross this season with a victory at the second round in Adelaide, Australia last April. He is also one of only two U.S. riders to score points in all three 2008 Supercross events thus far.
A world champion in 2005, Harris has missed much of the last two seasons because of injury but has shown he’s consistently returning to form with a pair of top-ten finishes in the time trial qualifiers of Supercross races this season. He also advanced to the semifinals at the Adelaide Supercross.
Per USA Cycling’s Olympic Selection Procedures, a women’s Long Team was also selected. Five women received automatic nominations to the Long Team based on the final 2008 USA Cycling BMX Rankings – Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash.), Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, Utah), Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.), Stephanie Barragan (Montclair, Calif.) and Kim Hayashi (Chandler, Ariz.). There were no discretionary nominations to the women’s Long Team.
As the top-ranked athlete in the USA Cycling BMX Rankings, Kintner will receive an automatic nomination to the final Olympic Team.
The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Cycling (BMX) are set for Saturday, June 14 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
MEDIA INFORMATION
· A complete document outlining the competition and scoring format for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Cycling (BMX) is available by clicking here.
· The Doubletree San Diego – Mission Valley has been named the Official Media Hotel for the event. Journalists covering the event are offered a special discounted rate of $129/night from Wed., June 11 through Sun., June 15. To take advantage of this rate, call 1-800-222-TREE (8733) or visit www.sandiegomissionvalley.doubletree.com and refer to the group code, UCB.
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Cycling (BMX)
U.S. Olympic Training Center – Chula Vista, Calif.
Saturday, June 14
List of Competitors:
Tyler Brown (San Clemente, Calif.)
Danny Calaug (Chino, Calif.)
Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.)
Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.)
Kristopher Fox (Phelan, Calif.)
Bubba Harris (Goodyear, Ariz.)
David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo.)
Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.).
About USA Cycling
Recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling is the official governing body for all disciplines of competitive cycling in the United States, including road, track, mountain bike, BMX and cyclo-cross. As a membership-based organization and sanctioning body, USA Cycling consists of 64,000+ members, including 57,000 competitive cyclists, 1,500 coaches, 4,000 student-athletes, 2,200 officials, 350 professional cyclists, and 200 certified mechanics. USA Cycling also sanctions 2,500 competitive and non-competitive organized cycling events throughout the United States annually, as well as 1,800 clubs and teams. Associations of USA Cycling include the United States Cycling Federation (road, track & cyclo-cross), the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), the BMX Association, the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the United States Professional Racing Organization. USA Cycling is also responsible for the identification, development, support and promotion of American cyclists through various athletic initiatives and programs including the USA Cycling National Development Team, the USA Cycling Women’s National Team, the USA Cycling Junior Development Team, Talent Identification and Regional Development Camps, domestic and international race calendars, direct athlete funding and support programs, and educational camps and seminars. USA Cycling also fields and supports U.S. National Teams for various international events, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Pan American Games, Continental Championship and World Cups across all levels and disciplines of competitive cycling. USA cycling further supports grass roots and locally-based initiatives through its 32 Local Associations and comprehensive network of licensed and certified coaches and officials. Additionally, USA Cycling conducts National Championship events for amateur and professional cyclists, awarding more than 600 national titles annually to men and women in junior, U23, masters, elite, professional and paralympic categories throughout the various disciplines of competitive cycling. To learn more about USA Cycling, visit www.usacycling.org. For media-related or general inquiries, please contact USA Cycling Director of Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867 or alee@usacycling.org.
This Article Published 2008-06-04 15:17:33
For more information contact: alee@usacycling.org
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