15 June 2012

US Olympic team for cycling

Who will go and when they will race
Twenty-four lucky excited individuals will be representing the United States at the London Olympics in 2012. Mark your calendars and get ready to watch some of the best athletes around the world - the games are July 27-August 12, 2012. I wish David Zabriskie had been included on the mens team, but with only 5 men chosen, many other great riders are missing from the list as well - Matthew Busche, Ted King, Ben King, George Hincapie, and Levi Liepheimer are just a few. 

Update 06/16/12: Why? = Four US cyclists opt out of Olympic consideration "... Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie asked that they be taken out of the running for places on the road cycling team for the London Games, USA Cycling announced in a brief statement Saturday." 
Which American are representing the USA at the 2012 Olympics?
The team: road cycling - men (5)
Tyler Farrar, Chris Horner, Tejay Van Garderen, Taylor Phinney and U.S. national road race champion Timothy Duggan.
(Taylor Phinney will compete in the time trial)
The team: road cycling - women (4)
Evelyn Stevens, Shelley Olds, Amber Neben and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong.
(Time trial competitors will be 2008 Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong and former World Champion Amber Neben).
The team: track cycling - men (2)
Bobby Lea will ride the men's omnium and Jimmy Watkins the men's sprint.
The team: track cycling - women (4)
Sarah Hammer, Dotsie Bausch, Jennie Reed and Lauren Tamayo (pursuit team)
(Sarah Hammer will also compete in the omnium)
The team: BMX - men (3)
David Herman, (TBD), (TBD)
The team: BMX - women (2)
Arielle Martin, (TBD)
The team: mountain biking - men (2)
Todd Wells, Samuel Schultz
The team: mountain biking - women (2)
Georgia Gould, Lea Davison

Where will the Olympic cycling venues be? 
Olympic Road Race route:
The road race route begins at The Mall and heads south-west through London, across the River Thames at Putney Bridge, through Richmond Park, Bushy Park, and past Hampton Court Palace before heading out to Surrey. The course will include laps around the 15.5-kilometer circuit of Surrey’s Box hill (nine laps of the circuit for the men and two laps for the women) before heading back to the city.
2012 Olympic road race route map  Click here to see the road race route
Olympic time trial route:
The men’s and women’s time trials will begin and end at the former royal residence, Hampton Court Palace in southwest London, and will incorporate sections of Richmond, Kingston-upon-Thames, and Surrey. The mens route will be a single lap, 44 kilometers in length. The women's route will be a slight variation of the single lap at 29 kilometers.
2012 Olympic time trial route map  Click to see a map of the time trial course
Olympic mountain bike route:
The mountain bike races will take place east of London at Hadleigh Farm in the Essex countryside across a 550-acre site.
2012 Olympic Mountain Bike route map  Click to see a map of the mountain bike course
Olympic BMX route:
The BMX course is next to the velodrome on a brand new 400-meter track in Olympic Park. The men’s track is 470 meters long and the women’s is 430 meters long.  
2012 Olympic BMX course 
 Olympic Track Velodrome:
When will the Olympic cycling events be held?  (Visit NBCOlympics.com for television information.)
DATE             EVENT        TIME (EDT)        
Fri., July 27    Opening Ceremonies 2:30 p.m. 
 
Sat., July 28    Men's Road Race 5 a.m.
Sun., July 29   Women's Road Race 7 a.m. 
 
Wed., Aug. 1   Women's Time Trial 7:30 a.m.
Wed., Aug. 1   Men's Time Trial 9:15 a.m. 
 
Thur., Aug. 2   Track — Men’s Team Pursuit qualifying;
                                        Men’s/Women’s Team Sprint final 11 a.m.
Fri., Aug. 3      Track — Men’s Team Pursuit final; Women’s Keirin final;
                                       Women’s Team Pursuit qualifying 11 a.m.
Sat. Aug. 4      Track — Men’s Omnium Flying Lap,30k Points Race, Elimination Race;
                                        Men’s Sprint qualifying; Women’s Team Pursuit final 5 a.m.
Sun., Aug. 5    Track — Men’s Omnium 4K Individual Pursuit, 15k Scratch Race, 1k Time Trial;
                                        Women’s Sprint qualifying; Men’s Sprint quarterfinals;
                                        Women’s Sprint early rounds 5 a.m.
Mon., Aug. 6   Track — Men’s Sprint final; Women’s Omnium Flying Lap, 20k Points Race,
                                        Elimination Race; Women’s Sprint quarterfinals 11 a.m.
Tue., Aug. 7    Track — Men’s Keirin final; Women’s Omnium 3k Individual Pursuit,
                                       10k Scratch Race, 500m Time Trial; Women’s Sprint final 5 a.m. 
 
Wed., Aug. 8   BMX — Men's/Women's seeding runs 10 a.m.
Thur., Aug. 9   BMX — Men's quarterfinals 10 a.m.
Fri., Aug. 10    BMX — Men's/Women's Semifinal & Finals 10 a.m. 
 
Sat., Aug. 11    Women's Mountain Bike Cross-Country 7:30 a.m.
Sun., Aug. 12   Men's Mountain Bike Cross-Country 8:30 a.m. 
 
Sun., Aug. 12   Closing Ceremonies 2:30 p.m.

Remember the Tour de France begins early this year; the Olympics begin less than a week after. We have a lot of sports TV coverage to watch this summer.
Tour de France: June 30 - July 22, 2012
Olympics: July 27 - August 12, 2012