Carson, Calif. (January 20, 2006) - The third round of the 2005-06 UCI Track World Cup kicked off in suburban Los Angeles Friday as Becky Quinn (Quakertown, Pa.) captured a silver medal in the women's 20km points race to post the best finish by an American on the first of three days of competition.

Riding for Team Spike, one of two American-based professional teams entered in the event, Quinn scored eight points in the evening's final two sprints to raise her total tally to 12 - second only to eventual winner, Italy's Giorgia Bronzini's 14.

Quinn's silver marked the first and only medal for American athletes who are dispersed amongst three squads this weekend - Team Spike, TIAA-CREF and the U.S. National Team.

\"I actually thought the race was going to be won in a breakaway so I initially planned to play it conservative and be in the break,\" explained Quinn. \"But about halfway through it didn't pan out that way. I had to take the last two point sprints to make sure I had a medal.\"

Quinn was one of three Americans who advanced to the final along with Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga.) and Lauren Franges (Ashville, N.C.) of the U.S. National Team.

The presence of Quinn's countrywomen factored into her success. \"Lauren really helped me in the end,\" said Quinn. \"She kept a nice and steady pace so I could stay aware and there wouldn't be and surprises.\"

Pic scored three points to place 11th overall while Franges placed 19th.

Other notable U.S. performances were posted in the men's 4km individual pursuit in which Americans Brad Huff (TIAA-CREF/Boulder, Colo.) and Curtis Gunn (U.S. National Team/Tucson, Ariz.) each lowered personal best marks by more than two seconds. Huff clocked a time of 4 minutes, 34.857 seconds to place sixth overall, while Gunn posted a 4:40.592 to place 12th.

Spain's Sergio Escobar Roure clocked a 4:31.269 to earn the gold medal ahead of silver medalist Jens Mouris (NED) and bronze medalist Jason Allen (NZL).

Gunn was also the only American rider to advance to the men's 15km scratch race final, placing 16th overall.

Ryan Luttrell (Team Spike/Boulder, Colo.) and Rahsaan Bahati (TIAA-CREF/Boulder, Colo.) both failed to advance from the preliminary heats of the men's scratch race.

Walter Perez (ARG), Ivan Kovalev (ODT), and Taiji Nishitani (JPN) earned the top three spots in the men's scratch race respectively.

In the men's keirin, Stephen Alfred (Team Spike/Capitola, Calif.) turned in the top U.S. performance, placing 11th overall after riding to a fifth-place finish in the men's 7-12 finals. Alfred placed fifth in the opening round, but responded by winning his ensuing repechage heat which placed him back in the mix for a medal. A last-place effort in round two however sent him to the consolation round and bumped him from medal contention.

Christian Stahl (U.S. National Team/Bethany, Conn.) was the only other U.S. entry in the keirin, placing sixth in the first round and later disqualified in his repechage.

Australia's Shane Kelly took the gold medal in the men's keirin ahead of runner-up and current world champion Teun Mulder (NED) and Southern California resident Jamie Staff (GBR).

Jennie Reed (Team Spike/Kirkland, Wash.) placed 11th in the women's sprint. After qualifying 13th with a flying 200m time of 11.852 seconds, Reed was matched against and ousted by eventual bronze medalist Willy Kanis of the Netherlands.

Natalia Tsylinskaya (BLR) and Clara Sanchez (FRA) captured gold and silver respectively in the women's sprint.

The men's one kilometer time trial featured no American riders as Ben Kersten (AUS) took the win with a time of one minute, 2.760 seconds. Tim Veldt (NED) and Francois Pervis (FRA) rounded out the podium with silver and bronze respectively.

UCI Track World Cup - Day Two Preview - Saturday, January 21

American riders - TIAA-CREF, SPIKE and U.S. National Team alike - will continue their pursuit for medals Saturday at the ADT Event Center on the The Home Depot Center complex in Carson, Calif.

Saturday's action will feature Sarah Hammer (U.S. National Team/Temecula, Calif.) competing in the women's individual pursuit competition. Hammer took silver in the Manchester, Great Britain edition of the World Cup in December and is one of the brightest hopes for a U.S. win this weekend.

In men's action, Christian Stahl and Michael Blatchford (U.S. National Team/Cypress, Calif.) will ride in the men's sprint.

In the team pursuit, TIAA-CREF will field a team featuring Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Michael Friedman (Boulder, Colo.), Brad Huff and Danny Pate (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Friedman and Curtis Gunn will ride in the points race competition.

Sessions begin 10 a.m. Saturday, with the second session of the day beginning at 6 p.m.

Racing action continues through Sunday.

For a compete world cup schedule, visit www.uci.ch or, click here.

Individual tickets start at $18.50 and all-event packages (includes all five sessions) start at just $60. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more by calling 1-877-AEG-TICKETS, by visiting www.aegtickets.com or through Ticketmaster. Tickets are also available at The Home Depot Center box office.

About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 54,000 members and 2,000 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men's road). For more information visit www.usacycling.org or contact, USA Cycling Director of Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's new home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez (CSUDH) Hills in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse & other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, an 8,000-seat facility for track & field, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is home of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The complex is also the home of The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and the nationally recognized Athletes' Performance training center for elite and professional athletes. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling, USA Track & Field and the USTA.
 
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Contact:
USA Cycling - Andy Lee
(719) 231-2041
 
The Home Depot Center - Alison Groendal
(310) 630-2032