Three Pacific Northwest cyclists among Olympic hopefuls

Good luck to the 34 cyclists chosen by USA Cycling for the Olympics “long team” — the first step toward qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Three make their homes in the Pacific Northwest. They are Kristin Armstrong of Boise, Adam Craig of Bend, and Jennie Reed of Kirkland. Reed, a graduate of Issaquah High School, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics women's track event.

Pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer was an automatic qualifier for the men's road race team, although no “long team” has been chosen for that event. The BMX long team will be named in May.

Summer games

The cycling events at the Olympic Games in Beijing are scheduled between August 9-23.

There are four events — track, mountain bike, road racing and (new this year) BMX. All but the road racing will be held at the Laoshan venue, while the road cycling events will be held at the Urban Cycling Road Course.

Teams

The long teams are:

Women's Road: Mara Abbott, Boulder, Colo.; Kristin Armstrong, Boise, Idaho; Amber Neben, Irvine, Calif.; Tina Mayolo-Pic, Buford, Ga.; Alison Powers, Boulder, Colo.; Kori Seehafer, Louisville, Colo.; Christine Thorburn, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Men's Mountain Bike: Jeremiah Bishop, Harrisonburg, Va.; Michael Broderick, Chilmark, Mass.; Adam Craig, Bend, Ore.; Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Boulder, Colo.; Todd Wells, Durango, Colo.; Sam Schultz, Missoula, Mont.

Women's Mountain Bike: Georgia Gould, Fort Collins, Colo.; Heather Irmiger, Boulder, Colo.; Willow Koerber, Asheville, N.C.; Mary McConneloug, Fairfax, Calif.; Sue Haywood, Davis, W. Va.

Men's Track: Michael Blatchford, Cypress, Calif.; Adam Duvendeck, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Michael Friedman, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Brad Huff, Fair Grove, Mo.; Andy Lakatosh, Trexlertown, Pa.; Bobby Lea, Mertztown, Pa.; Giddeon Massie, Zionhill, Pa.; Colby Pearce, Boulder, Colo.; Taylor Phinney, Boulder, Colo.

Women's Track: Kristin Armstrong, Boise, Idaho; Dotsie Bausch, Irvine, Calif.; Lauren Franges, Asheville, N.C.; Sarah Hammer, Temecula, Calif.; Christen King, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Becky Quinn, Quakertown, Pa.; Liz Reap, Jim Thorpe, Pa.; Jennie Reed, Kirkland, Wash.

Please email me if you see anyone else on the list with Northwest connections.

Phinney

On the Men's Track long team, the Associated Press notes that 17-year-old Taylor Phinney is the son of US road cyclist David Phinney and Connie Carpenter-Phinney, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist.