Champions to T-town finals

Friday night will see a talent-filled field hit the 'concrete crater' for the 31st Annual Air Products final in the newly named Valley Preferred Cycling Center, formerly known as the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. The event highlights the venue's commitment to rider development, holding races for riders of all ages in addition to the Artie Greenburg Memorial 10 mile Final and other professional races.

Back again for the second week in a row will be 2004 Olympic champion Ryan Bayley of Australia along with his team-mates Mark French, Jason Niblett, Shane Kelly, Joel Leonard, Daniel Ellis, Scott Sunderland, Anna Meares, and Kerrie Meares. The Aussies will be joined by Italian Olympian Roberto Chiappa, the 2006 Keirin World Champion Teun Mulder and his team-mate Tim Veldt of the Netherlands. Also starring will be Malaysian Olympian Josiah Ng, British Olympic team members Matt Crampton and Jason Kenny (2006 Junior World Champion), US Olympians Adam Duvendeck and Jennie Reed, T-Town Express riders Andy Lakatosh, Ben Barczewski, and Ryan Nelman, along with many more world-class athletes.

When asked how he felt about the competition this year at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center Ryan Bayley responded, "I think that the competition is really good this year. Last year it was mostly Americans and they were going quite quickly, but it was not as much of a challenge. This year is another story. The Americans have stepped up tremendously and the high quality European riders are making it much more difficult for me to win, which I am not particularly fond of," Bayley said jokingly. "I enjoy riding the Keirin but the sprint is where it's at for me. I am looking forward to the finals to see who really is the fastest rider."