16 North American riders take on track World Cup finale

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James Carney (Fuji)(Image credit: Mitch Clinton)

As the World Cup season heads into its final event, there are a lot of things riding on the competition in Beijing. Sixteen riders from North America are in China, some are looking for experience, some chasing a record, other to qualify start position at the World Championships for the United States or Canada. Six riders from the US and ten from Canada will ensure that North America is represented in virtually every event.

Rapidly becoming one of the most versatile track riders in America, Cari Higgins will be the sole American woman racing in Beijing. Cari flew into the previous World Cup in Cali under-rested, and had a bad experience. She is looking to turn things around in Beijing in the Scratch Race, Points Race and Keirin as she continues her shift from a focus on sprint events to endurance races with a new, refreshed attitude.

Taking a brief break from his work as a professional fire fighter, American Jimmy Watkins has turned his track racing focus entirely to international competition. Jimmy passed on defending his US title last fall for an opportunity to race against some of the best sprinters in the world at the Columbian Grand Prix, and hopes this experience will come in handy as he races the Keirin and Sprint competition in Beijing. The reigning Pan American Champion and National Record holder is looking to bring his sub-10 second 200m speed to Beijing.

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The current US National Champion in the Kilometer and Sprints, Giddeon Massie will also be racing in Beijing. Massie's goal for the World Cup is a top 5 finish in the Kilo and qualifying a start position for worlds. After spending the past few months racing World Cups, Revolutions, Australian State Championships, Grand Prix events and Christmas Carnivals, he is at the top of his form and should do well.

From the US National endurance team we have the duo of Cody O'Reilly and Colby Pearce. With two world cup events under his belt, O'Reilly heads into Beijing with a solid goal of qualifying the US start positions for the upcoming world championships. He's spent the past few weeks at the US Track Camp, working with Pearce on their Madison technique and feels that will help in Beijing. O'Reilly will also be riding the Scratch Race, which he feels is the best event for him as he lacks Points Race experience at the international level. With a long list of good Points Race results on his resume, Pearce will take on that challenge.

After a trip to the finals in Cali, the sprint trio of Travis Smith, Joseph Veloce and Stephance Cossette will be racing again. Qualifying third, but going a fraction slower in the finals and earning a fourth place finish in the Team Sprint competition, the team is looking to guarantee a start position for the World Championships. A first year Senior, Allan Leparskas, will be joining the team as an alternate.