US track team for Moscow

USA Cycling has named a seven-rider team for the first round of the 2005-6 Track World Cup series, which takes place in Moscow, Russia, November 4-6.

The trip will be the first international outing for USA Cycling's new head track coach, Australian Gary West and the team are reported to be excited at the prospect of being guided by West. A 1984 Olympian, West coached the Australian sprint squad that earned a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and captured four medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He then spent four years as head track coach and technical director of the Japanese Cycling Federation, before joining USA Cycling in March of this year.

"World Cups are the highest of all UCI races, so the significance of the points is huge," said USA Cycling director of track cycling Pat McDonough. "We need to have top performances to qualify for positions in the World Championships."

USA World Cup Team

Erin Mirabella (pursuit and points race)
Stephen Alfred (sprint, keirin)
Michael Blatchford (sprint, team sprint)
Christian Stahl (1km time trial, team sprint)
Ryan Nelman (sprint, team sprint)
Colby Pearce (points race, Madison)
Chad Hartley (scratch race, Madison)