USA team announced for Track World's

USA Cycling have announced the 10 member squad that will represent the country at the upcoming 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Carson, Calif. March 24-27. In the roster are seven Olympians, including six riders who competed in Athens last summer.

Two-time Olympic medalist and 2000 Olympic champion Nothstein is set to ride in his last world championships and will contest the madison along with Pearce. Arguably the most notable name in American track cycling history, Nothstein hopes to close out his stellar career with a fourth world title before turning his focus to the professional road circuit this spring.

Pearce is on pace for a promising performance after the latest World Cup yielded two podium results. He first cracked the top-three in World Cup competition this season at the round in Los Angeles last December finishing second in the points race to Olympic champion Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS). A month later in Manchester, Great Britain, Pearce finished third. The 2004 Olympian will ride the points race and the madison at the world championships with an eye on a medal ride in each event.

1992 and 2000 Olympic team member Carney kicked off the World Cup with a win in the scratch race in Moscow last November. A seventh-place ride in the World Cup finale in Sydney last month left Carney with a third-place overall World Cup ranking despite only competing in half of the events. A cagey veteran competing in a traditionally unpredictable event, Carney gives the U.S. another legitimate shot at a medal in the scratch race.

Teammates on the 2004 Olympic team, sprint specialists Massie and Stahl will again take on what will likely be a stacked field of international sprinters. Massie, the reigning Pan American champion in the sprint and keirin, will contest both of those events in Los Angeles while Stahl, the Pan American champion in the one kilometer time trial will ride in only the keirin. Relatively new to the keirin at the international level, Stahl performed admirably in his two World Cup appearances this year and is coming off a seventh-place effort at the World Cup in Sydney.

Led by 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Mirabella on the endurance side and '04 Olympic teammate Reed in the sprint events, the women's squad is also strong and has medal and rainbow jersey potential. Mirabella will contest both the points race and the individual pursuit at the world championships. The points race is the stronger of her two events referenced by a World Cup win last December in Los Angeles and a bronze in Athens.

Reed's third-place finish in 2004 provided the only medal for the U.S. team at last year's world championships in Melbourne, Australia. It was also the first world championship medal for the U.S. since Erin Hartwell scored a bronze in the kilometer time trial in 1998. This season, Reed has flirted with success while landing on two keirin podiums this season - third place finishes in both Manchester and Sydney. Reed will ride both the sprint and the keirin in Los Angeles.

With a second-place ride in the scratch race at the Manchester World Cup in January, Quinn has recently shown that she can compete for a spot on the podium. Conzelman will ride both the 500 meter time trial and the sprint against what is also shaping up to be an ultra-talented field. A pair of seventh-place finishes in the 500 meter time trial in World Cup competition this year will be tough to improve upon against an even stronger pool of riders.

Giddeon Massie (Sprint, Keirin)
Christian Stahl (Keirin)
Colby Pearce (Points Race, Madison)
James Carney (Scratch Race)
Marty Nothstein (Madison)
Robert Lea (Individual Pursuit)

Erin Mirabella (Points Race, Individual Pursuit)
Jennie Reed (Sprint, Keirin)
Becky Conzelman (Sprint, 500 Meter Time Trial)
Becky Quinn (Scratch Race)