Cycling at CS Dominguez Hills : U.S. Olympic Riders in Tuneup Races

The road to Seoul goes through Carson today and Saturday for a field of Olympic track cyclists. The medal hopefuls will compete with other top riders in the Sundance Grand Prix of Cycling at the Olympic Velodrome at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The event will be the last competition for most of the cyclists before the Olympics. Racing will start today at 9 a.m., followed by a second session at 7:30 p.m. There will be a single session Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.

Headlining the list of riders who will compete next month at Seoul are U.S. match sprint cyclists Ken Carpenter and Connie Paraskevin-Young. Both qualified last week for the single sprint spots open on the Olympic men’s and women’s teams. Paraskevin-Young said this weekend’s racing is an important final step in her preparation for the Olympics.

“It’s the last chance to really go out and test myself in a race situation,” she said. “For myself, I want to ride well so that, psychologically, I feel going into the Games that my last competition went nicely.”

The 27-year-old Paraskevin-Young, who has been a medalist in six consecutive World Championships, set a world record in the 200-meter match sprint earlier this month with a time of 11.289 seconds at the Colorado Springs Grand Prix of Cycling, one of six events in the series that concludes this weekend.

Although some Olympic cyclists may take a cautious approach to their final races before the Games, being careful not to risk injury in a high-speed sport that can be dangerous, Paraskevin-Young said she won’t be holding back. She said she is looking to win, not just train.

“I would be very disappointed if I lost,” she said. “I don’t know if I would call it a setback. It would depend how I lost. If I lost by riding stupid, letting someone outsmart me, then yeah, I would be very disappointed. I shouldn’t do that at this stage of the game.”

Another top cyclist competing this weekend is sprinter Mark Gorski, gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics. Gorski won’t repeat his Olympic feat in Seoul this year. He was beaten by Carpenter at the Olympic trials and didn’t qualify.

Gorski said his loss to Carpenter will give him extra incentive to win the Grand Prix.

“It was a tremendously disappointing experience,” Gorski said of his loss at the trials.

The Grand Prix will feature a variety of track races, including match sprints, pursuits, and the kilometer time trial.