CYCLING : Skellenger’s Picture-Perfect Finish Clinched a Gold Medal at Festival

Junior cyclists, beware!

If you give Scott Skellenger an inch, he might take the race.

That’s just what the 16-year-old Thousand Oaks High senior-to-be did in the 200-meter match sprint final July 9 at the U. S. Olympic Festival in Blaine, Minn.

Skellenger won the gold medal, taking a best-of-three set, 2-1, but not before officials referred to a photo to determine the finish of the third and deciding race between Skellenger and Paul Abrahams of Santa Ana.

“You couldn’t even tell who won unless you had the vertical line (on the photo),” Skellenger said.

Even Skellenger, competing in only his second national-level competition, was unsure of the outcome.

“When they put my name on the board (that I won), I just flipped out,” Skellenger said.

The medal was Skellenger’s second. Two days earlier, he earned a silver medal in the 1,000-meter time trial, finishing second to Abrahams.

Skellenger will travel to San Diego for the junior national championships at the San Diego Velodrome, Aug. 3-13. He will compete in the one-kilometer time trial, match sprints and points race.

Comeback kid: Skellenger’s performance in his first Olympic Festival was especially gratifying because he missed last year’s event with a broken left leg.

He sustained the injury one week before the district road race, the qualifier for the 1989 Festival.

The Thousand Oaks resident sported a cast for five weeks but still competed in a four-race track omnium. The omnium, used as a qualifier to the national championships, consisted of a points race, a match sprint, a 500-meter time trial and a 2,000-meter time trial.

Riding with a cast extending from his ankle to just below his knee, Skellenger finished fifth in the combined points standings from each race. The top four scorers advanced to the nationals.

“I went downhill a lot,” Skellenger said of all the training he missed.

Wingin’ it: The Los Angeles Wings, a National Cycle League team based in North Hollywood, will try to win a second consecutive league title in the World Championship Race at the Rose Bowl on Sunday. Race time is 2 p.m.

Teams from Chicago, Las Vegas, Orange County and Pittsburgh, Pa., also will vie for the championship. The Wings, the Western Division champions, were undefeated in NCL races last year but have come up short twice this season against the Chicago Fire, the Eastern Division titlist.

Albert Itzle, the Wings’ youngest rider at 19, leads the team in scoring this season. Jerry Cannon, Steve Cathdorian, Keith Poole and Steve Remy complete the five-rider team.

The 25-mile race will circle a seven-tenths of a mile track.

Wordin goes national: John Wordin of West Hills will ride in the United States Cycling Federation Nationals, a qualifier for the World Team, on Saturday in Albany, N. Y.

Wordin will compete in the road race, time trial and criterium events.

As a tuneup for the national race, Wordin, 26, finished 12th at the PAC Grand Prix, a 100-kilometer criterium, in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Oxnard Half Century: More than 200 riders are expected for the Open Air Schwinn Half Century on July 30 in Oxnard.

The 50-mile ride, accompanied by a 25-mile fun ride, will start at College Park, continue along Pacific Coast Highway and turn around at Zuma Beach. The 25-mile ride will turn around at Sycamore Canyon.

Information: (805) 984-7123.

Racing resumes: Cycling will continue Saturday night at the Encino Velodrome after a two-week hiatus for the national track cycling championships. First race starts at 7.