U.S OLYMPIC CYCLING TRIALS : Twigg Earns a Trip to Barcelona

Rebecca Twigg’s comeback took one more remarkable turn Thursday night when she defeated two-time defending champion Janie Eickhoff in the women’s individual pursuit final to earn a trip to the Olympics.

In winning the U.S. Cycling Olympic trials and national championships at the National Sports Center velodrome, Twigg joined Erin Hartwell and Carl Sundquist in qualifying for the team that will compete at Barcelona next month.

Hartwell, of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the men’s kilometer time trial and Sundquist, of Miami, won the men’s individual pursuit title.

Twigg, a Seattle native who lives in San Diego, won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics and 10 national senior titles before crashing during a road workout in 1987 and suffering a concussion and injured thumb. She retired from competition in 1988 and worked as a computer programmer before resuming training last October.

“I probably thought this was remotely possible then,” Twigg said after winning in 3 minutes 50.47 seconds. “I really can’t believe I actually did it.”

Sundquist overtook Matt Hamon of in the 4,000-meter men’s pursuit with 1 1/2 laps remaining in the 16-lap race and hit the finish line in 4 minutes, 41.56 seconds.

“With three laps to go, I told myself that there can’t be any doubt,” Sundquist, a seven-time national champion, said. “The last lap felt horrible. You’re supposed to pedal in circles, but I felt as choppy as anything.”

Hartwell earned his fourth national title and first Olympic berth with a time of 1 minute, 6.51 seconds in the kilometer, a four-lap solo race against the clock.

Chris Coletta of Addison, Ill., was second in 1:07.54 and John Levkulic of Allentown, Pa., placed third in 1:07.95. Only the champion qualifies for the Olympic team.

Two riders from Leucadia, Christopher Best and Gary Allen, finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Mark Rosenthal of San Diego was 14th, and Vic Copeland of Rancho Santa Fe, at 50 the oldest competitor at the trials, finished 18th.

“This is the biggest relief of my life,” Hartwell said. “I’ve been planning this since I was 5 years old. I’ve been under stress and giving my wife grief. This is definitely a wonderful feeling.”

The kilometer was originally scheduled Tuesday night, but rain stopped the competition with 13 riders still to race. Rules for the kilometer state that all racers must be timed during the same session, so the entire field was rerun Thursday morning.

Marty Nothstein, who had the fastest time of 1:06.06 Tuesday night, elected not to race again, opting instead to rest for men’s sprint competition.

Hartwell, who was among those who didn’t get a chance to race Tuesday, was the last racer on the track Thursday. He was running third halfway through the race, but picked up his pace during the final two laps.

“I didn’t come here to win the Olympic trials, go out and party and then finish in 20th place in the Olympics,” Hartwell said. “I came with a purpose, to win a medal in the Olympics. It was more of a feeling of pure relief.”