24 OLYMPIC MEDALISTS TO COMPETE IN STAR-STUDDED UCI WORLD CUP

World Class Track racing returns to the Los Angeles and Southern California area.

The ADT Event Center Velodrome at The Home Depot Center in Carson this weekend (December 10-12) hosts a massive collection of international cycling talent where 24 Olympic medalists from around the world will compete in the second round of the 2004/05 UCI World Cup series.  In total, 170 athletes from 32 countries are scheduled to race and vie for World Championship berths which are up for grabs.

Local Southern California talents Anna Webb and Erin Mirabella will have home track advantage. Anna Webb is from San Diego.  Erin Mirabella was born in Racine, Wisconsin, but lives and trains locally in La Habra.

Mirabella, along with Marty Nothstein (Orefield, Pennsylvania) are both highly decorated Americans competing in Carson this weekend.  A longtime fixture on the international cycling circuit, Nothstein captured a silver medal at the 1996 games in Atlanta before he realized his dream of Olympic gold four years later in Sydney.  A three-time world champion and 35-time U.S. national champion, Nothstein will team up with fellow 2004 Olympian Colby Pearce (Boulder, Colorado) in the Madison on Sunday. 
Mirabella, who captured a bronze medal in Athens, leads a women's endurance trio that also includes Rebecca Quinn (Quakertown, PA) and Webb.  

Tickets: Individual tickets for the event start at $15 and all event packages are also available beginning at $60. Family Packs and discounts for group of 10 or more are also available.  For more information or to order tickets, call 1-866-LAGROUP, order online at www.aeggrouptickets.com <http://www.aeggrouptickets.com> or contact Ticketmaster.

Of the 32 nations competing, Australia stands out as arguably the most talented team.  The squad from 'down under' will be sending the two riders responsible for half of their eight-medal haul from Athens. 
Double Olympic gold medalist Ryan Bayley proved to be one of the world's best sprinters after convincing wins in the sprint and keirin events last August.  His female counterpart, Anna Meares, won Olympic gold this year in the 500m time trial and brought home a bronze in the sprint.  Sean Eadie, a bronze medallist in Sydney, compliments the accomplished and experienced core of Australian sprinters.  On the endurance front, 2004 Olympic silver medallist and former world record holder Katie Mactier will lead the way for Australia.

Germany, Spain and France will also be fielding teams that are expected to post strong results.  Three-time Olympic medallist Stefan Nimke will lead a powerful German team in the sprint events while two-time Olympic champion Robert Bartko and two-time Olympic medallist Guido Fulst will be riders to watch in the individual pursuit and points race respectively.

Sergi Escobar and Juan Llaneras will lead Spain.  Escobar captured two medals in Athens, a bronze in the both the individual pursuit and the team pursuit.  An Olympic champion in 2000, Llaneras added a second Olympic medal to his name in Athens with a silver medal performance in the points race. Escobar's Olympic teammates, Carlos Castano and Asier Maeztu, also will be on hand to form a potential winning combination in the team pursuit.

With four Olympic medals between them, Arnaud Tournant and Mikael Bourgain will lead France and provide the field with another well-respected sprint combination. 

In a potential rematch of the women's sprint finals at the Athens games, gold medalist Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada) and silver medalist Tamilla Abassova

(Italy) will be in Los Angeles.  Also, runner-up to Australia's Bayley, Athens silver medalist Theo Bos (Netherlands) will be looking for revenge.

Other Olympic gold medalists scheduled to compete include Mikhail Ignatyev (Russia), and Jason Queally (Great Britian).  Ignatyev won the points race in Athens and Queally won the kilometer time trial in Sydney.

Finally, Natallia Tsylinskaya (Belorussia), Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mexico), Chris Newton (Great Britian), and Oxana Grichina (RUS) round out the list of Olympic medalists scheduled to compete this weekend.

Olympic Medalists Participating

Athens 2004
Ryan Bayley (AUS) Gold; sprint, keirin
Mikhail Ignatyev (RUS) Gold; points race
Anna Meares (AUS) Gold; 500m time trial, Bronze; sprint
Lori-Ann Muenzer (CAN) Gold; sprint
Stefan Nimke (GER) Gold; team sprint, Bronze; kilometer time trial
Tamilla Abassova (ITA) Silver; sprint
Theo Bos (NED) Silver; sprint
Juan Llaneras (ESP) Silver; points race
Belem Guerrero Mendez (ESP) Silver; points race
Katie Mactier (AUS) Silver; individual pursuit
Arnaud Tournant (FRA) Silver; kilometer time trial
Mikael Bourgain (FRA) Bronze; team sprint
Carlos Castano (ESP) Bronze; team pursuit
Sergi Escobar (ESP) Bronze; individual pursuit, team pursuit
Guido Fulst (ITA) Bronze; points race
Asier Maeztu (ESP) Bronze; team pursuit
Erin Mirabella (USA) Bronze; points race
Natalia Tsylinskaya (BLR) Bronze; 500m time trial

Sydney 2000

Robert Bartko (GER) Gold; individual pursuit, team pursuit
Fulst (GER) Gold; team pursuit
Llaneras (ESP) Gold; points race
Marty Nothstein (USA) Gold; sprint
Jason Queally (GBR) Gold; kilometer time trial, Silver; team sprint
Tournant (FRA) Gold; team sprint
Oxana Grichina (RUS) Silver; sprint
Nimke (GER) Silver; kilometer time trial
Sean Eadie (AUS) Bronze; team sprint
Chris Newton (GBR) Bronze; team pursuit

Atlanta 1996

Nothstein (USA) Silver; sprint

Countries Participating (32)

Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belarus, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Paraguay, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, Venezuela.

Event Tickets
Individual tickets start at only $15 and all event packages are also available starting at only $60. For more information or to order tickets, call 866-LAGROUP or order tickets online at www.aeggrouptickets.com.

This is not an event you want to miss if you can make it to Southern California.

LEMOND, HEIDEN TO APPEAR AT LOS ANGELES WORLD CUP
American Cycling Legend and Five-time Olympic Gold Medalist Help Celebrate World Class Track Cycling in L.A.

Three-time Tour de France champion and American cycling legend Greg LeMond and five-time Olympic gold medalist Eric Heiden are scheduled to be special guests at the upcoming UCI World Cup event at the ADT Event Center Dec. 10-12.

LeMond will be appearing on Friday, Dec. 10 and Heiden will be on hand Saturday, Dec. 11.

Ticketholders who purchased an all session package and members of the media are welcome to attend a VIP meet and greet with LeMond from 5:00-5:30pm Friday evening in the ADT Event Center infield.  A similar meet and greet for the general public with LeMond is also tentatively scheduled for Friday evening.
On Saturday, similar events are planned with Heiden.  Full details will be announced shortly.
LeMond was the first American to win the Tour de France, capturing overall titles in 1986, 1989 and 1990 and also became the first American to win an elite world championship – riding to the rainbow jersey on two occasions – in 1983 and 1989.

Heiden’s name is synonymous with the highest degree of success at the Olympic level.  In 1980, Heiden displayed a rare combination of speed and endurance on his way to five Olympic gold medals in Lake Placid, N.Y. setting Olympic records at the time in the 500, 1000, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meter speed skating events.  Ditching his skates for a bike shortly afterwards, the two-time Olympian won the USPRO Championship in 1985 and became a member of the 7-Eleven Professional Cycling Team, the first American-based team to compete in the Tour de France.

On Sunday, the event’s final day of competition, 2000 U.S. Olympic Team member Antonio Cruz (Long Beach, Calif.) will be on hand.  Cruz, a Southern California native has been a member of the U.S. Postal Service Professional Cycling Team for the last four years.

About the ADT Event Center
The 100,000 square foot, $15 million ADT Event Center is located on the 125-acre Home Depot Center campus in Carson, California.  The Center hosts training and competition under the guidance of USA Cycling, including the 2004 Junior Track National Championships, 2004 World Junior Track Cycling Championships and the 2005 World Track Cycling Championships. The ADT Event Center will also host other major competitions, events and cycling clinics.
About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 45,000 members and 2,000 annual events.
For more information on the Los Angeles World Cup event, visit www.usacycling.org or www.homedepotcenter.com, or www.uci.ch or www.dailypeloton.com