USA Cycling names team for Pan Am road & track championships

USA Cycling announced today the eight-member team that will represent the United States at the Pan American Road and Track Championships May 8-15 in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Three men and five women will travel south of the border for the annual Continental Championships for the Americas where significant international ranking points will be on the line.

The men’s road race squad will feature Cody O’Reilly (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Lanell Rockmore (Bethlehem, Pa.) teaming up to help earn points toward the United States’ U23 Americas Tour rank which will directly determine the number of start positions in this year’s UCI World Championships. Both are expected to also contest the time trial event.

In the women’s road events, Katheryn Curi-Mattis (Mountain View, Calif.), Rebecca Much (Chicago, Ill.), Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.) and Kim Geist (Emmaus, Pa.) will represent the United States. Mattis and Much are scheduled for both the road race and the time trial while Geist and Hammer will compete only in the road race.

The men’s track squad features three endurance athletes as Jimmy Watkins (Bakersfield, Calif.) will join O’Reilly and Rockmore to contest various track events.

The women’s track contingent is comprised of two-time individual pursuit world champion Hammer along with Geist and Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.) all scheduled to compete in numerous events.

The 2009 Pan American Road and Track Championships begin with the track events May 8-11. The road events begin May 12 with the elite men’s and women’s time trial before the women’s road race on May 14 and the men’s road race on May 15.

2009 Pan American Road and Track Championships
Chihuahua, Mexico, May 8-15
U.S. Team Roster

Men:
Cody O’Reilly (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Lanell Rockmore (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Jimmy Watkins (Bakersfield, Calif.)

Women:
Katheryn Curi-Mattis (Mountain View, Calif.)
Rebecca Much (Chicago, Ill.)
Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.)
Kim Geist (Emmaus, Pa.)
Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.)

Tags: America, Boulder, contests, cycling, Mexico, Pan Am Games, Pan American Games, Time, UCI, USA Cycling