2008 Paralympic Games

Road Day 2 - Sept. 13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 13, 2008

BEIJING, China - After an amazing seven medals being awarded to the U.S. in the first day of road cycling competition, the team experienced a let down on day two, with none of the cyclists finishing in the top 20.

"Today was a really hard race," said Coach Craig Griffin (Colorado Springs, Colo). "It was unique because this was the first time both of the men's races were combined into categories. So, it was a fantastic race because we had 40 some guys in each race. We just didn't have the legs in the end to make the final push up the road but we rode our hearts out."

The Men's LC1/LC2/CP4 Road Race which began at 13:30 was the first race with U.S. athletes followed by the Men's LC3/LC4/CP3 at 13:35. Ron Williams (LC2/Hoover, Ala.) and Mike Farrell (CP4/Colorado Springs, Colo.) both were set to compete in the first race. Williams, who had placed fifth the day before in the LC2 Men's Time Trial was hoping to better himself on day two, but it was not meant to be. He finished with a time of 2:01.44 which left him in 25^th place.

Williams won a bronze in 2004 when the category was LC2, before the new combined races were in place. "I just had a bad day," said a disappointed Williams. "I'm typically a better road racer, but we have never had combined categories so you never know what to expect."

Farrell was not too far behind and finished in 28^th place with his time of 2:01.58.

In the LC3/LC4/CP3 race that followed Anthony Zahn (LC4/Riverside, Calif.) was hoping for an outcome similar to the day before, when he received the bronze medal for the LC4 Time Trial. But Zahn's fate turned out to be similar to Williams and Farrell and he finished in 26^th place with a time of 1:58.19.

"It was really hard doing it two days in a row. I basically left everything out there yesterday," said an exhausted Zahn. "There are basically three types of people in the competition - those that are happy to be here at all, those that have the fitness to win several gold medals and then there is someone who turns themselves inside and out to win a medal. That's me."

Sunday will mark the final day of cycling in these Paralympic Games and the team has several excellent chances of finishing in the win column. Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Oz Sanchez (San Diego, Calif.) will compete in the Men's HC C Individual Road Race. In the Time Trials on Friday, Sanchez won gold and Albor finished with a bronze. Immediately after their start time of 10:00, the Men's HC B Individual Road Race will begin and will feature Matthew Updike (Denver, Colo.) and David Lee (Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.). The final race of the day for the U.S. will feature the tandem team of Karissa Whitsell (B/VI/Eugene, Ore.) and Mackenzie Woodring (Pilot for Whitsell/Grand Rapids, Mich.), who have already snagged a bronze and gold medal for their efforts.

Members of the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team:

Road:

Name (Classification/Hometown)

Alejandro Albor (HCC/Elk Grove, Calif.)

Barbara Buchan (CP3/Bend, Ore.)

Mike Farrell (CP4/Colorado Springs, Colo.)

David Lee (HCB/Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.)

Oz Sanchez (HCC/San Diego, Calif.)

Allison Jones (LC3/Denver, Colo.)

Greta Neimanas (LC1/Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Jennifer Schuble (CP4/Homewood, Ala.)

Matthew Updike (HCB/Denver, Colo.)

Karissa Whitsell (B/VI/Eugene, Ore.)

Ron Williams (LC2/Hoover, Ala.)

Mackenzie Woodring (Pilot for Whitsell/Grand Rapids, Mich.)

Anthony Zahn (LC4/Riverside, Calif.)

Track:

Name (Classification/Hometown)

Barbara Buchan (CP3/Bend, Ore.)

Mike Farrell (CP4/Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Allison Jones (LC3/Denver, Colo.)

Greta Neimanas (LC1/Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Jennifer Schuble (CP4/Homewood, Ala.)

Karissa Whitsell (B&VI/Eugene, Ore.)

Mackenzie Woodring (Pilot for Whitsell/Grand Rapids, Mich.)

Anthony Zahn (LC4/Riverside, Calif.)

For more information or to arrange an athlete interview, please contact Katrina Shaklee at 13910754730 (if calling from the U.S., dial 011 86 plus the local number).

Daily video highlights of the 2008 Paralympic Games are available at http://www.usparalympics.org/ and http://www.universalsports.com/.

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