Riverside Co. Woman Pedals Toward Olympic Gold

Temecula resident Sarah Hammer helped the U.S. to the second-fastest time in qualifying for the Olympic women’s team pursuit cycling race today at the Velodrome at London’s Olympic Park.

The three-woman team of Hammer, Dotsie Bausch of Irvine and Jennie Reed of Seattle completed the 3,000 meters in three minutes, 19.406 seconds, setting an unofficial American record.

“It feels amazing,” the 29-year-old Hammer said. “Everything we’ve been training for the last four years is on the line. We executed amazingly, got a new American record, which is always a great feeling and qualified
second. The first step is complete, a great position to be in.”

Great Britain was first in a world record time of 3:15.669.

The event will conclude Saturday with first-round heats, which are scheduled to begin at 8:11 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and the finals.

The U.S. will face Australia in the third first-round heat. Australia qualified third in 3:19.719.

“I think we can make some adjustments for tomorrow and maybe even have a slightly faster time,” said Benjamin Sharp, USA Cycling track endurance director and USA Cycling director of endurance programs.

If the U.S. wins, it would face the winner of the race between Great Britain and Canada for the gold medal. The finals, which will start with the bronze medal race, are scheduled to begin at 9:42 a.m.

Both the first round and finals will be shown live on NBCOlympics.com.

The finals are scheduled to be shown on a delayed basis between 2-2:40 p.m.

“I want a gold medal,” said Hammer, who graduated from Chaparral High School in 2000. “I’m really proud to represent the United States, to get to wear the USA suit and be around the other athletes. Their success is so infectious.”

Hammer, Bausch and Reed won the silver medal in the 2011 UCI Track World Championships.

In the team pursuit, the two opposing teams start on either side of the track. The winner is the team that catches the other team or records the fastest time. A team is caught when the opposing team comes within one meter of the other.

Hammer is also entered in the omnium, which begins Monday, where riders compete against each other in six different elements on the track.

Hammer won a silver medal in the omnium in the 2011 UCI Track World Championships and won the event at the 2012 London Olympic Test Event.

Hammer retired from cycling in 2003, but was inspired to return to the sport after watching the 2004 Olympics on television.
Hammer was fifth in the individual pursuit race in the 2008 Olympics and failed to finish the points race.