Roundup: Track Cyclists Hit Southern California Velodrome For Season-Opening Qualifier

Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para-cycling. Here’s what you missed!

Action in Carson

Track cyclists who were hoping to make the cut for up to 12 spots on the 2024 world championships team headed to Carson, California, earlier this month for the U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Open.

The competition took place at the VELO Sports Center in the Los Angeles suburb.

Here are some photos of the competition:

The racing in Carson was the first of the season for Samantha Bosco, a 2016 Paralympian and 21-time world medalist who is looking to make the Paralympic Games Paris 2020 in both track and road events.

“The race season has officially started for me,” she said on Instagram. “And so has early-to-bed nights.”

Swamp Racing

While the top track cyclists in the U.S. convened in California, road cyclist Brandon Lyons was among those competing in the Swamp Classic season opener in early February in Micanopy, Florida.

“Excited with where I’m at in February and the progress I’ve made in the past month,” Lyons posted on Instagram. “Hoping to keep this going into the World Cup season and qualification period!”

Celebrating Women

When the 38th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day was celebrated Feb. 7, among those joining the celebration was Bosco, a 2016 Paralympian and four-time road world champion over the last two years.

“The first true dream I can remember involved me being an athlete, and despite challenges and adversities along the way I have been an athlete ever since,” Bosco posted on Instagram. “I owe the woman I am today in major part to my athletic career, the ups and downs carving out the superwoman in me.”

She concluded: “My hope for all of my fellow women athletes – young, old, just starting out, professional, retired and now coaching, and everything in between – is that you too feel like a superwoman in and out of your athletic career. Today, on National Girls & Women in Sports Day, and every day.”

Countdown to Paris

The countdown has clearly begun for Paris 2024!

Going For The … Eiffel?

Those who earn an Olympic or Paralympic medal this summer in Paris will be getting a little bit or iron with their gold, silver or bronze. In honor of the host city, each medal will contain a piece of the original iron used from the Eiffel Tower.

Of course, the Eiffel Tower is still standing, so what gives? Turns out the iron comes from pieces of the tower that were removed during renovation projects. The pieces placed in the Olympic and Paralympic medals will be hexagonal, which is symbolic to the shape of France.

Check out NBC's story here.

Tandem Stars

The first Parapan American Games for tandem team Hannah Chadwick and Skyler Espinoza were truly golden.

The pair won gold medals in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit and 1,000-meter time trial last November in Santiago, Chile.

“That was definitely very unexpected,” Chadwick, a 31-year-old resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, told USParacycling.org. “A really good experience. Just had so much fun.”

Chadwick and Espinoza also won a bronze medal in their first world championships together in August.

Read more about their journey here.