Stories by Fred Dreier

• Posted: Sun, Aug 17th
  Becky Quinn v. USA Cycling
  A month before facing the world’s best at the Beijing Olympics, USA Cycling squared off against one of its own, track rider Rebecca Quinn, in a Colorado Springs courtroom. On July 9 Quinn took USA Cycling to arbitration after the governing body’s selection committee did not ...
• Posted: Sat, Aug 16th
  Jennie Reed heads into Sunday's Olympic sprint qualifiers with confidence.
  Jennie Reed is heading into Sunday’s sprint qualifying rounds with the added air of confidence that comes with owning a world championship gold medal. True, Reed did not take her world title at this year’s worlds in Manchester in the sprint — she won it in the keirin, ...
• Posted: Sat, Aug 16th
  Fred Dreier’s Olympic Notebook
  While dodging taxis and buses on my morning ride I saw another cyclist spinning his wheels a few hundred meters up the road. There are millions of people on bicycles in Beijing, but cyclists are a novelty, and in the sea of riders on the road he stuck out. He wasn’t hauling a ...
• Posted: Sat, Aug 16th
  End of THIS road for Phinney and Hammer
  American Taylor Phinney held his head high as he rolled off the wooden track at Beijing’s Laoshan velodrome. The American’s quest for an Olympic medal had just fizzled in the semi finals of the men’s Individual Pursuit, as Phinney fell to New Zealander Hayden Roulston. ...
• Posted: Fri, Aug 15th
  Hammer ready to roll
  In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, American track pursuit cyclist Sarah Hammer graced the pages of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazines. As her sport’s world champion in both 2005 and 2006, Hammer was touted in print as America’s best shot at ...
• Posted: Wed, Aug 13th
  Fred Dreier’s Olympic notebook: Type Triple-A Armstrong
  A few days ago I was chatting with American Christine Thorburn about Wednesday’s individual time trial. The Californian went through a laundry list of meticulous technical and training specifications she had nailed down in preparation for the race against the clock — an ...
• Posted: Wed, Aug 13th
  Armstrong, Cancellara win time trial gold
  Fabian Cancellara’s finish-line salute at the end of Wednesday’s Olympic time trial erased any concerns that the big Swiss rider has lost his edge in the race against the clock. He rolled into the finishing straight with 33 seconds in his pocket over Swede Gustav Larsson, ...
• Posted: Tue, Aug 12th
  Olympic TT course favors all-rounders who can handle both sides of a hill
  The Olympic peloton returns to the Juyongguan Pass sector of the Great Wall on Wednesday for a 23.5km individual time trial that has its ups and downs. The circuit, which features a climb and descent just beneath the wall, proved the pivotal point in the weekend's road races ...
• Posted: Tue, Aug 12th
  Fred Dreier’s Olympic Notebook - Size matters at Beijing Olympics
  It’s easy to spot recently arrived journalists in Beijing. They’re the ones haunting the hotel lobby at 3 a.m., emailing like mad to fill the jet-lag time after a 12-hour trans-Pacific flight. By mid day, there is a crowd of new arrivals milling around the information ...
• Posted: Sun, Aug 10th
  Cooke weathers storm to take Olympic gold
  Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke didn’t raise her arms in glory after uncorking a winning sprint at the end of Sunday’s rain soaked Olympic road race. The blonde Welshwoman, 25, instead let fly with an ear piercing shriek that echoed throughout the Juyongguan Pass area of ...
• Posted: Sat, Aug 9th
  Sanchez takes Olympic gold in Beijing
  On a sweltering day that saw many riders succumb to Beijing’s heat and humidity, Samuel Sanchez timed a last-minute acceleration to perfection to win the 2008 Olympic men’s road race. The Spanish climber crossed the finish line beneath China’s Great Wall just inches ahead ...
• Posted: Fri, Aug 8th
  Small teams, long climb make finishing strength a must in women's Olympic road race
  On the eve of the women’s Olympic road race, the best female riders in the world are wondering just how the event will play out. “There’s only two circuits, so that should be enough to break it up. But it really depends on if people are willing to set a good tempo on ...