Taylor Phinney (Garmin-Chipotle) set a new track record in the men’s 4000-meter individual pursuit and won his third national title of the week on Friday at the 2008 U.S. elite track national championships at the ADT Event Center velorome in Carson City, California, on Friday.

Phinney clocked a time of 4 minutes, 23.514 seconds in the qualifying round to establish the new record before beating Daniel Harm (Broadmark) in the gold medal final to win his second consecutive elite title in the individual pursuit and complement his kilometer time trial and team pursuit titles from earlier in the week.

Third-place finisher Julian Kyer (RMCEF Racing) took the bronze medal ahead of Daniel Lionberg (Colorado State University) and also earned the U23 national championship.

The ADT Event Center velodrome in Carson City, California.

Photo: Vero Image

In the women’s 3000-meter individual pursuit, Kimberly Geist (Metro Volkswagen) claimed the national title over Alison Powers (Colavita-Sutter Home). Powers qualified first with a mark of 3:50.496, but fell to Geist in the head-to-head final by less than a half second. Geist, 21, was also awarded the U23 championship.

In the race for the bronze medal, Shannon Koch (Metro Volkswagen) beat Annette Williams (Avanti).

The men’s and women’s scratch races were also contested as Daniel Holloway (Garmin-Chipotle) and Shelley Olds (Proman Paradigm) claimed victory. Holloway lapped the field in his 15-kilometer race to secure the men’s title as Kenny Williams (First Rate Mortgage) and Cody O’Reilly (Successful Living) finished second and third overall. In the women’s race, Olds outsprinted Kacey Manderfield (Verducci Breakaway Racing) and Rebecca Quinn (Southbay Wheelmen) in the 15-kilometer contest to take the win.

After the men’s match sprint field was pared down to the final four on Thursday, Jimmy Watkins (Momentum) beat Stephen Hill (East Point Track Club) in two straight rides to claim the gold medal while Lanell Rockmore (Gotham Cycling) was awarded the bronze. Michael Blatchford (Cody Racing) withdrew before his semifinal match against Hill due to a lingering injury but was still awarded the U23 title.

In the final title decided on Friday, Cari Higgins (Proman-Paradigm) won the women’s keirin over runner-up Dana Feiss (Tri State Velo) and Cristin Walker (Northwest Cycling Club).

The 2008 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships continue on Saturday evening with national titles up for grabs in the elite men’s keirin and the elite and U23 women’s match sprint.