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Angelenos with Olympic dreams are in luck: USA Cycling has opened its ranks with a series of public tryouts.
With its Search for Speed initiative, the organization hopes to recruit diverse and underrepresented athletes for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The program aims to provide “youth and young adults with a dedicated pathway to the U.S. National Team,” according to a USA Cycling press release.
“Our goal with Search for Speed is to go into the local L.A. communities and introduce them to the wonders of track cycling, in particular sprint track cycling,” USA Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk said in the statement.
“We’re looking for kids who are exceptional athletes in more traditional sports, like football, basketball, soccer, and get them exposed to bike racing. We have an incredible facility at the VELO Sports Center Velodrome and we want to see that next generation of kids racing on the track and potentially at the Olympic Games.”
Go for the Gold in Track Cycling
Here’s how it works: Tryouts are open to the public and participants can arrive anytime within the testing window. According to the Search for Speed website, intake and screening take about 20 minutes. Participants under the age of 18 need permission from a parent or guardian.
Once through the screening, participants will warm up for 2 minutes on a Wattbike, and then the tryout begins — a 6-second peak power test. All participants will receive a report showing how they stack up to USA Cycling National Team members and “resources to continue cycling in the Los Angeles area.”
USA Cycling will invite the top performers back for more testing. Pass that round, and participants will receive coaching and begin learning the discipline of track sprinting. USA Cycling hopes to have “program graduates on the National Team in the seasons leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”
Think you’ve got what it takes to go for the gold? The next tryouts are on March 11, 2023, at the Los Angeles Bike Academy from 12-5 p.m. Tryouts will continue three times a month through May 2023.
You can find additional times and locations here.
