Photo by Donna Chiarelli (www.dhcstudio.com)

Barb Buchan won two golds and a silver at the 2006 U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Championships.

Buchan and Nicholson were the only two athletes to complete their event before storms began battering the track just after noon local time. After an hour of rain, the event was postponed until 7:00 p.m., and the two veteran racers would be forced to re-race for a shot at another championship jersey.

Both athletes were up to the task, and Nicholson actually improved on his morning time by by a second and a half, finishing with a time of 4:20.9 in the CP3 3km Pursuit. His time measured out to 109.2 percent of the U.S. Paralympics Elite Team Standard for that event.

"I was riding on brand new equipment, and this morning I didn't really have it down very well," Nicholson said. "Tonight it wasn't perfect, but it was better."

Buchan, who completed the Women's CP3 3km Pursuit in 4:51.9, 101 percent of her elite standard, finished the National Championships with gold medals in both track events and a silver on the road. After the race, she credited her years of experience on the bike and coaching as the things that have propelled her to success.

"I'm very lucky to have the background that I have after racing for all these years," Buchan said. "Between U.S. Paralympics and Carmichael [Training Systems] and Justin Wadsworth, who coaches me in Bend, it's worked out great."

Visually impaired cyclist Karissa Whitsell (Springfield, Ore.), along with pilot Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.), were the only other athletes to win medals in all three events after taking silver in the Pursuit. The tandem edged Allison Jones (LC3, Colorado Springs, Colo.) for second place by less than two one-hundredths of a percent.

On the men's side, Bruce Gordon (LC1, South Bend, Ind.) won his second silver medal of the event, finishing his 4k in 5:35.6, 110.6 percent of his Elite Standard. The tandem of Scott Smith and pilot David Swanson (both of Tucson, Ariz.) rounded out the podium by finishing at 112 percent of their standard.

U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Team Head Coach Craig Griffin said he was happy with where the athletes were as he looked ahead to September's World Championships.

"The athletes that we've known about and have been in the program for a couple years, they're peforming right where they need to be right now," Griffin said. "They're right where they need to be from a preparation and conditioning standpoint.

"I'm very excited about the elite side. And then just underneath that, on the emerging side of things, where the athletes are developing, some athletes I haven't seen until this weekend, have performed extremely well. That's kind of where my excitement is right now, knowing that we've got some new athletes coming along and we have two years to develop them."

The team that will represent the U.S. at the 2006 IPC Cycling World Championships will be announced later this week. Athletes selected to the team will meet for a preparation camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 19 - Sept. 4, before going to compete at the World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, Sept. 7-17.

Results - Men's Pursuit

Dan Nicholson - 109.2 percent of U.S. Paralympics Elite Team Standard
Bruce Gordon - 110.6
David Swanson/Scott Smith - 112
Anthony Zahn (LC3, Riverside, Calf.) - 112.6
Sam Kavanagh (LC2, Bozeman, Mont.) - 113.2
Mike Farrell (CP4, Colorado Springs, Colo.) - 113.3
Michael Foresto (LC1, Greenlawn, N.Y.) - 114.8

Results - Women's Pursuit

Barb Buchan - 101 percent
Katie Compton/Karissa Whitsell - 104.95
Allison Jones - 104.96
Greta Neimanas (LC1, Chicago, Ill.) - 109