Mara Abbott is revelling in the chance to experience her first Olympic Games, but she is not taking her selection for the women's road race for granted after recently winning an arbitration launched against her spot on the four-woman team by compatriot Coryn Rivera. The American climbing phenom plans to make the most of the opportunity she's earned to do everything in her power to help Team USA win a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
"I've worked really hard to be at the Olympics, not because I want the experience of going and getting lots of T-shirts and meeting a lot of people," Abbott firmly stated in an interview with Cyclingnews. "If you're an athlete who is at the level of being at the Olympics, you're going to compete. There are a lot of things around it, but for me, I see it as a really important bike race."
USA Cycling's Selection Committee named Abbott as one of the four women to represent Team USA for the road race. Megan Guarnier had secured an automatic spot after placing on the podium at the World Championships in Richmond last September, and the Selection Committee also chose Evelyn Stevens and Kristin Armstrong, both for the road race and the time trial.
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The selection didn't sit well with US time trial champion Carmen Small, who launched a highly publicised arbitration for one of the two time trial spots. Amber Neben joined that arbitration, contesting for a place on the team. Also, Rivera opened a separate arbitration for Abbott's spot on the team for the road race.
"Coryn directly arbitrated against my Olympic spot, and I was really affected by it. I had to get a lawyer and be a witness. It wasn't widely known because a lot of the focus was on Carmen's case," said Abbott, who was competing at the Giro Rosa in early July when she was notified of the arbitration.
"It was terrifying and unpleasant. It wasn't a positive experience. But that is the way the system is right now, and it was absolutely within Coryn's right to fight for a spot that she thought that she deserved."
- Olympic Games: 10 riders to watch for the women's road race
- USA Cycling to revisit Olympic Games selection procedures after triple arbitrations
- Small, Neben lose arbitration cases over US Olympic spots
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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