The US team with Lauren Tamayo, Sarah Hammer, Dotsie Bausch and Jennie Reed(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The US team pursuit squad of Sarah Hammer, Dotsie Bausch and Lauren Tamayo en route to a silver medal in the finals against Great Britain.(Image credit: AFP)
Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter & Co) setting pace on the front of the field.(Image credit: Jon Devich)
Four to go and Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY 12) is followed by the Team TIBCO train.(Image credit: Matthew Moses)
Lauren Tamayo (United States of America) announced her retirement from track racing soon after winning a silver medal in the Olympic Games as part of USA's women's pursuit team. The 28-year-old, who started racing on the track at the age of 12, will turn her attention back towards her road career.
Tamayo was drafted into the pursuit team for the final, replacing Jennie Reed, who had helped guide the team through their previous two races.
The planned switch was an attempt to freshen up the team but with Great Britain setting world records in all three of their rides on the way to gold, there was little Tamayo could do to change the outcome of the final. The US finished in a time of 3:19.727.
"I was really nervous or the past 24 hours. These girls had a couple of races in their legs and with the crowd and the noise. So they had a chance to get their nerves and jitters put away but I just tried to give it my all," Tamayo said
"We played it ride by ride to see how it would go. We knew that going into the final ride that GB were still going to be strong and we were just hoping to come with some fresh legs and give them a run for their money."
"We're thrilled with silver," she added.
"Coming into this, six months ago we were fifth at the world championships, and I think that every country doubted us and whether we could be medal contenders. Our goal was to prove everybody wrong and show them that we had it. We're pretty happy with silver."
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After the Worlds in April the USA team stepped up their Olympic preparation. The squad headed for Mallorca, Spain, where they spent two straight months training.
"We decided to get together in Mallorca and actually put together a good block of training in. Normally we only get together a couple of weeks before an event but this time we did two full months together in Mallorca in order to nail this ride."
Tamayo will head home to the US and return her focus back to the road. After a long track career London marks her last track appearance.
"I don't think I will race track again. I think I'm done with the track. I started my career on the track when I was 12 and so it's bitter sweet to come back and finish my track career with a silver medal in the Olympics. Every girl always says that they want to go to the Olympics and medal but to actually do that is a totally different story and it's amazing. I don't think I could top it."
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
