how on earth is it unfortunate? that makes absolutely no sense. can you explain to me why exactly it is a negative thing that people begin cycling?

and for those of you saying "boo to ESPN for helping this woman go to training as opposed to someone who deserves it." a) most of those people who 'deserve it' still aren't anywhere near good enough to be olympic quality b) this woman wasn't taking resources away from anyone else. her being there didn't prevent anyone else from being there and there was never any chance of her taking someone elses spot on a team simply because she was from ESPN c) she was allowed to participate solely because she was writing for ESPN and the people realized her participation would bring publicity for track racing which is a good thing. d) few people in america care about cycling, and even fewer care about track cycling. it's a fact, so don't get all pissy about her saying it is the "red-headed stepchild" of the cycling world cause it's true. it's not some personal insult against you and your bike, it's just a statement of the low general popularity of the sport in the US.

seriously, some people constantly look for **** to complain about.

edit: sorry, tequila makes me argumentative.