In this series, the Chronicle follows seven riders as they seek to fulfill their Olympic dreams in London in 2012.

I think no matter what you walk into, you have to say, “I’m trying to win this,” or else you stand no chance. I want to be an international rider, and I want to make it to the Olympics in the future. But since I’m just 17 and this was my first time going through the selection trials process, I didn’t have any expectations.