Nebraska Cycling News

Thorburn Rides to Bronze

Salzburg, Austria (September 20, 2006)-Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton) became the third elite women's world time trial champion in American history Wednesday with a 25.57-second win over two-time defending champion Karen Thurig of Switzerland while teammate Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif./Webcor-Platinum) won the bronze medal.

Armstrong joins 1994 victor Karen Kurreck and 2000 winner Mari Holden in the exclusive club of world champions since the discipline was introduced to the world championship program by the UCI in 1994.

Armstrong clocked a winning time of 35 minutes, 4.89 seconds over the 16.23 mile course to beat Thurig, winner of the last two world titles.

Thorburn joined her teammate on the awards stand, turning in a bronze-medal time of 35:34.25 to give the U.S. two podium finishers for the first time in the event's history.

Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Felxpoint-Buitenpoort) placed tenth for the U.S. with a time of 36:31.70.

The performance by the U.S. Cycling Team Wednesday clearly illustrates the consistency and depth of American women at the international level. The 2006 world championships mark the second consecutive year in which three American riders have landed in the top ten - a streak that follows the 2004 Olympic Games in which the U.S. placed second and fourth.

One of the pre-race favorites coming off of a win at the Euregio Tour in the Netherlands, Armstrong suffered a slight mishap early on as she dropped her chain on the second of three climbs on the course. It was a slight setback that lost her an estimated ten seconds, but motivated her to remain calm and focused.

"When I got to the first climb, I kept a nice rhythm," Armstrong recalled, "but going up the second climb, I put just a little too much pressure on the pedals when I shifted down into my little chainring and dropped it. It's just a mistake you make sometimes when you're going too hard. I actually went over that scenario in my mind yesterday after training, but for the third hill. On the second hill, I thought there was no way that would happen. Our mechanic was great. He ran out, calmed me down, pushed me, and I was back in. (Team Director) Jim Miller was behind me in the car and got me refocused and told me we were still on track. I didn't know if he was lying to me or not. If you have a mechanical, as an athlete, you can either go one way or the other. You can give up because you just lost ten seconds, or you can use it to get a little bit of an adrenalin rush. I think I used it to my advantage. It was pretty early in the race, maybe 11 or 12 minutes into it, so I just had to refocus and do what I can. When he (Miller) said 'you can win if you go hard, if you give it everything you have,' I knew that he wouldn't put that winning idea in my head unless I really could."

The first of three Americans to finish, Thorburn crossed the line in first place at the time as the 26th rider to leave the start line. With 13 riders left to complete the course, all she could do was wait.

Thorburn's time held up as some of the other pre-race favorites finished and failed to eclipse her benchmark. Oenone Wood (AUS), Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), Edita Pucinskaite (LTU), Judith Arndt (GER) and Neben all crossed the line slower than Thorburn, leaving her in first place with five riders to finish.

"I've been in that position before," recalled Thorburn. "In Athens I went pretty early and had the fastest time for a while and was in a similar situation at the world championships in 2004, so I tried not to think about it too much when I was in the hot seat. I knew Priska (Doppman, 4th-place finisher) was a good time trialist and she was in second place at that point. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised that some of the other favorites came through with slower times."

Armstrong was the next competitor to come through, slicing 30 seconds off Thorburn's time. As the American duo sat in first and second with four riders remaining, Nicole Brandli (SUI), Nicole Cooke (GBR) and Zoulifa Zabirova (KAZ) finished next, all with slower marks. Thurig, the 39th and final rider to finish, spoiled an American sweep of the top two spots, clocking a time four seconds faster than Thorburn to earn her fifth-straight top-five finish.

Still, the performance for Team USA was a historic one with two riders on the podium for the first time.

"It's great to have both of us on the podium," commented Armstrong. "It's huge for America."

Dr. Thorburn, a Rheumatologist who works 40 hours a week, juggles a medical career and a career as a world-class cyclist. This year, after placing third at the national championships in the time trial, she turned her focus to that discipline and the world championships.

"I did pretty well at nationals, so I decided to focus on time trialing instead of the road race," Thorburn explained. "I figured if I focused on time trialing, it's fewer hours I'd have to train and I could still do well in the time trial and be useful in the road race."

Following the 2004 Olympic Games in which Armstrong did not compete in the time trial but was the highest-placed American in the road race in eighth, she contemplated retirement at the end of 2005. But after a silver medal at the world championships in Madrid last year, she decided to continue through 2008.

"After the Olympics in 2004, I didn't know how much longer I wanted to continue cycling," Armstrong recalled. "The Olympics was always a dream of mine and I was wondering what it would be like the year after an Olympic Games and if I could accomplish more goals. I didn't want to sell myself short, and I told myself that if I'm still having fun racing, then I want to go through 2008. But I made a promise to myself that if I decided to go through 2008, it would not just be for the Olympics. It would have to be because I enjoy riding and I have other goals along the way. Sometimes, things happen in cycling where you're injured or you might have an off year, and if you continue just for the Olympics, it may not work out for you. One of my other dreams before I retire from cycling was to wear the world champion's jersey. After I placed third last year, I remember telling myself I have three more tries if I go through 2008. The rainbow stripes, in the sport of cycling, continue with you forever. Olympic medals do too, but there's really a different respect when you carry the rainbow stripes in the peloton. It's great I have them early enough to carry them for the rest of my cycling career."

With Armstrong, Thorburn and Neben all placing in the top-ten for the second consecutive year, their collective performance signifies the strength of women's cycling in America.

"I think that American cycling has really developed," said Armstrong. "It's really fun now because we have the steps in time trialing where we can have two or three riders on the podium. It's very hard to all have the same perfect day, but I think we all have the potential on any given day. It's fun to see the road team as well because I remember just a few years back we'd go to worlds and Dede (Barry) was our leader and we couldn't really do much for her. But now I feel that we have a team that can really race and we have some depth. We can actually go into the race Saturday with a tactical plan and I don't see why we can't go for the podium."

Armstrong, Thorburn and Neben join Kimberly Baldwin (Boulder, Colo./T-Mobile), Kim Anderson (Colorado Springs, Colo./T-Mobile) and Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga./Colavita) for the road race on Saturday.

In other action for Team USA on Wednesday, Steven Cozza (Petaluma, Calif./TIAA-CREF) was the top finisher in the men's U23 time trial. Cozza placed 30th in the 24.57-mile race, while teammate Brent Bookwalter (Comstock Park, Mich./Priority Health) placed 40th. Cozza turned in a time of 52:15.87 and Bookwalter clocked a 53:22.21.

Dominique Cornu of Belgium won the world title with a time of 49:28.42. Defending champion Mikhail Ignatiev of Russia won the silver medal with a 50:05.52 and Jerome Coppel of France won the bronze medal with a 50:13.08.

2006 UCI Road World Championships

Salzburg, Austria

Sept. 19-24, 2006

Elite Women's Time Trial

1. Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho) 35:04.89

2. Karen Thurig (SUI) +25.57

3. Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif.) +29.36

10. Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.) +1:26.81

U23 Men's Time Trial

1. Dominique Cornu (BEL) 49:28.42

2. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS) +37.10

3. Jerome Coppel (FRA) +44.66

30. Steven Cozza (Petaluma, Calif.) +2:47.45

40. Brent Bookwalter (Comstock Park, Mich.) +3:53.79