Category: Olympic Cycling

Great Britain takes gold in men's team sprint

The Laoshan Velodrome showdown between Great Britain and France ended Friday with the Brits winning the Men's Team Sprint Olympic gold medal.

The German team beat Australia by a fraction of a second to take the bronze.

The US team qualified for the first round after the race jury dinged Poland for deliberately riding on the blue band during the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/15/great-britain-takes-gold-in-mens-team-sprint/

Cancellara wins Olympic men's time trial; Leipheimer takes bronze

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, right, proved it's possible to medal in both road cycling events at the Beijing Olympics by winning the gold medal in the individual time trial.

The 29-year-old made a dazzling dash to the finish in Saturday's road race to capture the bronze in that event.

Team USA's Levi Leipheimer held off Alberto Contador (his teammate during the regular season) to secure the bronze medal in the 29.4-mile race. Sweden's Gustav Larsson finished 2nd.

The other US cyclist, David Zabriskie, was in fourth place when he crossed the finish line earlier in the time trial, but his placement dropped to 12th as latter riders came in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/13/cancellara-wins-olympic-mens-time-trial-leipheimer-takes-bronze/

Kristin Armstrong wins Olympic gold for US in time trial

Kristin Armstrong won the gold medal in the women's individual time trial last night and became the first US woman ever to win the event at the Olympic Games.

It was the US team's first medal in cycling at the Beijing games.

The 35-year-old cyclist from Boise, Idaho, headed down the platform with a determined look and caught up with the two previous starters by the finish line. That's a four-minute margin.

“This is the most amazing day of my life,” Armstrong said after the time trial. She mentioned several times that she credited her coaches for her accomplishment and being able to race with “very light equipment.” She rides a Cervelo time trial bike …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/13/kristin-armstrong-wins-olympic-gold-for-us-in-time-trial/

Men's and women's Olympic cycling time trials up next

Is Swiss time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara on his way to two Olympic medals?

Already the surprise bronze medal winner in Saturday's road race, the 27-year-old is the current World Time Trial Champion. He's a favorite for the gold in the event scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Beijing time.

Among those who might unwind the plans of this precision Swiss-time-trial piece are Team USA cyclists Levi Leipheimer and David Zabriskie. Tour de France double time-trial-winner Stefan Schumacher of German is certainly a contender, as is Australia's Michael Rogers and Spain's Alberto Contador.

NBC Olympics.com is video streaming the men's time trial beginning at 10:30 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday. To find video, go to NBC Olympic's video stream web page and look for cycling under “Live Now” or scroll down to Search Video by sport for previous competitions. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/12/mens-and-womens-olympic-cycling-time-trials-up-next/

UK's Cooke wins women's Olympic road race

The Olympic women's road race all went according to plan for the UK's Nicole Cooke. The team tactics for Sunday's race in Beijing were cooked up a year ago.

Cooke won a three-woman sprint for the gold in a 78-mile road race that was marked by heavy rains.

US cyclists Kristin Armstrong finished in 25th at 43 seconds behind, Amber Neben in 33rd at 53 second back, and Christine Thorburn finished 52nd at 8-minutes-44 behind the winner.

France's Jeannie Longo, the 49-year-old competing in her 7th Olympics, finished in 24th place, 33 seconds behind the winners …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/10/uks-cooke-wins-womens-olympic-road-race/

Women's Olympic road race preview

Weather permitting — that is if the smog in Beijing doesn't get worse — women cyclists from around the world will compete in the 78-mile Olympic road race on Sunday.

Due to time differences, that event starts at 2 p.m. Beijing time, 2 a.m. Eastern Time and 11 p.m. Pacific Time. NBC has scheduled a live, online video stream.

Three cyclists from the United States will compete among the 66 women cyclists. They are Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben, and Christine Thorburn…

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/09/womens-olympic-road-race-preview/

Spain's Sanchez wins gold in Beijing

Spain's Samuel Sanchez won the Olympic gold medal in road race on Saturday in a six-man sprint over a hot, humid 152-mile course around Beijing.

The 30-year-old cyclist for Euskaltel-Euskadi during the regular season was helped by a national team that included this year's Giro d'Italia champion Alberto Contador and Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre.

Not that Sanchez didn't pull his own weight. He took his turn pulling apart the peloton on the last lap and a half for Alejandro Valverde, a favorite to win for Spain. But when the attacks started on the final kilometers, Valverde couldn't respond.

US cyclists Levi Leipheimer and Christian Vande Velde finished in 11th and 17th, part of a group that was left behind in the final push to the finish ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/09/spains-sanchez-wins-gold-in-beijing/

Live video-streaming of Olympic cycling

Morning after video update:

The NBC video stream worked flawlessly until about 15 kilometers from the finish, when it started buffering and never came back. I have no idea what happened — was it a problem on my end or their end? — but I was not pleased to have watched the road race video-stream off and on for some six hours and have it crap out on me in the final 20 minutes or so.


What an odd sensation to be sitting here as the sun sets Friday evening and watching the Olympic cycling road race on my son's computer as it happens late Saturday morning in China.

The videocast from NBCOlympics.com began at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, so apparently NBC plans to show the 152-mile race from start to finish …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/09/live-video-streaming-of-olympic-cycling/

Olympic cycling road race preview

“Grandpa” will be among the five US cyclists competing in the 152-mile Olympic road race that begins Saturday morning in Beijing.

Of course grandpa is 35-year-old George Hincapie, who earned that nickname among his teammates because of his US record five Olympics. Other US men competing in the road race are Levi Leipheimer, Jason McCartney, Christian Vande Velde, and David Zabriskie.

The men's road race will be video streamed live at the NBC Olympics website. Check the TV and Online schedule at NBC for detailed times. It starts at 11 p.m. ET on Friday, 8 p.m. Friday in the Pacific Time Zone…

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/08/olympic-cycling-road-race-preview/

Vande Velde quote: Ready to race at Olympics

“I'm like a diesel engine now. I have no fast twitch, but I am quite efficient.

“My biggest concern is to get through the first 120 miles. I know after then I will start to feel good.''

— US cyclist Christian Vande Velde interviewed by ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/08/07/vande-velde-quote-ready-to-race-at-olympics/