Evelyn Stevens grabs time trial silver at Road Worlds Evelyn Stevens (Dennis, Mass./Specialized-lululemon) rode to a silver medal in the elite women’s time trial at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships on Tuesday.
News-Sports.net - Sep 19,2012 - Evelyn Stevens (Dennis, Mass./Specialized-lululemon) rode to a silver medal in the elite women’s time trial at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships on Tuesday.
The investment banker-turned-cyclist clocked a 33.00.23 to finish 33.77 off the winning pace of German powerhouse Judith Arndt, who posted a 32:26.46 to pick up her fourth rainbow jersey. The silver medal is the first U.S. medal in elite women’s road cycling since Kristin Armstrong won time trial gold in 2009.
"I had a great ride today. I really wanted to win today and have been working very hard since last year," said Stevens. "Glad my work paid off, and I was able to make big improvements compared to last year's worlds."
New Zealand rider Linda Melanie Villumsen was seven seconds slower than Stevens over the 24.1 kilometers, claiming the bronze medal and the final step on the podium.
Finishing one minute and 43 seconds off pace, 2008 time trial world champion Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif./Specialized-lululemon) placed seventh for the red, white and blue. She was followed by compatriot Carmen Small (Durango, Colo./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) who had the 16th-fastest time.
In addition to the elite women’s time trial, the past few days at Road Worlds have also seen the team time trials, junior men’s and women’s time trials, and U23 men’s time trial. Here’s a breakdown of how the U.S. fared in each of these events:
TEAM TIME TRIALS
New to the world championship program this year were the elite men’s and women’s team time trials in which riders competed as members of their professional teams. Several Americans contributed to medal-winning efforts in these competitions which served as the Road Worlds opener on Sunday.
In the elite women’s team time trial, Evelyn Stevens and Amber Neben dominated the course with their Team Specialized-Lululemon team to grab the gold medal. Their teammates included Ina Teutenberg (GER), Eleonora Van Dijk (NED), Trixi Worrack (GER), and Charlotte Becker (GER). The six-woman squad posted a winning time of 46:31.60 over the 34.2-kilometer course.
Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo.) and Tejay Van Garderen (Boulder, Colo.) were also on the podium after the team time trials on Sunday, as part of the BMC Racing Team. The American pair joined forces with teammates Alessandro Ballan (ITA), Philippe Gilbert (BEL), Marco Pinottie (ITA), and Manuel Quinziato (ITA) to win the silver medal after finishing just 3.23 behind the winning pace set by team Tomega Pharma-Quickstep.
JUNIOR & U23 MEN
Monday featured the junior men’s and U23 men’s time trials.
In the 26.6-kilometer junior event, T.J. Eisenhart (Lehi, Utah/Velosport Racing) posted the top result for the U.S. in tenth place. He finished 26.29 behind new world champ Oskar Svendsen (NOR) who clocked a time of 35:34.75. Right behind Eisenhart in the time test was Gregory Daniel (Englewood, Colo./Slipstream-Craddock Junior Development) in 11th.
Nathan Brown (Covington, Tenn./Bontrager Livestrong Team) had the fastest time for the red, white and blue in the U23 competition. Finishing 2:41.60 off the winning pace of 44:09.02 which was
