Tyler Hamilton on his way to victory in Athens, Greece. Photo by Rob Jones.
Tyler is congratulated by his wife Haven.
"I did it!" - A smiling Tyler Hamilton on the podium in Athens, Greece.
Hamilton Wins Olympic Time Trial
Tyler Hamilton (United States) is the Olympic time trial champion.
Tyler Hamilton ( <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?> United States ) is the Olympic time trial champion. The man from Marblehead, who crashed out of the 2004 Tour de France, rode away his disappointment by drawing away from defending champion Vyatcheslav Ekimov ( Russia) in the 12 km en route to the gold medal in 57:31. Ekimov took the silver at 0:17, and Bobby Julich ( United States ) grabbed the bronze at 0:26.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Peter Van Petegem ( Belgium) set the early standard. He rode the 48-km course in , but Rene Andrle ( Czech Republic ) pipped it with five minutes later. Yuri Krivtsov ( Ukraine) was the first sub-1:00 man with a 59:49, but Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano ( Spain) bettered Krivtsov?s mark with a 59:27. His time remained the standard until the favorites started.
As the favorites took their shots, the leading times began to drop quickly. Alexander Vinokourov ( Kazakhstan) took the lead with a 58:58, but soon after, Michael Rich ( Germany) posted a 58:09. Ekimov shot past the finish line with a 57:50, but Julich, Hamilton, Michael Rogers ( Australia), and Jan Ullrich ( Germany) were still on the course.
Ullrich was no factor and would finish seventh at 59:02, but the same could not be said of the other three riders. Julich was 0:06 behind Ekimov at 36 km. He could not make up ground on the Russian, but Julich, who trailed Rogers by 0:05 at the same checkpoint, overtook the Australian in the last 12 km to take the bronze medal.
That left Hamilton. He had been in third place at the 12-km and 24-km checkpoints and was 0:04 and 0:06, respectively, behind Ekimov. By 36 km, however, the American had battled into the lead, 0:04 ahead of the defending champion. In the heat and wind, Hamilton extended his lead over the Russian to dethrone him.
For more info on bronze medal winner Bobby Julich, read our pre-Tour interview with him.
Are you interested in light, comfortable athletic headwear? If the answer is yes, check out Headsweats. Headsweats has caps, bandannas, and other headgear for active, avid cyclists like you. Click on the Headsweats link at the http://www.roadcycling.com/ website and learn what Headsweats has to offer you!
