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Monday, September 25
Zijlaard wins her second gold in Sydney
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Karen Kurreck's jersey was torn across
her back. Mari Holden's elbows and knees were scraped.
And their bikes? Well, they were in worse shape than the riders.
By the end of the fourth of seven laps, the two American road
cyclists were done in the Olympic road race Tuesday (Monday night
EDT). Holden and Kurreck withdrew after a relentless series of
mechanical problems.
"Some days you just have really, really, really bad luck,"
Holden said with a laugh. "I think I'm going to burn my socks,
burn my shirt. Maybe I'll just burn the whole outfit."
Good idea, except for two things. The way the rain fell all day,
the fire probably wouldn't start. And Holden still needs her
uniform for Saturday's time trial, an event where she's a five-time
national champion.
Leontien Zijlaard of the Netherlands won her second gold medal
of the Sydney Games, sprinting out of a soggy pack to win in 3
hours, 6 minutes, 31 seconds.
Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany won the silver medal, Diana Ziliute
of Lithuania won the bronze, and the Americans were left to watch.
Beset by crashes and mechanical problems, Kurreck of Los Altos
Hills, Calif., and Holden of Colorado Springs, Colo., had no choice
but to pull out and preserve themselves for the time trial.
"I felt really good today, but it was a good decision to stop
and have a better race later this week," Holden said. "It's so
frustrating to have good form but to have so many problems with the
bike."
That left Nicole Freedman of Stanford, Calif., who rode with the
lead pack through the first three laps, as the lone American. She
gradually fell off the pace and finished 47th, almost 22 minutes
behind Zijlaard.
Freedman qualified for the road race by winning the Olympic
trials in Jackson, Miss., in May, the only at-large spot awarded on
the women's team. She didn't have much international racing
experience, and eventually it showed.
"I think I had a 1 percent chance coming into this race," she
said with a smile and a shrug. "There were 57 riders and my world
ranking is 105, so at least I beat my international ranking."
Kurreck, the 1994 world time trial champion, crashed on the
first lap with two other riders, causing problems with her wheel.
After changing it, her brakes didn't adjust.
She was lagging behind the lead pack and when she pulled into
the pits and dropped out just before finishing her third lap. As
she left, a big tear was visible across the back of her jersey.
"Today was disappointing," Kurreck said. "I'm just glad I get
another chance to come back Saturday."
After Holden worked through problems with her chain, she changed
the wheel but then had difficulty shifting gears. After fixing the
problem, she crashed as she tried to catch the pack.
Finally, Holden went to a reserve bike while mechanics worked on
the chain and rear wheel of the first. After she finally worked her
way back in the peleton, she got a flat on the second lap.
"If this was the only race they had, then for sure they would
have stayed in and tried to go all the way," said U.S. team leader
Sean Petty. "But it made no sense with the time trial coming up."
Midway through the final lap, 12 riders remained on the lead
pack, setting up a sprint finish under less-than-ideal racing
conditions. Rain began falling on the third of seven laps and
temperatures dropped into the low 60s.
Zijlaard didn't seem to mind the weather, adding another gold
medal to the one she claimed last week on the track. She set a
world record in individual pursuit and took silver in the points
race.
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