“Did I win?” Armstrong (no relation to Lance) asked people around her, upon completing Wednesday’s race.
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With her strong performance in the road race, everyone was excited to see whether she could take a third Olympic time trial title and deliver the U.S. an Olympic gold medal after Mara Abbott (Wiggle-High5, US) put in a heartbreaking performance in the road race, finishing fourth.
“It’s fantastic, I don’t know if it has hit me yet”, she told reporters through tears after hugging her son and holding up a sign that said “USA STRONG”. After defending her Olympic gold medal in London in 2012, she took time off from hard training and racing (she does not like to use the word “retirement”). “And I am the best, ‘” he said. Today the stars aligned.
After the race, according to The Washington Post, Armstrong spoke about refusing to let others put limitations on her: “I have always loved that we were all born with the power to believe and to believe in ourselves. Here’s the deal. It’s up to you what color medal you want to bring home, “‘ she said.
“I hurt so bad out there today, and coach kept telling me to go deeper and deeper”.
“To hear the national anthem on the podium, that’s my favourite part of the Olympics”.
She tested positive for octopamine, a fat-burning stimulant, and, despite initially being cleared by the Russian Cycling Federation, the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, contested the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and her ban was implemented.
Eventually she climbed to her feet and hugged her son, holding a banner that said “USA STRONG”. It’s what got me up every morning, to train.
“It’s very important, because it’s the Olympic Games. It’s important for me, and for Russian Federation”.
Anna van der Breggen came third, behind Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya, to add bronze to her road race gold.
Armstrong credits her teammate Mara Abbott, who herself crashed out of her Rio medal hopes in a heartbreaking finish on Monday, for the inspiration to help her take on the brutal race.
At one stage Zabelinskaya, the bronze medallist at the London Olympics, raised her arms and smiled broadly as the fastest three riders waited in their finish line hot seats. “Everyone gave it their all”.
Cancellara will retire at the end of the 2016 season and he marked his final year in the sport by repeating the success he enjoyed at Beijing 2008.
“It’s everyone’s own choice when they want to retire”, said Cancellara. I know that balance is my secret weapon. I’ve had many highlights, with the classics, then the Tour de France in Switzerland, and then the Olympic Games.
“Yeah”, Kristin Armstrong told him. I’m super excited, and I’m so grateful for all the sacrifices. I just went insane.
So she set a new goal, of making it back to the national championships past year. However, it was emphatically Cancellara’s day in Olympics men’s road cycling with the massive win and some gold hardware to hang on his neck. Like Boels-Dolmans communications manager Jessi Braverman tweeted after the race; Rio 2016 has been an emotional roller coaster for TeamNL, with medals lost and won.
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Despite her longtime dominance, her win on Wednesday appears to come as a surprise. I’ve got no regrets.
