Cyclist pleased with 8th-place finish

ATHENS, Greece - American cyclist Kristin Armstrong sent a message Sunday afternoon at the Summer Olympics by finishing as the top American in the women's road race.

The Boise, Idaho, resident was eighth in her Olympic debut, finishing 42 seconds behind winner Sara Carrigan of Australia. Iowa cyclist Christine Thorburn was 15th, and Dede Barry of Colorado was 16th. Both were 1 minute, 18 seconds behind Carrigan.

Armstrong was upset at USA Cycling last week after she was left out of Wednesday's time trial. The two spots went to Barry and Thorburn. Armstrong hired a California attorney and asked for an arbitration hearing but dropped her appeal after talking to her two teammates Saturday in the Athletes Village.

``I talked to a lot of different people, but what it came down to is, I have a huge heart,'' Armstrong said. ``I didn't want to look back on this day and regret anything. I'm hoping both gals on Wednesday do well and there will be another chance for me.''

Armstrong said she had strong legs Sunday, and based on her past racing experience, would have had even stronger legs for the time trial.

``It's good to flush out your legs in a race like this, and I know I would have been in there Wednesday. That's OK, I'm at peace with this,'' she said.

It was easy for Armstrong to put on a smile after Sunday's performance in the breezy downtown streets of Greece's capital city. Armstrong is only the fifth U.S. woman to finish in the top eight at an Olympic road race, an event the U.S. hasn't medaled in since 1984.

``Bringing home a top-10 finish is a great step for women's cycling in the U.S.,'' Armstrong said. ``I would have loved to have medaled, but I'm happy with eighth, really happy.''

Armstrong had legitimate medal potential going into the final circuit of the nine-lap, 73.7-mile race that used the Greek Parliament and the Acropolis for a backdrop.

Carrington and Judith Arndt of Germany broke away from the pack just as the final lap started and were never threatened for the top two spots. Carrington won by seven seconds in an easy sprint to the finish line.

Six riders stayed close behind, including Armstrong, a former world-class triathlete who's only been racing her bike professionally for two years.``At first I thought, `we're going to get caught, we're going to get caught.' And when I looked back and didn't see anybody, I thought `Oh my gosh, this is potential because it could be anyone's day,'' Armstrong said.

Russian Olga Slyusareva won the sprint for bronze, leaving four others and Armstrong in her wake. Armstrong isn't known for her sprinting speed.

``I looked around and saw a lot of great sprinters. I'm more of a climber and a power rider. Now I have new goal: be able to sprint if I'm in a break with eight to 10 other people. I'm ready for the next step,'' she said.

Thorburn, a graduate of Stanford Medical School, was the top American for most of the day and was fortunate to have avoided at least one major crash that sent defending gold medalist Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel to the hospital.

Thorburn was in fifth place with two laps to go but got caught in traffic during the final breakaway.

``I think as a team we certainly had the ability to medal, so in that regard, we're a little bit disappointed,'' Thorburn said.

The national time trial champion said she is pleased that Armstrong dropped her appeal. Armstrong said she would attend the time trial as a fan before leaving Athens on Thursday.

``I think we were all focused this morning and worked together as a team,'' Thorburn said. ``Now I'm looking forward to Wednesday's race.''