Armstrong powers to cycling victory

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Continuing the association between the name Armstrong and cycling success, Kristin Armstrong became just the second American woman cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal when she won the women's time trial on Wednesday.

Armstrong finished the 23.5-kilometer (14.6-mile) course in 34 minutes, 51.72 seconds -- 24.29 seconds better than Emma Pooley of Britain. Pooley's teammate and gold medal winner of the road race on Sunday, Nicole Cooke, was well off the pace, finishing in 15th place.

The bronze medal went to Karin Thuerig of Switzerland, who was almost a minute behind Armstrong. Pooley was the fifth of 25 riders down the ramp, setting a time that let the other contenders know what they needed.

Armstrong was the only woman close to Pooley at the halfway mark, and erased the gap before reaching the finish at the Great Wall.

She joins Connie Carpenter-Phinney as the only American woman to win Olympic cycling gold. Carpenter won the road race at Los Angeles 24 years ago.

"It's the most amazing day of my life," Armstrong said. "I've been working for this for the last eight years, especially the last four, and to time everything right on one day is an accomplishment of its own."

Armstrong didn't race in the time trial at the 2004 Athens Games, left off the two-woman American roster for that competition, and the decision has pained her ever since.

She won the world bronze medal in 2005, the world championship in 2006 and the silver in 2007 -- and then Wednesday, as the Star-Spangled Banner echoed off the Great Wall, she could barely contain her glee as she stepped atop the medal podium, thrust her arms in the air and then bowed to have Olympic gold draped around her neck.

"Awesome. Just awesome," Armstrong said.

She's the third straight American to medal in the women's time trial, joining Dede Barry and Mari Holden, who won silvers in Athens and Sydney, respectively.

Jeannie Longo of France, competing in her seventh Olympics at the age of 49, took fourth place.

"After the road race I was absolutely exhausted," Longo said. "I wasn't like normal. I had problems with my left leg."

Pooley supported teammate Nicole Cooke to victory in the road race on Sunday, but this race was hers.

"In the road race, I was doing my job. Today, I just concentrated on riding as fast as I could, being absolutely smooth and enjoying myself without anyone to push me off," she said.

"It helps being positive nervous because you've been waiting for this for four years. I was enjoying going fast. It was pretty fun, I just kept saying 'faster, faster'."

Christine Thorburn of the United States, who was fourth in the time trial at the 2004 Athens Games, was fifth Wednesday.

"I'm so happy for Kristin," Thorburn said. "She's been preparing impeccably for the last four years, frankly. She was totally ready and totally deserving."

Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, one of the medal hopefuls, had a bad day, coming in 14th more than two minutes back, missing out on a medal for the second time after her sixth place in the road race.

She fell to the floor after the finish line, exhausted.

"I gave everything. It just wasn't good enough," Vos said.

Vos has one final hope of gold, in the points race on the track.

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