U.S. junior rider wins silver at worldsBARDOLINO, Italy -- Rebecca Much of the United States won the silver medal in the junior time trial Monday at the road cycling world championships.
Tereza Hurikova of the Czech Republic was the winner, following her bronze medal on a mountain bike Sept. 9 in the junior race at the cross country worlds in Les Gets, France. Hurikova covered the 9.75-mile course along Lake Garda in 22 minutes, 14 seconds, averaging 26 mph. Much was 5.37 seconds behind, and Amanda Spratt of Australia finished third, 5.67 seconds back. Germany's Sabine Fischer, the favorite and last rider to begin the individual race against the clock, came in fourth, 51.58 seconds behind Hurikova. Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia won the gold medal in the under-23 time trial. He covered the 22.79 miles in 46:56.39, averaging 29 mph. He was followed by Thomas Dekker of the Netherlands, 18.93 seconds behind, and Vincenzo Nibali of Italy, 19.32 seconds back. Brajkovic finished second in the time trial at the under-23 European championships in Estonia in August and is being courted by several big professional teams. The 20-year-old rider plans to turn pro next year. Much, who is from Chicago and lives in Colorado, said she was inspired by fellow American Dede Demet-Barry's silver medal in the time trial at the Athens Olympics. "Coming here I had no clue what was going to happen," Much said. "The whole U.S. team is staying together, so it was exciting to speak with Dede." Much wore a yellow armband to support Lance Armstrong's cancer research foundation. "My mom was talking to somebody who had the armband on and they took it off and gave it to her," she said. "So my mom gave it to me and said it might bring good luck." Junior races at the worlds feature riders between 16 and 18. The men's elite time trial is Wednesday, and the featured men's elite road race will conclude the worlds Sunday in Verona.
Jan Ullrich pulled out of the time trial, citing a stomach illness. The former Tour de France champion and five-time runner-up was expected to contend in both the time trial and road race, but the German's T-Mobile said the rider was on his way home to Germany. T-Mobile said it hoped Ullrich would return for the road race. © Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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