Zabriskie claims fourth straight professional time trial title
Greenville, S.C. (August 29, 2009)–David Zabriskie (Salt Lake City, Utah/Garmin-Slipstream) remains the only athlete to win a USA Cycling professional time trial championship after successfully defending his national title on Saturday – his fourth straight since the event’s inception in 2006.
Zabriskie edged runner-up Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell) by just 44 seconds to maintain his monopoly on the Stars-and-stripes jersey, completing the 20.7-mile course in 39 minutes, 37.14 seconds. Kelly Benefit Strategies Scott Zwizanski (Mill Valley, Calif.) took home the bronze medal, finishing just under two minutes off the pace.
After finishing fifth to Zirbel in the individual time trial stage of the Tour of Utah last week, Zabriskie once again affirmed his reputation as the fastest American in the individual race against the clock today in Greenville. The reigning national champion not only posted a nearly one minute time gap over his closest competitor, but, on the exact same course as 2008, he also improved his time by one minute and five seconds.
“Last year, I was [like] what kind of course is this? But this year it was more comfortable, and I like the course,”
Zabriskie said. “I really enjoy wearing this jersey over in Europe. It’s something I take a lot of pride in. It never gets old.”
For Zabriskie, Saturday’s victory marks his fifth career national time trial title as a professional. He also won in 2004 when both pros and amateurs competed together in the elite national championships.
Kelly Benefit Strategies put two riders in the top five with Johathan Mumford (Sandy, Utah) coming in fifth in a near deadlock with fourth-place finisher Bernard Vanulden (San Francisco, Calif.) of Jelly Belly. Both riders finished within a second of each other at 0:42:29.
In addition to reaffirming Zabriskie’s dominance, Saturday’s race also confirmed Zirbel’s progress as a consistent contender in major time trials. At 30 years-old, Zirbel continues to show his strength. Three years ago, he finished 1:29 behind Zabriskie to place seventh. In 2007, he was 15 seconds back to finish just off the podium in fourth and in 2008, his five-second deficit and silver medal suggested that 2009 may be his year to unseat Zabriskie. The upset was not meant to be, however with another one-two finish, the stage is set for another show-down in 2010.
Despite the somewhat technical, rolling circuit course, the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar leader and time-trial specialist, Zirbel, did not expect a nearly one-minute deficit.
“I didn’t expect to lose by 45 seconds, wow, that’s an incredible ride by Dave,” explained Zirbel. “I didn’t have time splits while I was riding. I just figured it would be close… that it would come down to 2 or 3 seconds like it did last year. Wow, to see those time gaps, I should’ve sat up. I had a whole minute to spare.”
Zabriskie and Zirbel did not disappoint in what was expected to be a show down of the two powerhouse time trialers. Racing three laps of a technical, 11.1-kilometer rolling circuit, Zabriskie left the start gate last as the top-seeded rider with Zirbel just before. The pair recorded the fastest marks at both intermediate time checks, however Zabriskie passed through the first lap with a 29-second advantage on Zirbel. Zabriskie opened up his advantage to 37 seconds after the second lap and turned it on in the final lap, never looking to be in danger of losing his lead.
USA Cycling Professional Time Trial National Championships RESULTS
Aug. 29. 2009
Greenville, S.C.
Name
Team
Finish
1
ZABRISKIE David
Garmin-Slipstream
39.37
2
ZIRBEL
Bissell Pro Cycling
40.21
3
ZWIZANSKI
Kelly Benefit Strategies
41.18
4
VANULDEN
Jelly Belly Cycling Team
42.29
5
MUMFORD
Kelly Benefit Strategies
42.29
6
FRIEDMAN
Garmin-Slipstream
42.37
7
ZAJICEK
Fly V Australia
42.38
8
CHODROFF
OUCH Presented By Maxxis
42.44
9
JACQUES-MAYNES
Bissell Pro Cycling
43.07
10
CREED
Team Type 1
43.11
11
WINSTEAD
Kenda Pro Cycling Presented By Spinergy
43.41
12
MACH
Bissell Pro Cycling
43.43
13
KILUN
OUCH Presented By Maxxis
43.44
14
BALDWIN
OUCH Presented By Maxxis
43.56
15
SWEETING
Land Rover-ORBEA
44.00
16
KEM
Bissell Pro Cycling
44.24
17
CRANE
Jelly Belly Cycling Team
44.50
18
GAIMON
Jelly Belly Cycling Team
44.52
19
REIJNEN
Jelly Belly Cycling Team
45.40
20
MONTELEONE
USA Development Team
46.01
21
LANDIS
OUCH Presented By Maxxis
46.30
22
HAMBLEN
DLP Racing
46.57
23
WOLFENBARGER
Cinelli-Down Under
49.03
