Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrongis a professional road bicycle racer and two-time Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the women's individual time trial in 2008 and 2012. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for Cervélo TestTeam in women's elite professional events on the National Racing Calendarand UCI Women's World Cup. She announced a return to competitive cycling beginning in the 2011 season, competing for Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 at the Redlands Classic...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCyclist
Date of Birth11 August 1973
CountryUnited States of America
What I have learned about the sport of cycling is that you have to love it to do it because you're not going to retire off of it.
I was a runner and a soccer player living in Okinawa, Japan and I didn't have recruiters coming in to recruit me for sports. So how many kids out there and planning to go to college are super stud athletes but don't have a chance because they come from some podunk town and no one comes to watch them?
In high school you just kind of go with it, you belong to a sport and you're lettering and there is a very social part. With cycling, a lot of people will steer away because you can't letter, and lettering is still cool and it's very important for scholarships and other stuff.
To be honest, if I had to pick somebody to be related to in sport, who's better than Lance Armstrong with what he's done for the sport and with his cancer foundation?
I think USA Cycling really needs to ride this wave and start looking at growing the sport. It's a tough one because cycling is such an endurance sport.
US Cycling is doing a lot now with camps in different towns or different regions, but I think a great place, and I'm not sure how much it's been hit, is camps for people that are involved in other sports. Why not put on camps for high school kids that are cross-country runners, because those are the some of the best cyclists.
I'm still making my decision in the next few days on what path I'm going to take. What really makes me excited now is to continue to give back to the sport.
I think the other thing that's interesting about the women's peloton is that if you ask what their background is most have played college sports, and a lot of times have come off of injury and have gotten on a bike. A lot of us start post college in our mid 20's unlike in Europe where they start 10 years before that.
I think once an athlete always an athlete and once you have a competitive nature about you, in general, it's hard to let go. Whether you're going to take it into medicine or take it into sport, the competitive drive never really leaves.
It was a long time in the hot seat and I was hopeful that I might hold on,
It would have been great to have an all-American sweep, ... but I think that this shows how strong the Americans are.
My main goal right now is the time trial at worlds and I knew that if I came here and beat the time standard for the talent pool, then everything above and beyond was a bonus.
It was going to be somebody's day, and I knew that one of us was going to have that day. We're all really strong riders and we're all really fit, but to have that podium ride or world championship everything has to come together.
If your husband asks what you think, tell him. If you have a preference, voice it. If you have a question, ask it. If you want to cry, bawl. If you need help, raise your hand and jump up and down.