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High road

Zijlaard takes second gold with road race win

Leontien Zijlaard waves as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal of the women's road race. AP

SYDNEY, Australia (CNNSI.com) -- Leontien Zijlaard of the Netherlands won her second gold medal of the Olympics Tuesday, establishing herself as the top female cyclist in the world.

Zijlaard sprint out of a soggy pack to win the road race in 3 hours, 6 minutes, 31 seconds.

Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany won the silver medal. Diana Ziliute of Lithuania took the bronze, and the Americans were left to watch.

Beset by crashes and mechanical problems, Karen Kurreck of Los Altos Hills, Calif., and Mari Holden of Colorado Springs, Colo., pulled out of the Olympic women's road race midway through the event.

That left Nicole Freedman of Stanford, Calif., who rode with the lead pack through the first three laps but was three minutes behind after completing her fourth lap. She fell off the pace and never was a factor.

Freedman finished 47th, almost 22 minutes behind Zijlaard.

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Midway through the final lap, 12 riders remained on the lead pack, setting up a sprint finish under less-than-ideal racing conditions. Rain began falling on the third of seven laps and temperatures dropped into the low 60s.

Zijlaard didn't seem to mind the weather, adding another gold medal to the one she claimed last week on the track. She set a world record in individual pursuit and also took silver in the points race.

Kurreck, the 1994 world time trial champion, crashed with two other riders early and had problems with her wheel.

She was well behind the lead pack and when she pulled into the pits and dropped out just before finishing her third lap, her jersey torn on the back.

Holden, a five-time national champion in the time trial, got a flat on the second of seven laps. She also had problems with her chain, even switching bikes after the second lap but pulled out just before completing her fourth lap.

Both Kurreck and Holden are scheduled to race in Friday's time trial. With rain falling and temperatures in the low 60s, it seemed a better strategy to conserve their energy for their specialty race.

Freedman, on the other hand, was in her only Olympic event. She qualified for the road race by winning the Olympic trials in Jackson, Miss., in May, the only at-large spot awarded on the women's team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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