Team Astana’s Levi Leipheimer (USA) fought hard in the men’s time trial Wednesday in China and came away with a bronze medal to add to his collection of career wins. Riding steadily on the course, Leipheimer held third through the first and second time checks, but looked to be slipping before the final climbing section to the line. Levi dug deep to make up ground and held on for third place behind Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) and Gustav Larsson (Sweden) in gold and silver with a time of 1.03.21.

It was a battle royale for the gold medal at the XXIX Olympiad as 39 men competed for the coveted crown signifying the top of the sport. Riding on the same scenic course used in the road race through the Forbidden City, past temples and along the Great Wall of China, the riders put in tremendous efforts to claim the top prize. Despite only leading at one of the three time-checks, two-time world champion Cancellara stayed in control of his ride and snatched the win from Larsson (Sweden) by 33 seconds. His winning time was 1.02.11 on the 47km course with an average speed of 45.35km/h. As he crossed the line with a victorious fist pump, Cancellara was clearly exhausted from his efforts, immediately getting off his bike and slumping to the ground as the Suisse staff poured water over the new gold medalist.

The riders enjoyed dry roads as they competed under cloudy skies on the course familiar to them by now. Completing two loops of the closed circuit, the long climb took its toll on many riders, including Team Astana’s Alberto Contador. Contador clocked in the best time at the first time check but lost ground along the way and was unable to make the podium, ending up in 4th place at 1.03.29. Team Astana’s third competitor in the time trial was Andrey Mizurov who took 24th place with a time of 1.06.32.

Two of the four countries (Spain and the USA) represented by Team Astana riders came away with medals in the two disciplines. Alberto and Levi now will focus on preparing for the Vuelta a Espana.

Top Ten Results
1 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 1.02.11 (45.350 km/h)
2 Gustav Erik Larsson (Sweden) 1.02.44
3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) 1.03.21
4 Alberto Contador (Spain) 1.03.29
5 Cadel Evans (Australia) 1.03.34
6 Samuel Sánchez (Spain) 1.04.37
7 Svein Tuft (Canada) 1.04.39
8 Michael Rogers (Australia) 1.04.46
9 Stef Clement (Netherlands)
10 Robert Gesink (Netherlands) 1.05.02