Unheralded Tim Peddie and tireless Jeanne Golay earned automatic Olympic team positions Friday on the rainy and overcast final qualifying day at the U.S. Cycling Olympic Trials and National Championships.
Peddie, 22, of Boulder, Colo., who has been racing in Spain since February, surprisingly emerged from a lead group of eight to win the 123-mile men's Olympic Trials race in 5 hours, 12 minutes and 53 seconds.Greg McNeil of San Luis Obispo, Calif., finished second and Andy Lawson of Cotati, Calif., placed third.
While Inga Thompson of Reno, Nev., made a strong bid for her third Olympic team with a three-minute solo victory in the earlier 65-mile women's race, Golay outsprinted Sally Zack of Boulder, Colo., to finish second by one foot to earn her Olympic team position.
Thompson, 28, of Reno, Nev., the eighth-place finisher in the 1988 Olympic road race, rode the final 31 miles alone en route to victory in 3:01:19
Peddie defeated Chann McRae and Lance Armstrong, both of Plano, Texas, by one point to earn his berth.