Mike McCarthy become the first American ever to win a gold medal in the 5-kilometer professional pursuit at the World Cycling Championships on Tuesday when he beat Briton Shaun Wallace and his wind-resistant Lotus superbike.
McCarthy was timed in 5 minutes, 45.076 seconds, and Wallace in 5:46.805. Wallace also finished second in last year's world championships.McCarthy, who won the amateur world title in pursuit in 1990, advanced to the final by winning his semifinal race over France's Francis Moreau, the defending world champion in the event.
Wallace reached the final by winning over Lithuanian Arturas Kasputis in the semifinals, clocking a time of 5:46.517 to 5:46.869 for Kasputis. Kasputis won the bronze medal by recording a faster semifinal time than Moreau.
The victory in the week-long world championships marked a major breakthrough for the Americans who had never reached the finals in the pursuit event - much less won it. It was also a letdown for Wallace and the Lotus bike.
The bike, an aerodynamically designed machine with a carbon-fiber frame, gained wide coverage in the Barcelona Olympics when amateur Chris Boardman rode it to Britain's first cycling gold medal in 72 years.
The bike is produced by Norwich, England-based Lotus Engineering, better known for its sports cars and racing teams. Designer Chris Burrows maintains the bike offers an edge of about 10 seconds over the 5-kilometer distance.
Wallace turned consistently slower times on the bike than Boardman, who set the world's fastest time of 5:38.083 on Aug. 22 in Leicester, England.