Kristin Armstrong says she wants another rainbow jersey before she retires.

By Andrew Hood

Kristin Armstrong wants to end her long and successful career this year on a winning note.

The ideal scenario would be recapturing the rainbow jersey in the world championships in September in what will be her last major competition of her career.

Rather than leave the sport after winning the Olympic gold medal in the individual time trial in Beijing last summer, Armstrong made the commitment to race this year, in part, to help nurture young talent on her Cervélo TestTeam.

Armstrong, 35, recently completed her first block of racing in Europe, which included a third-place podium in the World Cup opener at Trofeo Alfredo Binda in March.

Already back in the United States, she won’t be racing in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne Féminine. Instead, the Olympic champion is expected to race at the Tour of the Gila ahead of the Tour de l’Aude.

VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Armstrong earlier this season. Here are excerpts from the interview:

VeloNews: So you’ve made the definitive decision that this will be your last year?
Kristin Armstrong: Yes, this is going to be my last year. Everyone laughs and says, no, it’s not, but yes, it is. I decided late in the game to come back. I never said yes or no, but it wasn’t until the first week of November that I committed. When I was trying to figure over the fall, what I should do, why is it that I want to continue, I just let things go their natural course. I had a lot of public speaking engagements, so that was occupying me. I really missed structure. I couldn’t wait for my coach to give me a schedule, I needed that. It puts me at ease.

VN: Did you feel like you had some sort of unfinished business this season?
KA: Everyone asked me, what else do you want to do? You’ve been world champion, Olympic gold medalist, what more do you want to accomplish? What intrigued me about the Cervélo team is that they brought in some young girls, girls that are the future of the sport. These 20-, 23-year-olds, they are going to be in the sport for a long time. I really feel like I have a lot of experience and I want to share that with a strong group of riders. When I saw the roster, it really excited me to work with this group.

VN:How does your schedule look this season?
KA: The great thing about this team is that we have girls who can specialize in the classics and others in stage races. I will go back and forth between both. I have a three-week block of racing in March-April, from there, I race Gila, mainly to get ready for Aude. I like to keep racing in the States so that I am prepared when I came back to Europe. It’s nice to race, it’s much better than training day after day. One of the big goals for the team this year is the Giro (in July). Then we have the team time trial event in Sweden, then I’ll be home in August and come back over for the Tour of Holland and then the worlds.

VN:So it sounds like a complete schedule, any major changes since winning the Olympics?
KA: What’s different, besides obviously not having the Olympics, is that I have a lot of flexibility. The longest trip of the year is no longer than three weeks. As you have more things at home, being married, other commitments, things like that become more important. When you contemplate how much longer that you want to stay on the stage, a lot of those factors become important. Cervélo is really working with me and helping me keep balance in my life. If a team came to me and said they want me to be nine-twelve weeks on the road at a time, it would be too much.

VN:Was there any post-Olympic let down, do you still have the same motivation to race?
KA: I still enjoy racing. I am still competitive with everyone in the world, so that says it right there. I am not ready to hang up the bike yet. I am happy there’s a team out there that’s willing to be a little more flexible for me.

VN:The team will have quite the rivalry with Columbia-Highroad?
KA: Yes, but that’s good. You don’t just want one team winning everything. There are only a few teams that go all out and race their bikes at every race, that’s Cervélo and Columbia. We have so much talent on this team. We have so many options to play. The door is wide open for me and I can tell my director when I plan to be strong throughout the year.

VN:What kind of goals do you have for your final year?
KA: When you talk individual goals, it’s the world championships. I have the time trial as my personal goal for the worlds. I’d love to have the worlds jersey again before I retire. I am very excited about this season. I am very Type-A, I take things seriously, I would never jump back in just to jump back in. I don’t want to be pack fill. I want to race as strong as I did last year and feel good, and end on a good note. My coach said, if you’re not going put 120 percent into it, you shouldn’t even bother. I believe that. The sport’s too hard just to go in and say, I will float for a year. You cannot do it. I am not here to waste a year. Plus, this year, this will be the strongest team that I’ve been on in my career, so I have to take advantage of it, I want to be part of that history.

VN:There’s nothing that might make you change your mind to continue racing?
KA: If I didn’t want to have a family, I could see thinking beyond next year. There are certain things that I want in my life. And after the Olympics, I’ve had so many different opportunities that have come my way. I am a spokesperson for a few companies. It’s fun. I’m retiring from racing, but I won’t be leaving the sport completely. I will be involved.

VN:So you want to help develop these young riders?
KA: There are so many American girls that I want to see come over here. Riders like Amber Neben will always be on a trade team, but I’d like to see other American girls get on trade teams over here. This is where the racing is. It’s difficult for the American girls, but I know a lot of younger girls are coming over to Europe this year with the national team. Jim Miller has a bunch of U-26 girls and that’s significant for the U.S. scene. It used to be the U-35 team (laughs). Now with riders like Christine (Thorburn) retiring, we have to start from scratch.

VN:What other things would you like to do?
KA: I would love to write a book. There’s never been a book on women’s cycling from inside the peloton. That sort of thing intrigues me. I also have a lot of years of experience in time trial. It’s like a big puzzle and I’ve put together the pieces pretty well, so maybe some of the younger girls can learn what I’ve learned over so many years of trial and error. Maybe a few years ago I wouldn’t want to share all my secrets, but right now I feel good about sharing them, at least with my teammate right now!

VN: What do you think you will miss most?
KA: My husband said to me, you’re going to have to find something that takes you on the road a little bit. Right now, the hardest part is being on the road, but it’s also my favorite part. The travel is hard, then all of sudden, you realize you’re in … Portugal! When you’re back in Boise, Idaho, you think — wow — I have so many friends who’ve never been out of America. That’s the part I will miss. I don’t like the airports, I don’t like losing my bikes. I do look forward to the doors that are open to me, to having a family, the little things in life.

FILED UNDER: News / Road

Andrew Hood

Hood cut his journalistic teeth at Colorado dailies before the web boom opened the door to European cycling in the mid-1990s. Hood's covered every Tour since 1996 and has been VeloNews' European correspondent since 2002. He lives in Leon, Spain, when he's not chasing bike races.

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