Olympic gold medalist and Boise native Kristin Armstrong will represent the U.S. at the summer Olympics in London. Team selections were announced Friday for cycling. Armstrong will compete in the road race and get a chance to defend her 2008 medal in the time trial.
Three weeks ago she crashed in a two mile time trialin downtown Boise at the inaugural Exergy Tour. That left her with a broken collar bone. The next day hours after surgery, Armstrong was back on the sidelines to cheer and support her teammates for the rest of the four day stage race.
Within a week Armstrong was back on her bicycle, training for London. In an interview during the Tour, she said she'll ride aggressively to support the U.S. team in the road race but her mind is set on defending her gold medal in the time trial.
"Now going into London I’m going to start focusing by taking the exact time trial course and focusing different portions of that course and finding roads in Boise that simulate the roads in London," she said.
Armstrong who races for the Boise based team ExergyTWENTY12 will join Evelyn Stevens in London. Stevens was the overall winner of the Exergy Tour. Shelley Olds and Amber Neben will also represent the U.S. in the road race and the time trial.
Armstrong took a break from cycling to have her son Lucas two years ago. "When I came back after having Lucas in September 2010, my only goal was to make this huge challenge of trying to go win gold again in London," she explained.
She says she still enjoys the sport of cycling but she's ready for a change after the London games. "It's time now after London to focus on my next chapter," she said. "My son, he's turning two and he's so busy. He's in gymnastics and he loves swimming. The time away and the sacrifices it takes to be at a high level on the road, it's really a hard balance to juggle."
Scott Ki contributed to this story.
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