Breckenridge: You know you’ve had a good day when you catch the eye of a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Colorado Springs cyclist Amanda Miller turned heads with her third-place finish Friday in the time trial at the USA Pro Challenge. And Kristin Armstrong, who won Stage 1, didn’t fail to notice.

“I would say that Amanda over the last couple of years hasn’t been as consistent,” Armstrong said. “But when you do have a performance out of Amanda and she does have a good day, she surprises everyone. And so I look at riders like Amanda and I know that she has what it takes inside of her. . And so I think, what does it take to turn that on and turn it on for a long time.”

Miller is hoping to stay locked in all weekend. Hours after the race, and just prior to taking the stage for the podium presentation, the Visit Dallas Cycling rider said her goal is to win the three-day race. But, win or lose, she’s simply happy to be racing in front of big crowds in her home state.

“It’s really special for sure,” she said. “I live here, well Colorado, so we’ve been trying to get them to have a women’s race for several years now and it’s really cool that they’re finally giving us some good races.”

Ambassador for the sport

Armstrong has enjoyed a stellar career on a bike, and the veteran cyclist continues to prove she’s not done yet. While her primary reason for coming out of retirement in April was the chance of making the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she also wants to give back to the sport that’s been so good to her.

One way Armstrong does this is coaching young, talented riders such as teammate Allie Dragoo. When Dragoo finished a split second behind Armstrong in Stage 1, Armstrong was quick to dish out the praise.

“I don’t look at Allie as losing to me,” she said. “I look at Allie as an amazing talent coming up in the peloton. And I just hope that if and when I make the Rio team, that it will make me feel really good to be able to retire and pass the throne. So I wouldn’t feel that my work was done unless I was mentoring and able to encourage and inspire people like Allie.”

‘A day to remember’

Friday was a special day for professional cycling in Colorado as men and women raced together on the state’s roads for the first time in 27 years. And two yellow jerseys – one to Armstrong and one to Rohan Dennis – were presented. The two overall leaders posed for photos to mark the occasion.

“For those of you counting, today was the 33rd day of racing at the USA Pro Challenge,” Shawn Hunter, the event’s CEO, said. “And it was the best day ever.

“To add the women’s division – congratulations, Kristin, on an unbelievable performance – I think we had the best crowds we’ve ever had in Breck. A day to remember.”

The Associated Press