Russia's Ekimov Win's Men's Time Trial
Lance Armstrong's hunt for a gold medal came up a bit short Saturday. The U.S. cycling star settled for bronze in the men's time trial. Viacheslav Ekimov of Russia finished the course in 57:40.420 to grab the gold medal. Jan Ullrich of Germany added a silver medal to his collection.

Ullrich Wins Men's Road Race; Armstrong 13th
Germany's Jan Ullrich won the men's road race Wednesday in just under five-and-a-half hours, completing the 239-kilometer course nine seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, silver medalist Alexandr Vinokurov of Kazakhstan. The bronze went to Andreas Kloeden of Germany. American cycling hero Lance Armstrong finished 13th, more than a minute and a half behind Ullrich.

Zijlaard Wins Women's Road Race
Switching cycling disciplines, Leontien Zijlaard of the Netherlands won another gold medal Tuesday, claiming the women's road race. She won gold and silver -- and set a new world record in the individual pursuit event -- during earlier competition at the Dunc Gray velodrome. She'll go for her fourth medal of the games Saturday in the women's time trial.

Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany won the silver medal Tuesday. Lithuania's Diana Ziliute claimed the bronze.
About Road Cycling
Bicycle road races are a staple of the modern Olympics. The invention of the bicycle gear-and-chain system in the late 1880's produced a boom in the sport that convinced organizers to include it among events when the modern Games were reborn in Athens in 1896. Racers covered the marathon course, completing two laps and a distance of about 87 kilometers. The first women's road races were held in 1984.

There are now time-trial events for men and women, as well as the road races. The men now cover 239 kilometers in the road race and the women go for 120 km. Time trials begin with staggered starts and cover a distance of 46.8 km for men and 31.2 km for women.
German Jan Ullrich could sweep both men's events. He'll be challenged by Laurent Jalabert of France, Oscar Freire Gomez of Spain and Australia's Stuart O'Grady.

Australia's Anna Wilson will compete for the gold with standouts such as Germany's Hanka Kupfernagel, the Netherlands' Leontien van Moorsel and Lithuania's Edita Pucinskaite.