August 13, 2004 – Just under 600 starters, including masters and U23 riders, lined up alongside the Great Salt Lake in Utah today to contest the 2004 USCF National Time Trial Championships. The time trial is the first event of 12 days of racing that encompasses Masters, Juniors and U/23 National road championship events.Utah produced a beautiful day but with soaring temperatures that reached over 100 degrees in the afternoon. The women’s 50-54 category kicked off the day in the slightly cooler and perfectly still conditions of the morning. They raced an out-and-back course over 36K of rolling terrain in the State Park. A few kilometers into the race, riders faced a tough climb on the wide open highway, followed by a long fast descent that curved back down to the lake and continued on rolling terrain and false flats to the turnaround.

Perhaps the toughest section of the course was the effort back over the final climb before the 3K descent to the finish. Due to the still conditions some of the fastest times of the day were posted in the morning with a select few breaking the 45-minute barrier. Taking the gold medal in the early events of the day earning the stars and stripes jersey were Sandy Perrins and Sima Trapp in the Masters 30-34, Richard Feldman and Susan Cooper in the 35 – 39 categories, Randy Corcoran and Catherine Dickson and their respective 40-44 events, Glenn Bunselmeyer and Lisa Magness and the 45-49 age group, Gordon Paulson and Julie Kaplan (50-54), Kenny and Martha Iverson (55-59) and Butch Richardson in the Men’s 60-64.
In the middle of the master’s events and just as the wind picked up
slightly, the U23 guys lined up on the same course to fight it out
for a possible World Championships position, which was awarded to the
winner. Tyler Farrar (Health Net) rode an impressive race to be the
only U23 rider to go under 45 minutes. His time of 44:20:22 gave him
the win in front of Timmy Duggan (TIAA Cref/5280) and Blake Caldwell
(US National Team). Farrar was very pleased with his day saying that
the win “made his season. The course really suited me and I felt
great out there.” Farrar will hear to Verona in late September this
year to ride his first World Championships as an Espoir.

Following the U23s, in the heat of the day, the masters continued
their races with John Keleher impressing the crowd being the oldest
riders of the day to complete the race and take a Gold medal in the
80-84 category.

The rest of the categories raced over the first 10K of the course for
a total of 20K instead of 36K. Posting fastest times in their
categories were Haze Thompson (60-64), William Meyers and Jan Miller
(65-69), Paul Tetrick (70-74), and Dietrich Lamprecht (Men 75-79).

Finally to finish off the day, many of the masters riders hopped back
on their bikes again to compete in the tandem time trial. Some even
raced a third time in the mixed tandem event. Racing continues
tomorrow in Park City with the U23 road race, the tandem road race
and the men’s 40-44 and 45-49 road races.