August 29, 2009 (Greenville, SC) – David Zabriskie (Salt Lake City, Utah/Garmin-Slipstream) remains the only athlete to win a USA Cycling professional time trial championship after successfully defending his national title on Saturday – his fourth straight since the event’s inception in 2006.

Zabriskie edged runner-up Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell) by just 44 seconds to maintain his monopoly on the Stars-and-stripes jersey, completing the 20.7-mile course in  39 minutes, 37.14 seconds. 2009 Tour de Beauce winner, Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) from Mill Valley, Calif., took home the bronze medal, finishing just under two minutes off the pace.

After finishing fifth to Zirbel in the individual time trial stage of the Tour of Utah last week, Zabriskie once again affirmed his reputation as the fastest American in the individual race against the clock today in Greenville. The reigning national champion not only posted a nearly one minute time gap over his closest competitor, but, on the exact same course as 2008, he also improved his time by one minute and five seconds.

“Last year, I was [like] what kind of course is this? But this year it was more comfortable, and I like the course,” Zabriskie said. “I really enjoy wearing this jersey over in Europe. It’s something I take a lot of pride in. It never gets old.”

For Zabriskie, Saturday’s victory marks his fifth career national time trial title as a professional. He also won in 2004 when both pros and amateurs competed together in the elite national championships.

Kelly Benefit Strategies put two riders in the top five with Johathan Mumford (Sandy, Utah) coming in fifth in a near deadlock with fourth-place finisher Bernard Vanulden (San Francisco, Calif.) of Jelly Belly. Both riders finished within a second of each other at 0:42:29.

In addition to reaffirming Zabriskie’s dominance, Saturday’s race also confirmed Zirbel’s progress as a consistent contender in major time trials. At 30 years-old, Zirbel continues to show his strength. Three years ago, he finished 1:29 behind Zabriskie to place seventh. In 2007, he was 15 seconds back to finish just off the podium in fourth and in 2008, his five-second deficit and silver medal suggested that 2009 may be his year to unseat Zabriskie. The upset was not meant to be, however with another one-two finish, the stage is set for another show-down in 2010.

Despite the somewhat technical, rolling circuit course, the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar leader and time-trial specialist, Zirbel, did not expect a nearly one-minute deficit.

“I didn’t expect to lose by 45 seconds, wow, that’s an incredible ride by Dave,” explained Zirbel. “I didn’t have time splits while I was riding. I just figured it would be close… that it would come down to 2 or 3 seconds like it did last year. Wow, to see those time gaps, I should’ve sat up. I had a whole minute to spare.”

Zabriskie and Zirbel did not disappoint in what was expected to be a show down of the two powerhouse time trialers. Racing three laps of a technical, 11.1-kilometer rolling circuit, Zabriskie left the start gate last as the top-seeded rider with Zirbel just before. The pair recorded the fastest marks at both intermediate time checks, however Zabriskie passed through the first lap with a 29-second advantage on Zirbel. Zabriskie opened up his advantage to 37 seconds after the second lap and turned it on in the final lap, never looking to be in danger of losing his lead.

Results

1. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:39:37
2. Tom Zirbel (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:00:44
3. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:01:41
4. Reid Mumford (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:02:52
5. Bernard Vanulden (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team
6. Mike Friedman (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:03:00
7. Phil Zajicek (USA) Fly V Australia 0:03:01
8. Jonathan Chodroff (USA) OUCH Presented By Maxxis 0:03:07
9. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:03:30
10. Mike Creed (USA) Team Type 1 0:03:34
11. Matt Winstead (USA) Kenda Pro Cycling 0:04:04
12. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:04:06
13. Roman Kilun (USA) OUCH Presented By Maxxis 0:04:07
14. Christopher Baldwin (USA) OUCH Presented By Maxxis 0:04:19
15. Bobby Sweeting (USA) Land Rover-Orbea 0:04:23
16. Omer Kem (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:04:47
17. Matthew Crane (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 0:05:13
18. Phillip Gaimon (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 0:05:15
19. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 0:06:03
20. Chris Montelone (USA) US National Development Team 0:06:24
21. Floyd Landis (USA) OUCH Presented By Maxxis 0:06:53
22. Jonathan Hamblen (USA) DLP Racing 0:07:20
23. Wade Wolfenbarger (USA) Cinelli-Down Under 0:09:26