Armstrong delivers crushing blow on stage 1

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Defending Olympic time trial champion Kristin Armstrong (Exergy-Twenty12) showed unparalleled form in the opening time trial of the Merco Cycling Classic women's stage race, besting Specialized-lululemon duo Clara Hughes and Evelyn Stevens by a minute.

For Armstrong, it was an important step toward her goal of being selected for the USA's Olympic team - something that looked to be threatened after USA Cycling's selection committee reversed its choice of taking her to the UCI Road World Championships last September.

Up against former world champion Amber Neben and Stevens for one of two spots on the team for London, Armstrong needs to prove herself all season long, and while the race in Merced does not hold as much weight as other events, it shows that she has turned around her less than optimal 2011 performances.

When asked what the difference is from last year, Armstrong told Cyclingnews, "Really it was a combination of things. Coming back to the sport from pregnancy last year was an excellent eye opener for me. Not only was I able to build base fitness, but really it refocused me on what my ultimate goal is. I’ve been fortunate to have had a great winter of training and able to come into the season mentally and physically fit and ready to race."

Armstrong earned the first leader's jersey in the women's three-stage event, and also went faster over the 19km course than all but 18 of the elite men.

Huffman bests the pro's

California Giant Berry's Evan Huffman wowed the field with a stunning victory in the men's elite time trial. It's the first time the 22-year-old has topped the professionals, although he enjoyed a podium finish in the U23 national championships last year.

Huffman set the fastest time early on, beating Optum Pro Cycling's Scott Zwizanski to take the lead in the standings. One by one, the more experienced pro's came and went, with last year's overall champion Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) and Zwizanski's teammate Tom Zirbel both falling short of the sub-25 minute time of Huffman.

The last man off was current race leader Patrick Bevin (Bissell), but he could only come within 12 seconds of Huffman's time, falling out of the leader's jersey by two seconds.

Huffman also took the young rider's classification lead.

"I really didn't think that was possible. Excited to wear my first leader's jersey tomorrow and see what we're capable of," Huffman said via Twitter.