Jarod Opperman / The BulletinKristin Armstrong crosses the finish line during the second stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic on Thursday afternoon along the Crooked River Highway.

PRINEVILLE — For Kristin Armstrong, racing a time trial is all about focus.

It is easy to lose focus riding by yourself against the clock for miles and miles, but Armstrong has mastered that art.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the time trial crushed her competition Thursday, winning the pro women’s 16-mile Crooked River Time Trial by 47 seconds over her closest competitor.

The second stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic presented by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon featured a rolling out-and-back course along the Crooked River near Prineville.

“You have to have mental toughness,” Armstrong said. “In my training I practice focusing. There’s so many times when you’re out riding that you’re thinking about what you’re gonna make for dinner, or ‘I’m so thirsty’ … sometimes I play games with myself, trying to catch myself coming in and out of focus. That takes focus to catch yourself losing focus.”

Armstrong, who rides for the Twenty16 team, finished the stage in 34 minutes flat. Amber Neben of Visit Dallas Cycling took second, 47 seconds slower than Armstrong. Leah Thomas of Metromint was third, 1:12 back.

With Thursday’s dominating performance, Armstrong now has a 52-second overall advantage on second-place Neben.

Armstrong came out of retirement earlier this year to train for the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she hopes to win her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the time trial. Thursday’s race, she said, was crucial for her training.

“This time trial is really important for me,” she said. “I only have so many time trials I do, now that I’ve limited my racing. So I was focused on this, and I was really happy with my result today. In this time trial, there are so many factors, there’s the wind, the rollers, and the headwind coming back in. So you have to focus, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Armstrong has now won the first two stages of the five-stage race. She would gladly take a win in today’s Cascade Lakes Road Race, but she would be content with one of her teammates winning today’s stage as well. Twenty16 boasts four riders in the top 10 of the overall standings. Visit Dallas also has four riders in the top 10.

“I just want the team to win,” Armstrong said. “I think that we have the team to win, and I think that Amber Neben’s team, Visit Dallas, they have a really strong team too. This whole season, they’re the ones who have been making the races. There’s no way, knowing Amber as a competitor, that she’s just going to let it go. So her team will be on attack, but we have a strong team so we’ll just make sure we minimize our losses and go for it. If there’s an opportunity for somebody on our team, then I’m happy for that.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com