ATHENS (CP) - The kid never stood a chance.
The minute Lori-Ann Muenzer rolled her bicycle onto the track at the Olympic Velodrome on Tuesday, she knew the gold medal would be hers.
She didn't care her opponent was 17 years younger. To the 38-year-old Muenzer, Russia's Tamilla Abassova was just the final twist in a very long road.
``I rode her,'' Muenzer said with a grin. ``I was like `I'm sorry. I'm in charge. Today is my day.'''
And what a day it was for the Edmonton resident. Not only did she win Canada's second gold of the 2004 Games, it was the country's first Olympic cycling championship ever.
``I'd say it means the world but I think it means the universe,'' said Muenzer, who grew up in Toronto riding the bicycles her grandfather used to repair.
``Everything is a progression. Sometimes things unfold. This whole week, everything seems to have been in slow motion. Maybe all the stars are in alignment and I was ready.''
After overpowering Abassova 2-0 in the best-of-three final, Muenzer pumped her fist in the air. She draped a Maple Leaf over her shoulders and rode a victory lap around the track with the flag bellowed behind her like a cape to the joy of the cheering Canadian fans.
Later, tears streaked down her face as she stood on the podium listening to O Canada.
``Standing on the podium was wow, such an amazing thing,'' said Muenzer, who packs 176 pounds of firm muscle into a five-foot-nine frame.
``You think about it, you dream about it. The reality of it happening is pretty slim. Singing the national anthem, you sing that when you're a kid in school. It means so much. This is cool.''
Muenzer, who didn't start cycling until she was 23, sees age as a doorway to new experiences, not a gate slamming shut on your dreams.
``I don't think age has a bearing,'' she said. ``I think it's how you feel, what you want to do with it, how you want to go with it. It comes from within. Age is a number.''
Muenzer was both finesse and power in the finals. She showed a general's tactical skills and a warrior's courage in battle.
She faced a nemesis in Anna Meares in the semifinal. Muenzer still remembers the 20-year-old Australian beating her in the semifinal of the world championships earlier this year in Melbourne.
``At worlds she kicked my butt,'' said Muenzer, who had to settle for bronze there. ``It took three races and it was a one-pixel photo finish. I have the photo finish on my desk at home.''
Meares, who set a world record in winning the gold medal in the 500-metre time trials earlier in the Games, won the opening race of the Olympic final.
Muenzer didn't panic. She calmly played cat-and-mouse with the Australian, beating her in the next two races with her brain, not her brawn.
``Those were good rides,'' said Muenzer.
``Before I wasn't able to come from behind and win all the time. Now it doesn't matter if I'm at the front or at the back. I have the strength in both.''
Muenzer felt bulletproof going into the final.
``That semifinal was the harder one,'' she said. ``That is the one where I had to pull our all my cards, all my jackrabbits. Everything was right there. I knew that if I could get through, I was going to have a super final.
Abassova advanced to the final by beating countryman and three-time world champion Svetlana Grankovskaya.
Muenzer used her strength to overwhelm Abassova. She powered past her in the back stretch of the first race, then was in complete control of the second, staving off the young Russian.
``I think I was smarter,'' she said. ``I was faster, I was stronger, more powerful. I put it together today.''
Meares won the bronze by defeating Grankovskaya in a rematch of the 2004 world championship final won by the Russian.
Long after the race, Muenzer couldn't let go of the gold medal. She held it, ran her fingers over its edges like someone petting a kitten.
To her it was a tangible reward for the hours of training, hurt and sacrifice.
``This has been an incredible journey,'' said Muenzer. ``This has been an incredible dream come true. You dream about doing things, then you go out and achieve it. But they don't tell you what happens when you get to the top. It's like wow. It's beautiful.''