Cycling notebook: Texas' next star ready for next step

By Dale Robertson HOUSTON CHRONICLE

How's this for a new twist on a familiar story? Lawson Craddock gave his father, Tom, a bike for Christmas. Nice bike, too. It was the Trek Madone 6.9 that Lawson rode last season in his U-23 debut with the Trek-Livestrong team.

Don't think for a moment, however, that Lawson is giving up cycling. He just wanted to say thank you for all the support his dad, a respected road racer in his own right, has given him. Fact is, as of Wednesday, when Trek-Livestrong's first training camp opened in Austin, Lawson is back in the saddle. On a spring-like day, he was eager to hit the highway with his mates, team jefe Lance Armstrong included.

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Kelly Williamson Wins at Austin 3M Half Marathon

By Brom Hoban AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT

In the women's race, Barton set a 5:40 pace from the start, while Williamson was content to hang back, running with Kimbrough. At about the halfway mark, though, Williamson seized the lead and never gave it back.

"I kept her in sight, maybe about 10 seconds ahead," Barton said, "but then the downhills took their toll on my quads, and that was it."

Said Williamson, who will compete in the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in Panama in two weeks: "I tried not to worry about her runaning right behind me. I just wanted to run my race and my pace. I knew I had a pretty good lead by mile 10, so at that point, I was mainly shooting for a fast time."

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