ACOG - News - IBM

(19 July 1996)

Professionals Beef Up Road Cycling Field

The field of athletes for road cycling will be the most competitive in Olympic history as professionals will participate for the first time.

Tour de France winners Miguel INDURAIN (ESP) and Lance ARMSTRONG (USA) will join 1984 gold medalist Steve HEGG (USA) in the Atlanta Games.

INDURAIN, a five-time winner of the Tour de France will tackle the men's road race on the longest ever course that winds through the streets of Atlanta and covers 229.5km.

The mass start race will feature five riders for each participating country. Professional riders will need to be much more active than in a pro race where they are attended to by domestiques. Despite the distance and the large number of riders, the finishes are traditionally close. In 1964, just .16 of a second separated the winner from 51st place.

Gianluca BORTOLAMI (ITA) and Laurent JALABERT (FRA) will factor in the race for the medals. America's only cycling gold medalist still competing is Steve HEGG (USA). The 12-time Senior National and Professional champion shouldn't be counted out. ARMSTRONG, the first American to win the $1- million Triple Crown of Racing, should be comfortable on the winding, flat course.

On the women's side, Jeannie LONGO-CIPRELLI (FRA) is the consensus favorite. She will be challenged by Monika VALVIK (NOR), who is the 1994 World Champion.

The eight laps of the 13.5km course makes for the longest women's road race in Olympic and World Championship history -- 108km. Like the men's course, it is twisting and flat. Combined with the heat factor, these qualities should make it the most challenging Olympic course to date.

The U.S. will send Linda BRENNAMEN, Allison DUNLAP and Jeanne GOLAY into the star-studded field. BRENNAMEN is a two-time World Champion. DUNLAP has returned strong after battling injuries. GOLAY is a 1992 Olympian and the 1994 World Championship medalist.

Road cycling's newest event, the time trial, will use two laps of the road circuit. The 27km course bears a strong similarity to the 1994 World Championship in Sicily which was won by Karen Kurreck (USA). Canada's Clara HUGHES specializes in this new medal event. Australia's Kathryn WATT is another medal contender.

The men's time trial is made up of four laps of the road race circuit of 54km. The race is wide open with Spain, Great Britain and Italy riders favored. The flat course should favor INDURAIN and Chris BOARDMAN (GBR). Should the race turn into an all-out sprint, look for Mario CIPOLLINI (ITA) be a factor. The U.S. will be led by ARMSTRONG, who has not performed well in this event.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Nancy Smith


Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).