olympic rr pic

gym gravity <[email hidden]> wrote in news:2mv0f7Fpeua9U1@uni-
berlin.de:

Quoted message said:

The Canadians will work as a team,

1 Fraser
2 McEwen
3 Zabel

Is it a sprinter's course?
Also, even if it is, if its over 250k the distance in itself will play a
factor.

- Boyd S.

Boyd Speerschneider said:

Is it a sprinter's course?

Less hilly than Portugal, I believe, and looked what happened there. On
the other hand, the Italians (or any other team) will be less dominant
with 5 instead of 8 riders.

Boyd Speerschneider <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

gym gravity <[email hidden]> wrote in news:2mv0f7Fpeua9U1@uni-
berlin.de:

Quoted message said:

The Canadians will work as a team,

1 Fraser
2 McEwen
3 Zabel

Is it a sprinter's course?
Also, even if it is, if its over 250k the distance in itself will play a
factor.

- Boyd S.

i don't recall exactly, I just remember hearing that guys like
Petacchi were surveying it, so I think it might be possible.

I'm here in Athens working on an aspect of the Olympics. I have been over
all of the course and watched the U23 European RR Championship which was
held last August on the same course. Some insights. 1. It's hot in August.
Last year on the first lap of the men's race (held in the afternoon) the
Irish team was all together. The next lap there was one Irish rider. The
next lap, none. 2. There is a section of marble cobbles as the course
passes near the Acropolis. As everyone in Athens knows marble has ice like
qualities when wet. If it rains forget it. In addition, it is not as
smooth as pave (think about that). Nasty stuff and they'll have to do it
every lap (approximately 800m slightly uphill with a crest). 3. There is
not a lot of flat as the riders are going uphill or downhill most of the
course. There is a sharp uphill for about 300-600 meters. It was at the
start of this uphill where I made my base last year to watch the race as I
figured (correctly in women's race) that a winning move would start. 4. The
finish is a quarter mile straight slightly uphill and narrow.

There were a lot of complaints about the course following last years race
and calls by the cycling federation to change it. What the Greeks did was
to repave everything but the cobbles. There was a section on the sharp
uphill that was especially bad as it was grooved concrete. That has been
paved over. I saw a poster on the shop windows near the finish that was
recently printed and shows the same course so it looks like a go.

"gym gravity" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Canadians will work as a team,

1 Fraser
2 McEwen
3 Zabel