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| October 9, 2001 | Tuesday | Rajab 21, 1422 |
Armstrong’s absence opens up world title race
LISBON, Oct 8 - This week’s world championships look tailor-made for supreme all-rounder Lance Armstrong, but the Texan is winding down from his third Tour de France win and has left the title wide open.
Organisers have designed a winding and hilly circuit on the outskirts of Lisbon, which leaves little for either sprinters or pure time-trial experts to enjoy.
“We don’t have any Pyrenees, but neither will riders have hundreds of kilometres to warm up for the climbs they will have to face on each lap,” said Fernando Petronilho, a spokesman for race organisers PAD. “There’ll be no room for team tactics here.”
The elite men’s road race on Sunday will cover 254 km on a circuit taking in a flat, wide home straight, the steep streets of the Serafina district and the rolling roads of Monsanto Park.
The hills should hamper sprinters like last year’s hefty Latvian winner Romans Vainsteins, 1999 champion Oscar Freire and perennial German Erik Zabel.
In Saturday’s elite women’s event all eyes will be on Jeannie Longo. The 42-year-old has repeatedly come out of retirement to accumulate 12 world titles, the prestigious hour record and 44 French championships.
The time-trial circuit takes in an additional loop and turns abruptly in to a college campus. Petronilho said this would rule out the specialist bicycles that offer riders a streamlined profile but limit handling ability.
“This may be the first time a specialist will not win the time-trial championship,” Petronilho said. “This is very much a course for all-rounders.”
All-rounders due to start include Germany’s Jan Ullrich, whose improved fitness saw him finish runner-up in the Tour this year, although he still lacked the burst of speed needed to drop Armstrong.
Britain’s rising star David Millar will also be eager to end his season on a high after crashing out of the Tour. Millar showed in Spain’s Vuelta that he could handle mountains as well as his proven skills against the clock.
A crop of Spanish riders are also in good form from the Vuelta, including winner Angel Casero and newcomer Oscar Sevilla, both of whom showed they were more than pure climbers.
Dutch rider Erik Dekker is also keen to grab essential points in the season’s last major event to keep top spot in the World Cup ahead of challenger Zabel.
Italian hopes will likely focus on Francesco Casagrande — who has shown glimpses of form since a disappointing exit from the Tour — and Paulo Bettini, who won the Zurich World Cup race in August.
Frenchman Richard Virenque has his sights set on the championship after missing most of the season due to a doping ban. The 31-year-old showed his form by upsetting the sprinters to win the 254-km Paris-Tours classic on Sunday.
“I have had to come a long way, but that’s behind me and I’m fit again,” Virenque said. “I wanted to do well in this race to ride myself into form for the world championships.”—Reuters
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