BEIJING - If Friday's Opening Ceremony provided a test of organizers' organization, the 152.2-mile cycling road race that took place on the first full day of competition at the Beijing Olympics opened a climatic laboratory with 143 cyclists as human research subjects.
Cyclists suffer through the heat, humidity and haze
August 10, 2008 at 5:03AM
The now-notorious trio of heat, humidity and chemical haze that is commonplace here in midsummer swamped the race, one of the Games' most grueling. Temperatures hovered at 86 degrees. Humidity hit 94 percent.
The result? A slow start, an unexpected finish and more than a third of the field left by the side of the road.
Three riders not counted among the favorites claimed medals, with Spaniard Samuel Sanchez outsprinting five competitors over the last 200 meters to win in 6 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds. Italy's Davide Rebellin claimed second in the same time, along with Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, who earned the bronze.
Fifty-three men -- many required to stop because they got lapped along the loop course -- did not finish, including Americans David Zabriskie and Jason McCartney.
"It feels like you have hot cream all over your body," said Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina, who dropped out during the fourth of six laps. "Once you go full-gas, you cannot breathe."
Greek sprinter barred Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou was barred from the Beijing Olympics on Sunday for her role in a drug-testing scandal at the Athens Games four years ago.
The International Olympic Committee's executive board took the decision after its disciplinary panel investigated Thanou's selection for the 100 meters for the Greek team, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.
Thanou and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris missed doping tests on the eve of the 2004 Opening Ceremony, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle accident.
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