| 10/14/2001 | + RACING
14.10.2001 World Champ. - ind. RR POR CM MEL
Exclusive Report by InfoCiclismo Correspondent Nico van Aelstyn
Oscar Freire won today the gold medal, winning the 251.4 km race in 6:07:21 for an average speed of 41.5 km/hr. Unlike the 1999 world championship in Verona, where he first donned the coveted rainbow jersey after making a daring attack with about a km to go, this one came down to a bunch sprint of 45 riders. Paolo Bettini of Italy took the silver, and Andrej Hauptman of Slovenia the bronze. The two Eriks just missed the medals, Dekker taking 4th and Zabel 5th. The two American finishers were in that final group; Chann McRae placed 25th and Levy Leipheimer 28th.
Few predicted that this difficult course would result in a bunch sprint. Though only 93 of 171 starters managed to finish, nearly half of those were together at the end. It was a war of attrition, yet many were still fresh at the end. Mind you, this was not for lack of trying. The early break was made by Kairat Baigudinov of Kazakhstan. He abandoned in the 7th lap after
having been reeled in. Frank Hoj of Denmark was the next to make a significant attack, building a gap of nearly two minutes and holding it alone for a few laps. He too pulled out after being caught.
After about 200 km of racing, with the peloton whittled down to just the strongest men, the more serious attacks started. Lap 16 saw the first such attack, as Danilo Di Luca of Italy went with Angel Vicioso of Spain. Bettini bridged up to them on the next lap. Richard Virenque also tried to bridge. With three laps to go, the trio had 33 seconds on Virenque and 44 on the
German-led peloton. The Germans soon succeeded in reeling-in all the escapees.
During the last three laps, several of the favorites tried to get away. Jan Ullrich put in several attacks that got the crowd going, as did Virenque and others. The most successful of these was the one by this year's Giro d'Italia winner, Gilberto Simoni, who attacked on the last lap and alone held-off the peloton for several kilometers. This had the Italian tifosi in
the stands on their feet. Strangely enough, Casagrande attacked while Simoni was out in front; soon both were caught. Several more attacks got away but none worked for long.
After the final descent and with about 3 km to go, the riders were together again. At this point, several tried their luck, including Dekker. With about two km to go Chann McRae got a gap with one or two others and it looked like it might stick. He too was reeled in and we were going to be treated to a bunch sprint. No team seemed to be organized in the sprint.
Having done much of the work at the front in the earlier laps, the Germans had only Ullrich left to support Zabel. The Italians too did not control the sprint nor properly lead out Bettini, even though they had ten riders in the bunch -- 10 of 45! It was every man for himself coming down to the line and Freire was the best.
Many of the Spanish riders rolling in behind punched the air in celebration. Oscar Sevilla, fresh off his Vuelta podium finish, was especially happy, his cherubic face positively beaming as he crossed the line a minute back. At the official press conference after the race one of the first things that Freire did was to thank his teammates. He said that they all worked for him and had been great.
After the race I caught up to Levy Leipheimer:
NV: It looked like you attacked near the end. [The race announcer had misidentified McRae as Leipheimer.]
LL: No, that was Chann. Chann attacked with abouut 2 km to go.
NV: Did you try to attack earlier?
LL: Yeah, I tried to go [on the last lap after Simoni was caught]. There were 3 or 4 guys up ahead and it looked like that break might stick and so I tried to bridge. I rode alone for about 2-3 km.
NV: Did you have a go in the sprint as well?
LL: Yeah, both Chann and I tried in the final sprint. We tried to hook up, but it was crazy out there. Guys were zig-zagging all over the place. It was just like a Tour de France sprint. Guys like Freire and Zabel know how to handle themselves in those sprints. They know how to take the right risks.
NV: Were you surprised that it came down to a sprint?
LL: Yeah, I can't believe it. The race just wasn't aggressive enough. We never went up the hills really full bore. Even the last time. I mean, they were hard, but not. . . (gestures).
NV: Were the favorites being too conservative, sitting at the back?
LL: No. Casagrande attacked. Ullrich attacked. It just wasn't aggressive enough in the early laps and so a lot of guys were fresh at the end.
That about sums it up, though the 78 riders that abandoned -- including last year's winner Romans Vainsteins -- might disagree. I spoke to American rider Antonio Cruz shortly after he abandoned with just a few laps to go:
NV: How was it out there?
AC: It's a race of attrition. That course is hard. It seemed like it was fast every lap too.
NV: What was your role today?
AC: Help Levi; try to finish.
NV: Were you able to keep him protected?
AC: Yeah, I moved him up a couple of times. We stayed close to the favorites, marked those guys, tried to go when they attacked.
NV: How's Levi looking?
AC: (Smiles) He gave me the thumbs-up. I think he's gonna do good. He's been looking good for about a month now.
Canada's national champ Mark Walters, who lasted about 190 km, echoed Cruz's sentiments:
NV: How was it out there?
MW: Very hard. Very hard course.
NV: I saw you at the San Francisco Grand Prix where you did well.
MW: Yeah, I had a good ride there. This is a much harder circuit though. It's shorter and has two climbs, but these climbs are longer than the two in San Francisco. There you just put a 25 on instead of a 17 and go.
NV: How do the riders here compare with those in North America?
MW: The caliber is much higher. I've been riding in Belgium the last few weeks where the level is higher too, but I think only one or two of the guys I raced against there would finish this race.
Your humble correspondent spent much of the race in the pits today. Every time the riders came through there would be a flurry of activity as the pit crews readied water bottles and feed bags, and some of the riders furiously tried to grab them while whizzing by at about 45 km/hr. One such connection was missed and a full water bottle went flying at a good clip. Danilo Hondo, the German sprinter and double-stage winner at the Giro d'Italia this year, abandoned dramatically. He whipped to a stop right in front of me and ran past, his bike crashing down loudly behind him. He was headed straight
for the toilets behind the tents, and someone later said he had the flu. He looked better later back in his tent a little later (and he has one hell of a tattoo on his upper back).
Mostly I hung out there with the American and Canadian teams. Sean Petty, the Director of the USA team, told me during the race that Leipheimer and McRae would be the protected riders, though that would only leave three to do the work. When I told him that I'd heard that the Italians planned to place two riders in every break, he whistled and noted that the onus would be on the big teams -- Germany, Spain, Italy. The US, with just five riders, would try to be opportunistic. Leipheimer was the leader of the team, and Petty said he thought he could make the top five. "Levi showed that he's got form in the time trial where he just missed a medal. He was confident after that. It was the best American time trial finish since Lance in '98." Petty added that, though he's had a really tough year with the Mercury fiasco, McRae's "an amazingly tough guy and it wouldn't surprise me if he does well today." Both Leipheimer and McRae, neither of whom is known as a sprinter, were strong enough to finish with the lead group and both tried to get away as well. As Leipheimer said, too many guys were still fresh at the end. As he was in 1999, Oscar Friere was the freshest and craftiest of those remaining guys.
A FINAL PERSONAL NOTE:
So ends my four days here at the World Championships here in Lisbon, Portugal. I had a great time and recommend that all cycling fans go to the worlds at least once. The atmosphere is really great, and with the circuit format you can see a lot of the race. (Not that I wouldn't like to watch the peloton pass even once on the Alpe d'Huez!) I hope you've enjoyed my
coverage, as I've tried to impart a small sense of what it's like to be here. As this is my first effort at this, I'd appreciate any comments that folks might have. [Please forward them c/o Frank at Infociclismo.] I'd also like to thank Frank for his support, and also David Taggart and his buddy Craig, two American fans from Salt Lake City, who helped to make my experience here terrific. So, until the next race, Adeus from Lisbon!
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: I think that Nico has done a terrific job, please join me in thanking him, not only for his excellent reports, but for the hard work and diligence of filing the reports every day. Thanks again Nico!
OSCAR FREIRE’S PROFILE
Born: 15 Feb 1976
Where: Torrelavega (Cantabria), Spain (where he lives)
Height: 171 centimeters
Weight 64 kg (in form)
Status: Single
Team: Mapei
Elite Worlds Performances: 1998/17, 1999/1, 2000/3 and 2001/1.
Under 23: Silver medallist in 1997.
Palmares
1998 - Vitalicio Seguros: Stage Vuelta Castilla-León.
1999 - Vitalicio Seguros: World Champion (Verona, Italy) and Criterium
memorial González Heredia.
2000 – Mapei: Stage Vuelta a Mallorca, Stage Vuelta a Valencia, two stages
Tirreno-Adriatico, two stages Vuelta a Aragón, two stages Vuelta a España,
stage Giro a Lucca and Escalada a Montjuic.
2001 – Mapei: Stage Tour of Germany, Stage Vuelta a Burgos and World
Championship.
Elite Men Road Race (Complete):
1. FREIRE, Oscar (ESP) 6h 07:21
2. BETTINI, Paolo (ITA) s.t.
3. HAUPTMAN, Andrej (SLO) s.t.
4. DEKKER, Erik (HOL) s.t.
5. ZABEL, Erik (GER) s.t.
6. WADECKI, Piotr (POL) s.t.
7. FIGUERAS, Giuliano (ITA) s.t.
8. MIKHAILOV, Guennadi (RUS) s.t.
9. KONECNY, Tomas (CZE) s.t.
10. ZBERG, Beat (SWI) s.t.
11. BARTOLI, Michele (ITA) s.t.
12. LANFRANCHI, Paolo (ITA) s.t.
13. ULLRICH, Jan (GER) s.t.
14. ZAKIROV, Faat (RUS) s.t.
15. WOJTAS, Arkadiusz (POL) s.t.
16. PIATEK, Zbigniew (POL) s.t.
17. BRUYLANDTS, Dave (BEL) s.t.
18. AXELSSON, Niklas (SWE) s.t.
19. BOTCHAROV, Alexandre (RUS) s.t.
20. AEBERSOLD, Niki (SWI) s.t.
21. BONDARENKO, Denis (RUS) s.t.
22. AERTS, Mario (BEL) s.t.
23. VICIOSO ARCOS, Angel (ESP) s.t.
24. SOUSA BARBOSA, Rui Miguel (POR) s.t.
25. MCRAE, Chann (USA) s.t.
26. EVANS, Cadel (AUS) s.t.
27. VALJAVEC, Tadej (SLO) s.t.
28. LEIPHEIMER, Levy (USA) s.t.
29. BOTERO, Santiago (COL) s.t.
30. TCHMIL, Andrei (BEL) s.t.
31. VIRENQUE, Richard (FRA) s.t.
32. REBELLIN, Davide (ITA) s.t.
33. ROBIN, Jean-Cyril (FRA) s.t.
34. FARESIN, Gianni (ITA) s.t.
35. MUSEEUW, Johan (BEL) s.t.
36. RASMUSSEN, Michael (DEN) s.t.
37. AMORIM VALADA, Gonzalo José (POR) s.t.
38. SIMONI, Gilberto (ITA) s.t.
39. HEULOT, Stephane (FRA) s.t.
40. CASAGRANDE, Francesco (ITA) s.t.
41. BASSO, Ivan (ITA) s.t.
42. CASERO, Angel (ESP) s.t.
43. BOOGERD, Michael (HOL) s.t.
44. NARDELLO, Daniele (ITA) s.t.
45. BELOKI, Joseba (ESP) s.t.
46. BROCHARD, Laurent (FRA) at 43
47. MATTAN, Nico (BEL) at 43
48. DUMA, Vladimir (UKR) at 43
49. VERHEYEN, Geert (BEL) at 43
50. GIANETTI, Mauro (SWI) at 43
51. MOOS, Alexandre (SWI) a 43
52. LUTTENBERGER, Peter (AUT) at 43
53. BELTRAN, Manuel (ESP) at 1:00
54. SEVILLA, Oscar (ESP) at 1:00
55. LOTZ, Marc (HOL) at 1:00
56. RUBIERA, José Luis (ESP) at 1:00
57. BLANCO, Santiago (ESP) at 1:00
58. MAZZOLENI, Eddy (ITA) at 1:00
59. SCIANDRI, Maximilian (GBR) at 1:00
60. STANGELJ, Gorazd (SLO) at 8:07
61. LEAPER, Tom (AUS) at 10:42
62. PEREZ ARANGO, Marlon (COL) at 10:42
63. LAVARINHAS, Rui (POR) at 10:42
64. ALVES, Nuno (POR) at 10:42
65. COX, Ryan (RSA) at 10:42
66. ZUMSTEG, Lukas (SWI) at 10:42
67. SCHNIDER, Daniel (SWI) at 10:42
68. BESSY, Frederic (FRA) at 10:42
69. BRARD, Florent (FRA) at 10:42
70. BOURQUENOUD, Pierre (SWI) at 10:42
71. BRANDT, Christophe (BEL) at 10:42
72. PUGACI, Igor (MDA) at 10:42
73. LELEKIN, Serguei (RUS) at 10:42
74. RUMSAS, Raimondas (LIT) at 10:42
75. SONNE, Morten (DEN) at 10:42
76. BARANOWSKI, Dariusz (POL) at 10:42
77. AUS, Lauri (EST) at 10:42
78. BARRY, Michael (CAN) at 10:42
79. CHMIELEWSKI, Piotr (POL) at 10:42
80. PRZYDZIAL, Piotr (POL) at 10:42
81. WEGELIUS, Charles (GBR) at 10:42
82. HRUSKA, Jan (CZE) at 10:42
83. KROON, Karsten (HOL) at 10:42
84. FOFONOV, Dmitri (KAZ) at 10:42
85. KESSLER, Matthias (GER) at 10:42
86. PETROV, Evgeni (RUS) at 10:42
87. TURPIN, Ludovic (FRA) at 10:42
88. POSPYEYEV, Kyrylo (UKR) at 10:42
89. DI LUCA, Danilo (ITA) at 10:42
90. DEN BAKKER, Maarten (HOL) at 14:05
91. SKELDE, Michael (DEN) at 14:05
92. ELMIGER, Martin (SWI) at 14:05
93. BODROGI, Laszlo (HUN) at 14:05
94. PRONK, Matthe (HOL) at 14:05
DNF:
VAINSTEINS, Romans (LET)
BELOHVOSCIKS, Raivis (LET)
REISS, Andris (LET)
SPRUCH, Zbigniew (POL)
SZMYD, Sylvester (POL)
CUESTA, Iñigo (ESP)
DIAZ JUSTO, Rafael (ESP)
JIMENEZ, Eladio (ESP)
OSA, Aitor (ESP)
ALDAG, Rolf (GER)
HONDO, Danilo (GER)
HUNDERTMARK, Kai (GER)
JAKSCHE, Jorg (GER)
KLIER, Andreas (GER)
NIERMANN, Grischa (GER)
SCHRECK, Stephan (GER)
VOIGT, Jens (GER)
WERNER, Christian (GER)
HEULE, Christian (SUI)
PUTTINI, Felice (SUI)
STRAUSS, Marcel (SUI)
ZAMPIERI, Steve (SUI)
HAYMAN, Mathew (AUS)
JONKER, Patrick (AUS)
O'NEILL, Nathan (AUS)
ROGERS, Michael (AUS)
CRUZ, Antonio (USA)
KLUCK, Damon (USA)
PELUSI, Seth (USA)
BOVEN, Jan (HOL)
DE GROOT, Bram (HOL)
DE JONGH, Steven (HOL)
HIEMSTRA, Bert (HOL)
VENEBERG, Thorwald (HOL)
VOSKAMP, Bart (HOL)
BAGUET, Serge (HOL)
MERCKX, Axel (BEL)
PEERS, Chris (BEL)
VAN PETEGEM, Peter (BEL)
WAUTERS, Marc (BEL)
DERGANC, Martin (SLO)
LJUNGQVIST, Marcus (SWE)
LOVATT, Mark (GBR)
MILLAR, David (GBR)
BOUYER, Franck (FRA)
CHAVANEL, Sylvain (FRA)
GOUBERT, Stephane (FRA)
HALGAND, Patrice (FRA)
TESSIER, Jean-Michel (FRA)
BLAUDZUN, Michael (DIN)
HOJ, Frank (DIN)
NIELSEN, Bjarke (DIN)
PETERSEN, Jorgen Bo (DIN)
SORENSEN, Rolf (DIN)
MANDOJA, Innar (EST)
TRUMPAUSKAS, Arturas (LIT)
WHITE, Nicholas (RSA)
DIMITROV, Dimitar (BUL)
HEGREBERG, Morten (NOR)
BAIGUDINOV, Kairat (KAZ)
KASHECHKIN, Andrey (KAZ)
KUZNETSOV, Konstantin (KAZ)
MIZOUROV, Andrey (KAZ)
SABALIN, Alexandru (MDA)
PEREZ CUAPIO, Julio Alberto (MEX)
SZEKERES, Csaba (HUN)
MORSCHER, Harald (AUT)
TRAMPUSCH, Gerhard (AUT)
BORISOV, Vladislav (RUS)
GAYNITDINOV, Dmitri (RUS)
IVANOV, Serguei (RUS)
KONYSHEV, Dmitri (RUS)
WONG, Kam-Po (HKG)
KLIEMIENKO, Aleksander (UKR)
WALTERS, Mark (CAN)
MITCHELL, Glen (NZL)
VESTY, Brendon (NZL)
MEDAL STANDINGS AFTER 4 DAYS
COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
Ukraine 2 1 1 4
Great Britain 2 1 - 3
Lithuania 1 1 1 3
Germany 1 1 - 2
France 1 - 2 3
Spain 1 - 1 2
Belgium 1 - - 1
USA 1 - - 1
Italy – 2- 2
Holland - 1 1 2
Russia - 1 - 1
Switzerland - 1 - 1
Colombia - - 1 1
Poland - - 1 1
Slovenia - - 1 1
South Africa - - 1 1
ROAD RACE WORLD TITLES
1927 Nurburg (GER) Alfredo Binda (ITA)
1928 Budapest Georges Ronsse (BEL)
1929 Zurich (SWI) Georges Ronsse (BEL)
1930 Lieja (BEL) Alfredo Binda (ITA)
1931 Copenhague (DEN) Learco Guerra (ITA)
1932 Rome (ITA) Alfredo Binda (ITA)
1933 Monthlery (FRA) Georges Speicher (FRA)
1934 Leipzig (GER) Karel Kaers (BEL)
1935 Florette (BEL) Jean Aerts (BEL)
1936 Bern Antonin Magne (FRA)
1937 Copenhague (DEN) Eloi Meulenberg (BEL)
1938 Valkenburg (HOL) Marcel Kint (BEL)
1946 Zurich (SWI) Hans Knecht (SUI)
1947 Reims (FRA) Theo Middelkamp (HOL)
1948 Valkenburg (HOL) Briek Schotte (BEL)
1949 Copenhague (DEN) Rik van Steenbergen (BEL)
1950 Moorslede (BEL) Briek Schotte (BEL)
1951 Varese (ITA) Ferdi Kubler (SUI)
1952 Luxemburgo Heinz Muller (RFA)
1953 Lugano (SWI) Fausto Coppi (ITA)
1954 Sollingen (GER) Louison Bobet (FRA)
1955 Frascati (ITA) Stan Ockers (BEL)
1956 Ballerup (DEN) Rik van Steenbergen (BEL)
1957 Waregem (BEL) Rik van Steenbergen (BEL)
1958 Reims (FRA) Hercole Baldini (ITA)
1959 Zandwoort (HOL) André Darrigade (FRA)
1960 Sachsenrig (GER) Rik van Looy (BEL)
1961 Bern Rik van Looy (BEL)
1962 Sallo (ITA) Jean Stablinski (FRA)
1963 Ronse (BEL) Benoni Beheyt (BEL)
1964 Sallanches (FRA) Jan Janssen (HOL)
1965 Lasarte (SPA) Tom Simpson (GBR)
1966 Nurburg (GER) Rudi Altig (RFA)
1967 Heerlen (HOL) Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1968 Imola (ITA) Vittorio Adorni (ITA)
1969 Zolder (BEL) Harm Ottenbros (HOL)
1970 Leicester (GBR) JP Monsere (BEL)
1971 Mendrisio (SWI) Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1972 Gap (FRA) Marino Basso (ITA)
1973 Montjuic (SPA) Felice Gimondi (ITA)
1974 Montreal (Canada) Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1975 Yvoire (BEL) Hennie Kuiper (HOL)
1976 Ostuni (ITA) Freddy Maertens (BEL)
1977 San Cristobal (VEN) Francesco Moser (ITA)
1978 Nurburg (GER) Gerrie Knetemann (HOL)
1979 Valkenburg (HOL) Jan Raas (HOL)
1980 Sallanches (FRA) Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1981 Prague Freddy Maertens (BEL)
1982 Goodwood (GBR) Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)
1983 Altenrhein (SWI) Greg Lemond (EUA)
1984 Barcelona (SPA) Claude Criquielion (BEL)
1985 Giavera Montello (ITA) Joop Zoetemelk (HOL)
1986 Colorado Springs (USA) Moreno Argentin (ITA)
1987 Villach (GER) Stephen Roche (IRL)
1988 Ronse (BEL) Maurizio Fondriest (ITA)
1989 Chambery (FRA) Greg Lemond (EUA)
1990 Utsunomiya (JPN) Rudy Dhaenens (BEL)
1991 Stuttgart (GER) Gianni Bugno (ITA)
1992 Benidorm (SPA) Gianni Bugno (ITA)
1993 Oslo (NOR) Lance Armstrong (USA)
1994 Sicily (ITA) Luc Leblanc (FRA)
1995 Duitama (COL) Abraham Olano (ESP)
1996 Lugano (SWI) Johan Museeuw (BEL)
1997 San Sebastián (SPA) Laurent Brochard (FRA)
1998 Valkenburg (HOL) Oscar Camenzind (SUI)
1999 Verona (ITA) Oscar Freire (ESP)
2000 Plouay (FRA) Romans Vainsteins (LET)
2001 Lisbon (POR) Oscar Freire (ESP)
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