Event Descriptions - CYCLING
Events -- Road cycling, track cycling, mountain bike.
Medals -- 14 (2 men's, 2 women's road; 5 men's, 3 women's track; men's and women's ountain).
Dates -- Rad cycling, July 21, July 31 and Aug. 3. ... Track, July 24-28. ... On mountain bikes, July 30.
Venue -- Road cycling, Atlanta streets. ... Track, the Stone Mountain Velodrome. ... Mountain bikes, Georgia International Horse Park.
Description -- Road racing and mountain bikes, a first-time Olympic event, are flat out races to the finish. ... Track cycling is a quirky sport on a highly banked wooden track. The match sprint is a 2-out-of-3 race. ... The individual pursuit is when riders start on opposite ends of the track, hoping to pass the other or record a quicker time. ... Team pursuit is when one team's third rider passes another team's third rider. ... In the points race, racers earn points during lap sprints on every eighth lap. Two laps provide bonus points.
Outlook -- Canada is sending a strong team, led by Alison Sydor, a gold medal contender in women's moutain biking. Curt Harnett and Tanya Dubnicoff are contenders in the sprints, while Steve Bauer could surprise in men's road race.
For the first time, pros can ride in the Olympics, making five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain of Spain an easy favorite for the road medal. He'll be pursued by American Lance Armstrong and Frenchman Laurent Jalabert. Chris Boardman of Great Britain caused a stir in Barcelona with his high-tech Lotus bike and rode to gold. For the women, the road is clear for Jeannie Long of France. ... In track cycling, American Rebecca Twigg, who won medals in 1984 and 1992, will return. ... In mountain bikes, Rune Hoydahl of Norway, Bart Brentjens of the Netherlands and Henrik Djernis of Denmark are top contenders.
