Swiss rider wins men's road race

 ATLANTA (AP) -- The conditioning provided by the Tour de France was evident in today's Olympic cycling road race.
 All three medalists raced in the Tour, while American favorite Lance Armstrong, who withdrew because of illness, faded in today's race.
 "I said before the race that the winner would come from the Tour de France," said American Frankie Andreu, who finished fourth. "Because when you come out of the Tour de France either you're flying or you're dead.
 Pascal Richard of Switzerland overtook Denmark's Rolf Sorensen in the final 20 meters to win by a bicycle length in the first Olympic road race open to professionals.
 Richard covered the 138-mile course in 4 hours, 53 minutes, 56 seconds. He swung left of Sorensen at the last moment and crossed the finish line with arms upraised, while Sorensen slapped his handle bar in disgust.
 Maximilian Sciandri of Britain the bronze medal, finishing two seconds behind the two leaders.
 With professional cyclists invited to the Olympics for the first time in Atlanta, today's field of 194 of the world's greatest cyclists was the strongest ever for an American road race.
 Andreu of Dearborn, Mich., was the top American finisher, 1 minute, 14 seconds behind Richard. Armstrong led for about a lap but faded in the final 25 miles and finished 12th, 1 minute, 29 seconds back.
 Armstrong dropped out of this month's Tour de France because of bronchitis and strep throat, and his lack of top conditioning caught up to him.
 "The ideal preparation for this race is the Tour de France," said Andreu, the only American to finish the Tour de France this year. "Then you rest up and for a one-day ride, you're in perfect shape."
 Steven Bauer of Canada said it was evident Armstrong was gassed.
 "I guess he didn't have it in the end," Bauer said. "As we can see, one, two, three were guys who did the Tour de France, and everyone was saying they may be tired. But I knew anyone who rode the Tour de France was going to have the top conditioning."
 All the world's best were here, with the exception of Switzerland's Tony Rominger, whose skills are more suited for mountain courses than the 8.1-mile course that wound its way through the plush neighborhoods of Atlanta.
 The race -- 17 laps on a course winding through the heart of Atlanta -- began at 8:30 a.m. on rain-cooled streets and the temperatures were relatively tepid -- the opposite of what Armstrong had hoped for.
 Armstrong, a two-time Tour DuPont winner and a two-time Tour de France stage winner, figured a hot, humid day would have hurt the Europeans. But the weather wasn't that hot or sticky.
 The field included Miguel Indurain of Spain, whose five-year reign as champion of the Tour de France ended this month when he finished 11th to Danish rider Bjare Riis.
 National coaching director Chris Carmichael did everything he could to give Armstrong the upper hand.
 The four other Americans in the race -- Andreu; Steve Hegg, of Dana Point, Calif.; George Hincapie, of Charlotte, N.C.; and Greg Randolph, of McCall, Idaho; -- raced for one purpose: to help Armstrong win a medal.
 All but Hegg came from the Motorola-sponsored professional riding team led by Armstrong.