Road Cycling Review: Favorites live up to expectations

(BEIJING, August 14) -- The Olympic Cycling Road competition delivered well-known gold medalists across all disciplines. The surprises came in the scramble for the silver and bronze.

In the Men's Road Race on Saturday August 9, Samuel Sanchez of Spain was fastest out of a six-man sprint to claim Spain's first Olympic Cycling Road gold medal.

Sanchez pipped one-day classics specialist Davide Rebellin of Italy to the gold medal and Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland clinched bronze after making a tremendous effort to bridge out to a leading three-man breakaway in the final kilometer.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg forged the winning breakaway with a late-race attack on the final uphill but the tall climber did not have the best sprinting legs and was forced to settle for fifth.

Defending gold medalist Paolo Bettini of Italy and pre-race favorite Alejandro Valverde of Spain would not attack in the decisive final lap because they both had teammates in the breakaway up the road battling for the medals. Bettini finished 18th and Valverde 13th.

Heat and humidity took their toll as only 90 of 143 starters finished the race.

In the Women's Road Race the following day, it was heavy rain's turn to affect the riders.

Nicole Cooke of Great Britain won a five-up sprint under a deluge to claim Great Britain's first Women's Road Racing Olympic medal.

A three-time world championship medalist, Cooke followed an attack by eventual bronze medalist Tatiana Guderzo of Italy over the final climb along the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Emma Johannson of Sweden took silver after Cooke surged across the line as the clear winner.

In the Men's Time Trial on Wednesday, 13 August, Cancellara lived up to his pre-race favorite status to overcome a late, seven-second deficit to win.

Gustav Larsson of Sweden had a slender lead with 13km to go but succumbed to Cancellara's late surge and settled on silver.

Levi Leipheimer of the United States won a tight battle for the final podium spot, edging out 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of Spain by just nine seconds.

Also that day, American Kristin Armstrong struck gold in the Women's Individual Time Trial after erasing a four-second gap to silver medalist Emma Pooley of Great Britain at the halfway point. Armstrong roared down the final descent to claim victory for her first Olympic gold medal.

Pooley took a well-deserved silver, an incredible result considering she did not begin competitive racing until 2005, and Karin Thurig of Switzerland earned her second consecutive Olympic bronze medal.