Could There Be Another Historical Rainbow Jersey For Cycling Wizard Bettini
by Justin Davis
VARESE, Italy, Sept 27, 2008 (AFP) – History-chasing Paolo Bettini and Oscar Freire are being tipped to cast a rainbow haze over the world championships on Sunday when they line up as favourites for the men’s road race.
Won by the likes of Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Lance Armstrong, the rainbow jersey is among the most coveted prizes in cycling being arguably held with as much regard as the Tour de France yellow jersey.
With six of the past seven victories between them, Italy and Spain can rightly claim to be among the big favourites.
But the diminutive Bettini and the not-much-taller Freire stand well above the field when it comes to raising their hopes ahead of the traditionally tough race, held this year over 15 laps of an undulating 26.025km circuit.
While Freire is the only active rider of just four in history to have won the crown three times, Bettini is pedaling steadily towards retirement with two crowns, from 2006 and 2007, in the bag.
A third win for Italy’s famous one-day specialist would make him the fifth member of that elite club, but the first to complete a hat-trick of consecutive wins.
And the 34-year-old, who lost his Athens Olympic road race crown to surprise Spaniard Samuel Sanchez last month, says he goes into Sunday’s race with “plenty of motivating factors”.
“We’re in Italy, I’m going for my third crown in a row and I’ve got revenge to take on Spain after I lost my Olympic title in Beijing,” said Bettini.
But Freire – a wily sprinter who should have no problems on this relatively easy course – has just as much incentive with an impressive, and absolutely historic fourth rainbow jersey within reach.
Naturally, he is hoping it comes down to a bunch sprint.
“I see a reduced group of riders all coming into the finish,” he smiled.
Among the favourites, including Belgium’s 2005 champion Tom Boonen and Germany’s Stefan Schuamcher among others, Bettini knows which rider his team will have to watch closest.
“Freire is the most dangerous,” added Bettini, who said he is in the form of his life following two stage wins at the Tour of Spain earlier this month.
“I feel like I’m in better shape than this time last year and even the year before. I realized that when I was racing at the Tour of Spain.
“I haven’t felt this good since 2005, when things didn’t quite go to plan.”
At Madrid in 2005 Boonen took full advantage of Italian team leader Alessandro Petacchi’s late collapse to shatter the gold dreams of his fellow sprinter.
On Sunday, there will be no such doubts over who will lead the ‘Azzurri’, but that doesn’t rule out impromptu changes of plan as the race unfolds.
With the likes of Alejandro Valverde, who won silver in 2005 and 2003 and bronze in 2006, Spain have attacking options prior to the 4km stretch of flat road which leads to the finish line.
“I’m ready to go on the attack,” promised Valverde, who added that he will be at Freire’s service if his attack is wiped out by the likes of Italy’s Filippo Pozzato and Alessandro Ballan.
“If there’s an attack in the final lap, it’s up to me to get in among it,”
retorted Ballan.
When it comes to Belgium, it’s a little more complicated.
Officially, Boonen and Philippe Gilbert are the team leaders, but with one Flemish and the other French-speaking it remains to be seen how the largely Flemish team responds if Gilbert is in a good position given the political differences between the two communities.
Australia meanwhile go into the race hoping their main sprinters, Robbie McEwen and the on-form Allan Davis, can break the Spanish/Italian stranglehold on the rainbow jersey.
The three other riders to win the title three times are Alfredo Binda of Italy and Belgians Rik Van Steenbergen and Merckx.
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I’m wondering if Bettini is going to actually race tomorrow or if he is going to spend the majority of his time hanging onto the team car, like he did in Beijing.