March 24/06 9:38 am - Commonwealth Games: News Briefs

Posted by Editoress on 03/24/06
 

Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia
Reports made possible by the support of MAXXIS tires

- You have probably read about the Sierra Leone athletes that have gone missing, well we have now heard that two of the cyclists are absent. What makes it interesting is that the team bought a couple of Masi bikes locally for them to race on (at approximately $6000 AUD), which the athletes have now apparently sold prior to disappearing...

- The official start lists are not yet out, but it looks like there will be 136 men and 36 women. The big speculation for the women's race is Sarah Ulmer (New Zealand). Ulmer is a favourite, but scratched from the time trial because of a back problem. Nicole Cooke (Wales), the defending champion, is also a bit of a question mark, since she was a late withdrawal from the Points Race and has not been seen much.

- While the 11 kilometre circuit is not particularly difficult, there are lots of corners and a couple of climbs per lap to make things interesting. Given that the temperature is expected to be above 30 C, this will likely be a race of attrition.

- Our live coverage will begin with the women's race (9 laps) at 5:00 pm EST, followed by the men's race (15 laps) starting at 9:00 pm EST.