2011 World Cycling Championships

The most coveted jersey in the world is the Maillot Jaune, or the Yellow Jersey, given to the winner of the Tour de France. The second most coveted is the Arc de Ciel, or the Rainbow jersey, given to the winner of the World Championships. The difference between the two is that with the former, the TdF champion gets the chance to wear it for a maximum of three weeks while with the latter gets to wear the jersey with the rainbow band on his chest for years and on the sleeves or collar for a lifetime!

The Worlds is raced like an NFL playoffs, it’s a one and done thing. You lose the race today and you’ll get your chance after 12 months. Some call the race a lottery but I call the race a race of strength, teamwork, smarts and lots of luck. Just one crash and you’re out of the race. Just one hesitation and you’re left to chase alone.

In 1990, wearing the jersey was worth $1 million in endorsement money. This was the estimated loss of Dag Otto Lauritzen (NOR), who lost the race after his breakaway partner, Dirk de Wolf, caused him to crash in the closing kilometers. Today, it’s definitely worth more than that!

The Worlds is also the only time that riders ride for their flag and country and not for their trade teams. This can be a problem in a cycling powerhouse nations like Belgium or Italy where most of the top professionals came from. I mean, selecting a team around a single leader when most can be considered one is a delicate task.

The Worlds changes venue every year and every now and then, the race is held outside of Europe. For this reason, the route changes every year. It could be fairly flat (2002, Belgium) one year or very hilly (1995 Colombia) the following year.

This year, the Worlds are held in Copenhagen, in a course that is considered “flat”. In theory, it’s a course suited for the sprinters. But watching the under-23 championships last Friday, I believed that the course is just too hard for the likes of pure sprinters Mark Cavendish (GB), Tyler Farrar (US) or Andrei Geipel (GER). It’s my belief that the winner (by the time you read this, a new champion was already crowned) will come from a rider who can sprint and can do a power climb. There are only two in this year’s worlds who belong to this category- Philippe Gilbert (BEL) and defending champion, Thor Hushovd (NOR). Between the two, my pick, is Gilbert. 

Ronda

Congratulations to Jaypop Pagnanawon of Team Cebu for placing 3rd during the first stage (of 12 stages) of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2011 behind stage winner Roland Gorrantes of Negros and Ronnel Hualida of American Vinyl. Jaypop is the son of the 1986 Marlboro Tour champion, Rolando “Boyax” Pagnanawon. Jaypop validated his status after there were innuendoes from some of quarters that his father, also the team coach, was giving him more attention than the rest of the team. - THE FREEMAN

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