Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past several months, you probably know that the Olympic began on 8/8/08 in Beijing, China. If you have been living in a cave for the past several months, well, now you know.
It’s no secret that I’m not exactly a sports nut, unless you consider Scrabble a sport. But during the course of my training for the Olympic News Service (ONS) over the past couple weeks, I think it’s safe to say that I am in fact, a fan of sport. But not just any sport. Competitive Road Cycling.
Before I go in to my Olympic experience, let me just comment about two things I’m sure your reading about in the news. First, let me clear the air about Beijing pollution. Pun intended. Many journalists arrived last Tuesday, three days before the opening ceremony. Every day since Tuesday has been foggy, smoggy and rainy. It’ has been the worst weather I’ve seen all month. Before the Olympics began, the air was, for the most part, clear. Or at least clear looking. Of course, it’s not secret that Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world. But, just in case the newspapers aren’t saying this, unlucky weather is also contributing to the gray skies.
Second, I’m sure you’ve read about the stabbing of the father-in-law of the US Men’s Volleyball Coach on Saturday. The incident is extremely heartbreaking and, as an American in Beijing, understandably concerning. However, murders in China are rare, rare, rare. Up until Saturday, I’d felt perfectly safe in Beijing. So, while it certainly serves as a wake up call, I’d don’t necessarily feel less safe.
Now, on to my original topic: Competitive Cycling. My workplace for the duration of the Olympics is the Media Center of the Cycling Road Race Venue, located at the finish line of the race at Juyongguan area of the Great Wall of China. The Media Center of the venue provides table space, food and Internet access for roughly 100 journalists. (In the past week, I’ve met reporters from USA Today, ESPN, NBC, The New York Times and, yes, even the The Des Moines Register. (Think RAGBRAI, folks.)
Last Saturday was one of the main events: The Men’s Road Race. My day began at 6:40 a.m. when I hopped on the volunteer bus that goes from my university to the finish line at the wall, an hour-long bus ride when taking the Olympic-only lane.
There are eight people, including myself who serve as flash quote reporters. Four managers oversee us: Andy, Amy, Ernst and Kevin. Andy, the European correspondent for Velo News, a competitive cycling magazine, is our Sports Information Specialist. He is our “go to” guy with any questions we may have about the sport. Questions such as “Who is the key domestique for Australian rider Cadel Evans?” or “Is three minutes an average time gap between the first breakaway riders and the peleton?” Amy is a professional baseball player for Australia and works for Infostrada Sports, the company that organizes the Olympic News Service. Ernst, from the Netherlands, also works for the company. Then there’s our Chinese manager Kevin, whose name really isn’t Kevin but we call him that because it’s too tough to pronounce his Chinese name. Kevin, quite frankly, knows less about the sport than I do, and has unofficially been demoted to “language barrier problem solver.”
The race, which covers 248 kilometers (154 miles), began at 11 a.m. and was predicted to last 6 ½ hours. The wining rider crossed the finish line in 6 hr, 23 min and 49 seconds. The course is considered the toughest course in Olympic history, with sharp turns and steep climbs. Add in some unexpected pollution, wind and 94% humidity and you’ve got an interesting race on your hands. And interesting it was.
After some calculated research, here were my predictions: the strongest Italian rider and defending gold medalist from 2004, Paolo Bettini, would take the gold. Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, a good sprinter and climber, would grab second. And Ireland’s Nicholas Roche would get the bronze because he is attractive and looks great in green.
I was wrong. Spain’s Samuel Sanchez won gold, Italy’s Davide Rebellin won silver and Switzerland’s lone rider Fabian Cancellara won bronze. As for my predictions, Bettini placed 18th, Valverde 13th and Roche 64th. (I guess good looks aren’t everything after all.) The humidity quickly took its toll on many of the riders: one third dropped out of the race. “It’s like rubbing hot cream all over your body,” said one rider. Whatever that feels like.
All in all, it was a great day. I got to practice my Italian with Italian journalists and athletes, I was inches away from a gold medalist, the quotes I gathered from Davide Rebellin have shown up in numerous news articles and I started falling in love with a real sport. Tour de France, here I come.
Me and a few of the interns working hard.
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