Sanchez wins road race in sprint finish
Saturday, 09 Aug 2008 12:29
Sanchez prevailed in difficult conditions in Beijing
Spain's Samuel Sanchez has won gold in the Olympic cycling road race, beating Italy's Davide Rebellin and Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara in a sprint finish.
The riders suffered a great deal along the 245km course, with Spain's Alberto Contador and Germany's Jens Voigt notable among the non-finishers.
Sanchez was able to win the gold after being part of a breakaway on the final climb of the day. Sanchez, Rebellin, Andy Schleck and Alexander Kolobnev managed to put distance between themselves and danger man Cadel Evans.
World time trial champion Cancellara then joined the group with one kilometre to go. Sanchez, Rebellin and Cancellara contested the finish with the Spaniard narrowly edging out his competitors.