CYCLING fans will be glued to television sets across Ararat tomorrow lunchtime to cheer on local rider Lucas Hamilton in his Olympic debut.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old is expected to line up in the 244-kilometre men\u2019s road race in Tokyo at midday Australian time.<\/p>\n
For the first time in Olympics history, the road race will be contested on a point-to-point course rather than on loops of\u00a0a circuit.<\/p>\n
The race will start in Musashinonomori Park and travel through Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefectures before ascending the lower slopes of Mount Fuji.<\/p>\n
Riders then do a lap of the Fuji International Speedway racetrack before climbing the 6.8km Mikuni Pass. Averaging a 10.2 per cent gradient, the climb comes in the final 30km of the course and shapes as the most crucial portion of the race.\u00a0The finish comes after a long descent and a final lap of the Speedway.<\/p>\n
Hamilton arrived in Tokyo for the Olympics early this week after abandoning the Tour De France following a nasty crash in which he separated his AC joint in an incident on stage 13 that sent several riders plunging down a steep slope on the side of the road.<\/p>\n
Riders hit loose gravel on the road with many hitting the ground and others running off the road and into a ravine.<\/p>\n
Hamilton remounted and tried to continue racing but succumbed to his injuries, along with Team BikeExchange teammate Simon Yates.<\/p>\n
With the crash happening two weeks out from the Olympics, there were concerns whether Hamilton would be fit to ride in the Olympics.<\/p>\n
While no official announcement had been made by the Australian team late this week, Hamilton was remaining positive that he will compete.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019m) beyond excited to be joining the Aussie team here in Tokyo,\u201d he posted on Instagram on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019m) looking forward to representing my nation on the biggest sporting stage on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his fourth season with the Australian WorldTour team, Hamilton has enjoyed a positive 12 months in the saddle, finishing in the top 10 overall at three WorldTour stage races, taking eighth at the Tour de Romandie, tenth at Volta a Catalunya and fourth at Paris-Nice.<\/p>\n
Tasmanian team manager Andrew Christie-Johnston, who helped develop fellow Olympian Richie Porte, has high hopes for Hamilton.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Christie-Johnston compared Hamilton to the Tour and Giro winner, Egan Bernal from Colombia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Bernal won the (2017) Tour de l\u2019Avenir, Lucas was fourth\u2026and not that far behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Bernal has gone on in leaps and bounds, Lucas has taken a bit longer\u2014that doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t close the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tomorrow\u2019s race can be seen on Channel 7\u2019s free streaming platform,\u00a07plus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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