Sydney 2000: Cycling

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Men's Cross-Country Goes to Martinez
France continues to pile up the cycling medals. Miguel Martinez claimed gold Sunday in the men's cross-country event. Filip Meirhaeghe of Belgium was second and Switzerland's Christophe Sauser pulled in a bronze medal. Martinez posted a winning time of just over 2 hours, 9 minutes -- more than a minute ahead of Meirhaeghe.

Pezzo Wins Women's Cross-Country
Italy's Paolo Pezzo claimed gold as Olympic cycling shifted to the mountain bike events. She won the women's cross-country Saturday, finishing ahead of Barbara Blatter of Switzerland and Margarita Fullana of Spain. Pezzo crossed at 1 hour, 49 minutes and 24 seconds, 27 seconds ahead of Blatter.
About Mountain Biking
Mountain bike racing has been around for just 20 years as a competitive sport, and made its Olympic debut in 1996 at Atlanta. The stripped-down cycles have wider wheels than road-racing bikes to accommodate rough terrain.

Men race along a course that is between 40 and 50 kilometers in length, while the women's races cover 30 to 40 km. The precise distances are set the night before the race, based on the anticipated weather conditions. The idea is to set a distance the men's winner can cover in 2 hours, 15 minutes and the women's winner can cover in 2 hours, covering five to seven long laps on an outdoor course.
Australia's Cadel Evans and France's Miguel Martinez are the likely favorites in the men's competition. Canada's Alison Sydor and Australia's Mary Grigson are among the top female performers.