Imagine that after every World Cup, all the members of the winning soccer team were awarded the honor of wearing a special jersey for the next four years, highlighting their achievement. Picture the World Series champions spending the next baseball season in a specially designed uniform to honor their victory the previous year. If you can grasp the magnitude of such a practice, then you have some idea of the prestige behind the rainbow jersey.
Every September, as the road racing season draws to a close and all the Grand Tours and Monuments of cycling have wrapped up, there still remains one race that is as hotly contested, if not more so, than any other: the world championships.
Just like the World Cup, the world championships of cycling are held at a different location every year. Each country is allotted a certain number of riders to send based on how that country did in high-profile races throughout the year. Much like in soccer, for this one race a rider's allegiance is to his country rather than to a sponsored team.
Every year the race course is a little different, favoring riders with different strengths. Some years the course itself is not overly challenging, giving the sprinters a shot at glory. Other years, like in 2009, the course is much more selective, with lots of climbs throughout, favoring a better-rounded rider with the ability to both climb and out-sprint a small group of competitors. Either way, the prize is the same: the rainbow jersey.
The winner of the world championship gets to a wear a custom-made jersey for the next year that features the rainbow stripes, indicating the world champion. The jersey is a variation of the ones his teammates wear, with the names and logos of the team's sponsors still in place, but the rainbow bands dominate the color scheme.
The honor and prestige associated with donning the rainbow jersey for a season have few parallels in sports. A victory at the world championships can elevate the status of a rider's career forever, even if he never wins another noteworthy race.
This year, the world championship is being staged in Mendrisio, Switzerland, where it has been held only once before, in 1971. It was there that the Belgian Eddy Mercx, considered by many to be the greatest cyclist of all time, won the second of his three titles, a feat matched by only three other riders.
The competition began Wednesday with the under-23 men's and elite women's time trials, while the elite men's time trial kicks off today and the men's road race on Sunday. The men will contest a hilly 13.8-kilometer circuit 19 times, totaling 262.2 kilometers of racing with 4,655 meters of elevation gain. The course features two significant climbs per lap, with the second coming just 2.5 kilometers from the finish.
Such a demanding course all but precludes the possibility of a group finish, as the climbing will undoubtedly take its toll on the majority of the field. Additionally, the proximity of the final climb to the finish will make it nearly impossible for regrouping to occur once the leaders crest it for the final time.
Due to the course's selective nature, the list of favorites is decidedly slimmer than in other years. Italy's Damiano Cunego, who took second at last year's championships behind compatriot Alessandro Ballan, is atop the list. A former winner of the Giro d'Italia, his list of achievements also includes three victorious editions of the Giro di Lombardia and one of Amstel Gold.
Challenging Cunego will be Spain's Alejandro Valverde, fresh off his first-ever Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta a España. An outstanding climber and stage-racer, Valverde shares Cunego's uncanny ability to turn it on near the end. With wins in La Fleche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Clasica de San Sebastian to his name, Valverde is clearly a gifted one-day racer as well, and he will certainly be looking to improve on the three medals — two silver and one bronze — that he already has.
Other names to watch out for include Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, who took second at this year's Tour de France and soloed to victory at Liège. Schleck, though, does not have quite as strong a team as his rivals. Also on this list are Belgium's Philippe Gilbert, Spain's Samuel Sanchez, Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen and Australia's Cadel Evans.
Thursday's time trial will be contested over three laps of a rolling 16.6-kilometer circuit. Though it is never possible to rule anyone out completely, the outcome is as close to a sure thing as anything in professional sports can be. Defending Olympic and two-time world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland has dominated the time-trial scene the past several years, racking up wins at various grand tours and shorter stage races. The winner of the event in 2007 and 2008, Cancellara chose to sit out last year after taking home the gold at Beijing. Though rivals Bert Grabsh (Germany) and Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) will give it their best shot, it is not likely that the Swiss machine will be denied a third title.
Picture it now: Kobe Bryant and the Lakers taking to the hard-court at the Staples Center in rainbow-laden uniforms; the Phillies' Ryan Howard jogging down the first base line after a towering shot, wearing his new Technicolor — but still baggy — baseball pants. Maybe something about the rainbow stripes just doesn't scream "champion" in every sport, but in cycling no colors are more revered.
