Considered one of, if not the, toughest road courses ever seen at a World Road Cycling Championships, Hamilton's 'parcours' is unique in a couple of ways to the world cycling fraternity.
One would have to look back quite a few years to find the last time the worlds were held on a course that is smack dab in the middle of a city the size of Hamilton, let alone the fact that it has been almost 17 years since the World Championships were last held in North America.
What makes this world championship course so tough is Hamilton's 'Mountain': the Niagara Escarpment. The escarpment provides a formidable obstacle to any athlete's goal of earning the title 'World Champion' in 2003.
With the start/finish line in front of Hamilton's City Hall, Hamiltonians will have no choice but to take notice of the world's greatest cyclists coursing through their city's natural obstacles.
Heading west on Main Street -- the wrong way on this one-way street -- from the start/finish area, the competitors will make their way toward Queen Street, where they will turn left and begin to make their way to the first of two 'jaunts' up the escarpment: Beckett Street.
The Beckett Street climb is not only the more attractive and spectacular, it is the most challenging. It is a climb that provides more twists, turns and undulations than the Claremont and will allow for a more aggressive attack up the mountain. It will be here that those riders courting victory, particularly in the closing stages of the race, will launch their most critical attacks.
Once the riders reach the top of the Beckett Street climb, they will make their way onto Fennell Street, where riders wishing to launch a surprise attack, will somehow have to find the energy to challenge the peloton on this wide open and inviting 1.6 kilometer stretch.
Turning left onto Upper James Street, preparation for the race's most dramatic downhill section begins. Riders in the peloton will begin to jockey for the perfect position before they hurl themselves down the Claremont Access at more than 100 kilometers per hour. It would be natural to suggest that the riders would be able to 'rest' on this straightforward downhill portion, but that is not the case.
Once arriving at the bottom of the Claremont Access, the riders will quickly make their way around Victoria, Main and Wellington Streets with a series of left turns that immediately positions them back onto the Claremont Access, and on their way up the mountain for their second time in one lap.
The Claremont is an open, gradual and consistent climb that will allow the riders to set their own pace as they ascend. But it will also provide an open invitation to some of the "backbenchers" to improve their position within the group. This will create a sense of urgency as the group tackles the mountain once again.
The Claremont Access also provides for some prime viewing, as the spectators will be able to see the riders descend and ascend, all within a matter of minutes.
Once the riders have arrived at the top of the Claremont, they will be immediately sent back down the escarpment via James Street on a technical and aggressive section of the course, a portion that has many manhole covers and an uneven surface that will eat up riders at the first lapse in concentration or momentary loss of focus.
The casual rider arriving at the corner of James and Main may not find it much of a challenge, and that may be true to the competitors in the early stages of the race. It is a corner that is yielding, almost friendly. But, in the closing stages, and ultimately on the final dash to the finish, it will seem narrower than a seventeenth century cart path in merry ole England. Genevieve Jeanson discovered this firsthand when she teetered on the edge of the barricades -- and disaster -- upon exit of this very turn as she launched into her final attack to contest the final sprint with Lyne Bessette at the National Championships held on this same course in June.
Upon exiting the final turn, the riders will capture a glimpse of the start/finish banner approximately 400 meters down the road and be tempted immediately to begin their assault to the finish. Traditionally, a wind meets the riders head on and a sprint of that length could prove too much -- no matter how enticing or desperate.
For the 2003 World Road Cycling Championships, the Elite Men will complete 21 laps of the course, for a distance of 260 kilometers. The Elite Women will complete 10 laps, covering 124 km, Under 23 Men will cover 14 laps for 176 km, Junior Men 10 laps for 124 km, and Junior Women six laps for 74 km.
Curt Harnett is one of Canada's most accomplished competitive cyclists. The Thunder Bay native represented Canada in four successive Olympic Games, garnering one silver and two bronze medals. He won silver twice at the world championships and two at the Commonwealth Games. He has also won competitions at the World Cup, the Pan-American Games and the Goodwill Games.
