Cycling: Tricky conditions make it tough for Kiwis

Jack Bauer.

Treacherous storms and cold conditions put paid to the chances of New Zealand cyclists in the elite men's road race at the UCI World Championships in Florence today.

After a week of hot weather, the 272km men's race was hit with torrential rain, thunder and lightning as the temperature plummeted in Italy today, with only 61 of the 207 starters finishing the race.

Support riders Sam Bewley and Jack Bauer were both forced out in a race peppered with crashes, especially on the initial 106km on the flat from the start in Lucca before they reached the 10 laps of the gruelling Fiesole circuit in Florence.

Noted Radioshack Leopard climber, George Bennett fought his way through the crashes into the peloton but the extreme cold conditions eventually forced Bennett out after six laps.

"I am really gutted because I am in the form of my career going into this. At 100km we were down to 85 already and the first lap another 30 guys on the first lap but it was absolute chaos,'' Bennett said.

"It is really devastating. We lost Sam and Jack to crashes. I was caught behind three or four big crashes and I saw at least 20 different crashes. I've never seen anything like it.

"It was complete blanket rain and flooding everywhere. It was really cold. But when you are in the rain for four or five hours you are freezing that that was the death of me today. It's not the same for everyone but I am the smallest guy in the peloton,'' said the diminutive 58kg rider.

"You are just out there freezing on your own and there's not much you can do about it. It would have been a very different race if it was dry.''

Curiously, the conditions improved on the final lap with the sun coming out.

Earlier, deafening thunderstorms reduced the race to a crash-fest which accounted for Orica GreenEDGE rider Bewley who changed bikes before being forced out.

The in-form Bauer, who was primed to ride for Bennett today, also crashed after being brought down by a rider in front of him. He changed bikes and was brought down in another crash just before the start of the Fiesole circuit.

It was a day of firsts with Portugal's Rui Da Costa outsprinting Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez on the line to give his country its first rainbow jersey in the road race. Another Spanish rider, Alejandro Valverde was third ahead of home country hope Vincenzo Nibali, who recovered from an early crash to finish fourth.

Bennett will recover before a busy final two weeks of the season with World Tour races in Milan and Lombardia this week, the Paris-Tours next week ahead of the final race in the Tour of Beijing.

Results: Rui Da Costa (POR) 7:25.44, 1; Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) same time, 2; Alejandro Valverde (ESP) 7:26.00, 3; Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) same time, 4; Andriy Grivko (UKR) at 31s, 5; Peter Sagan (SVK) at 34s, 6; Simon Clarke (AUS) same time, 7; Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ) st, 8; Philippe Gilbert (BEL) st, 9; Fabian Cancellara (SUI) st, 10. Also NZers: Sam Bewley, Jack Bauer, George Bennett dnf.