BEIJING - Heavy smog continued to shroud the Olympic host city as competition got underway Saturday, and there was concern road cyclists would struggle mightily in the oppressive conditions as they raced 152.2 miles through a picturesque course that began near Tiananmen Square, wound past several famous landmarks, climbed into the foothills, and finished at the Great Wall.
They were the first athletes to face an outdoor endurance test at these Games, and the assumption was that if the average fan had trouble breathing and staying hydrated in the Chinese capital, surely cyclists exerting themselves over the longest course in Olympic history would be miserable afterward.
The race ended with seven loops through the hilly Juyongguan Pass, a picture-perfect region that houses the tombs of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors. Riders complained of "extreme'' heat and humidity. American George Hincapie said, "I can count on one hand the number of races I've started to sweat before the race starts.'' German rider Gerald Michael Ciolek, who failed to finish, compared it to riding at high elevation "because you feel short of air.''
Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina, who also pulled out early, said: "It feels like you have hot cream all over your body. Once you go full-gas, you cannot breathe.''
Only 90 of 143 cyclists who started the race finished the 6½-hour event.
But cyclists downplayed anxiety over pollution, and suggestions the conditions were unsafe. Though the pollution index has hovered higher than the World Health Organization recommends, and a whitish veil hangs over the city, experts and Olympic officials have repeatedly insisted athletes are not in danger if they compete outdoors.
"I know it looks bad, but I don't think it's as bad as it looks,'' said Levi Leipheimer, the highest-finishing American in 11th place. "Maybe I'll be coughing a little bit later, but I honestly don't feel the pollution. It actually felt good once we got in the hills and it was overcast, or whatever you call this.''
Cyclists are used to adapting to extreme weather. They race in the snow, rain, blazing sun, and fog.
"We're professional cyclists, so we go all over the world, endure all kinds of conditions, and we're all dealing with the same thing,'' said American rider Jason McCartney. "I've raced in some pretty nasty places. I've raced in South America and Central America, where there are old cars are dripping oil on the road, potholes in the pavement, and dogs in the road. We're used to it. This course here was on brand new pavement and it was beautiful.''
Most of the cyclists admitted they were worried about the air quality before the race, and that is why they chose to go slower at the start than they normally would have. Usually they go all out for the first 25 miles or so, but this time, all but a few hung back before making a push as they left the city into clearer air in the countryside.
Beijing organizers have taken drastic efforts to clean the polluted air in recent months, shutting down factories and ordering half of their 3.3 million cars off the road until the Olympics are over. Still, there hasn't been a blue sky here since last Tuesday and the smog seemed to thicken as the week wore on.
"As we raced through the city, we looked up at the sky and were like, 'What is that?''' said American cyclist David Zabrinski, who didn't finish the race. "In Utah they say this is a haze. It's best to give things a happy name. In Salt Lake City we have inversions in the winter. It irritates your throat a little, but the USOC put air cleaners in our rooms and that has really helped.''
The worst thing about the haze, the Olympians said, was that it kept them from getting better views of the dramatic scenery. The course went under Chairman Mao's portrait at the entrance to the Forbidden City. It went past the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, the Bird's Nest Stadium, the Water Cube aquatic center, the Winter Palace, and the Badaling section of the Great Wall.
Gold medalist Samuel Sanchez of Spain, who sprinted past Italy's Davide Rebellin down the stretch, had nothing but praise for the course. "It was spectacular,'' he said. "To pass from Beijing and Tiananmen Square and climb along the Great Wall. China is a country full of history, dreams and incredible beauty.''
American Christian Vande Velde compared it to an amusement park, and said the course was "the most epic place I've ever ridden.''
On the eve of the Games, Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, praised the Chinese authorities for having done "everything that is feasible and humanly possible to address (the pollution), calling their efforts "extraordinary.''
He said the athletes were "safe'' to compete, that their health would not be compromised, and that if pollution levels got worse, events could be postponed. He also insisted the thick haze that has enveloped the area for days is not pollution, but rather "a fog based on the basis of humidity and heat.''
Whatever it is, it made for heavy breathing at the finish line. Leipheimer said he recalls only one other race with conditions as stifling. "The 1996 Tour of China.''