2000 Worlds Preview Summary Team Selection PreviewBy Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent Like Rome, Lisbon is also called the city of the seven hills; arrayed along the north bank of the Tagus River, she is mother city of the Portuguese culture and westernmost capital in Europe. Lisbon is charming city of almost 700,000 souls and will host the 2001 World Road Cycling Championships. Arrayed along the north bank of the Tagus River, Lisbon has been a great maritime centre for 700 years. Lisbon has also been compared to San Francisco, with her fresh, sunny Atlantic climate, quaint wooden cable car trams and the legacy of the earth-shattering 1755 earthquake. Modern history is just now seeing Lisbon and Portugal emerge from years of being a poor, sleepy backwater country dominated by the Fascist Salazar to a dynamic young nation. A symbol of Lisbon's growth are her two bridges; Ponte do 25 de Abril, the longest suspension bridge in Europe. Completed in 1966, the bridge helped open Portugal south of the Tagus. The bridge is 7,473 feet long, and its towers are 625 feet high. In 1998, the longest suspension bridge in Europe, Ponte Vasco da Gama, was opened as Lisbon prepared for EXPO '98, which marked the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's journey to India. Lisbon welcomed the world to its doorstep, and the visitors found a brighter, restored, fresher city. The city centre of Lisbon is called the Baixa, with it's distinctive post-earthquake Pombaline architecture and Praça do Comércio (or Terreiro do Paço), one of the finest central squares in Europe. The name means "Palace Yard" after the Royal Palace overlooking the Tagus, which was destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1755. The quaint "elevadors" (elevators) that travel up to the Barrio and the old Moorish district of Alfama are fascinating, but most of the competitors in the 2001 World Road Cycling Championships will be racing west of the city on the wooded hills of Monsanto, just north of the University district. Every other year brings the World's to a nice warm location. Unlike last year's cold, rainy and isolated Breton location in Plouay, Lisbon should have all the right ingredients for some great World Championship racing. Lisbon Weather Forecast Wed. Oct 10: Partly Cloudy; hi. 65 °F lo. 60 °F
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