Olympics-Cyclists wilt as Beijing competitors feel the heat

By Francois Thomazeau

BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A third of the riders in Saturday's Olympic men's cycling road race did not finish and tennis officials said they were considering allowing heat breaks as Beijing's stifling humidity took a punishing toll on athletes.

Temperatures into the high 90s Fahrenheit (above 35 Celsius), suffocating humidity and murky haze have combined to produce what competitors from several sports says are the most difficult conditions they have faced.

"It was a sauna out there," said Latvian cyclist Raivis Belohvosciks, one of the first of 53 riders to pull out on the gruelling 245-km (152.2 miles) course that took the 143-strong road race field past Tiananmen Square to the Great Wall.

Some of cycling's biggest names were unable to handle the conditions, including Giro d'Italia winner Alberto Contador and pre-race favourite Stefan Schumacher.

"I just didn't have any more strength in the legs," said Contador, the 2007 Tour de France champion.

Many riders said they had no trouble breathing at first, but struggled to recuperate from their efforts in the descents or on the easier sections of the circuit.

"I had a terrible headache. I don't know where it came from. Probably the pollution," said Germany's Schumacher, who showed impressive form on the Tour last month, winning two time-trials. "It feels like you're at 3,000 metres because of the air. You cannot breathe. The air is thick and there is smog."

HEAT BREAKS