Friday, August 29, 2003

By Paul Gains

With just 40 days remaining until the start of the 2003 World Cycling Championships the cycling world is now turning its attention to the city of Hamilton. The latest delegation to visit the site came from the Eastern European nation of Latvia on August 26th and was headed by Arnis Zvejnieks, the US representative of the Latvian Cycling Federation.

Zvejnieks was here on a reconaissence mission of sorts and specifically to confirm his team_s lodging at a Latvian Church Camp, 25 kilometres north of Burlington. The Latvian riders will be staying in private cottages on the campgrounds and will enjoy the luxury of home cooked meals courtesy of a gourmet chef Zvejnieks is in the process of hiring.

"I was up here last November to have a look from a technical perspective," said Zvejnieks, who is based in Cleveland, Ohio. "I took my bike hoping to ride the course but there was a lot of construction so I drove around with a handheld video camera. I sent the videotape back to the Latvian Federation and to the elite riders."

"I wasn't here for the Canadian championships but the comments we got back were favourable - there were just some minor things that need to be added for the world championships. But we heard the organisers did a great job."

Zvejnieks also writes for the Latvian community weekly newspaper "Laiks" (Time) which is printed in the New York City area and distributed across North America. He intends to promote the 2003 World Cycling Championships to his community. Although the Latvian community in Hamilton numbers several hundred there are more than 10,000 Canadians of Latvian heritage in the Greater Toronto Area and they are among those buying up tickets for the championships.

Latvian hopes rest on the shoulders of several elite riders including Laura Telle, who recently won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Moscow (women_s 20km points race), Raivis Belohvosciks who is a time trial specialist but recently won the Trois Jours de Panne in Holland and Arvis Piziks.

Both Piziks and Belohvosciks are based in Ghent, Belgium and along with the other members of the team, will be arriving in Hamilton on or around October 1st. Their reception will no doubt be a warm one. The local Latvian community is planning a "Meet the Riders" barbeque to help gather support.

"There are not a lot of opportunities for people in the Latvian community to cheer for their sportsmen," Zvejnieks said laughing.