The British were supposed to dominate the Olympic road race in London, ushering sprint ace Mark Cavendish over the lumpy course in the Surrey countryside and delivering him to the finish at Buckingham Palace.Instead, Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov boldly broke away for gold.Four years later, things could be even more unpredictable when riders line up at famed Copacabana Beach on the first full day of the Rio Olympics.The first medal event of the cycling program will feature one of the most challenging road courses in Olympic history, a hilly ride on the Brazilian coast that could whittle the field to a handful of riders by the time they reach the finish at Flamengo Park.Its a really gnarly course, said Jim Miller, the vice president of athletics for USA Cycling.Just as gnarly is the time trial course, which uses a rolling portion of the road course, and at 36 miles for the men and nearly 20 for the women is long enough to tax even the most powerful riders.I think its maybe one of the hardest stand-alone time trials Ive ever seen, Miller said. You are looking at an hour-long TT for the guys, and one thats not at all straightforward.Indeed, the road races and time trials are complex events. Here is a breakdown of what you should know:COURSES MATTERFast, flat courses favor sprinters, and the courses in Brazil are neither flat nor fast. They are more like a one-day race in Northern Europe, complete with cobbled sections and tough climbs. Riders such as Tour de France champion Chris Froome could have a chance to shine.AMERICAN HOPESThere are only two American men in the event, Taylor Phinney and Brent Bookwalter. Phinney has medal aspirations -- he was fourth in both races in London. The American women will arrive at the Rio Games as heavy favorites. Megan Guarnier is the top-ranked rider in the Womens WorldTour and will be backed on the road by a strong cast of veterans, while Kristin Armstrong is the two-time and defending time trial champ.I feel prepared, Armstrong said, and am really looking forward to the challenging time trial course.NAMES TO WATCHAlejandro Valverde and Joaquin Rodriquez of Spain, Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Rui Costa of Portugal are some of the men with the skills suited for Rios road course. Reigning gold medalist Marianne Vos and fellow Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen are among the headliners in the womens field, while Britains Lizzie Armitstead will have to survive the tough climbs to have a shot.In the time trial, Bradley Wiggins decided to compete on the track rather than defend his gold, so Tony Martin becomes the favorite with Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin and Australian star Rohan Dennis joining Froome in trying to dethrone the German powerhouse. In the womens race, world champion Linda Villumsen of New Zealand, German star Lisa Brennauer and Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands should contend.I have great memories of London and winning bronze in the time trial, Froome said. I will be giving it everything I can in Rio to try and win another medal for Great Britain.WHO IS MISSINGVinokourov retired shortly after his road race triumph in London, while Cavendish joined Wiggins in switching back to the track. But the biggest name missing is world champ Peter Sagan, who decided to compete in mountain biking after deciding the road course was too tough for him.The aim is to achieve the best result, said Slovak Cycling Federation executive Jan Zilovec. Peter in the past managed to win the World Cup in mountain biking, so his chances of a good outcome are realistic.AVOIDING CONTROVERSYVinokourov put doping in the spotlight with his victory in London after his much-publicized history with performance-enhancing drugs. But perhaps getting more attention during the run-up to Rio has been mechanical doping, the use of tiny motors inside frames to give riders an edge. The sports world governing body, the UCI, has poured money and research into developing tablets and other devices to test for improper mechanics. Keeping the race controversy-free has never been more complex.Its cheating, and people will always try, UCI president Brian Cookson said. But well be working with the IOC, well have delegates to the technical checks and well work together to ensure a clean race. Authentic Nike MLB Gear . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. http://www.cheapmlbjerseyssigned.com/ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Nike MLB Jerseys From China . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Discount Nike MLB Jerseys .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee ended a two-game skid decisively enough to give its top players an early rest before its toughest challenge of the season.Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell each scored 16 points despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter Wednesday in the 22nd-ranked Lady Volunteers 86-36 blowout of Tennessee State.Diamond DeShields also got to rest for most of the fourth quarter as the Lady Vols (4-2) tuned up for Sundays home game with No. 4 Baylor.It was just a good little opportunity for us to come out and make it strictly about us, DeShields said. We knew we were the better team tonight. We knew we were going to win by a lot of points, but honestly it wasnt even about that. It was just about us.When youre playing a Baylor, you dont have as many opportunities to make mistakes. Everythings got to be flowing the right way if you want to come out on top of a team like that, so for us I think it was just important for everybody to work on whats been going wrong the last two games.The Lady Vols were back home for the first time since Nov. 13 after going 1-2 during a three-game road stretch that included consecutive losses to Penn State and Virginia Tech.Tennessee utilized its height advantage to avoid its first three-game losing streak since February 1986. The Lady Vols outrebounded Tennessee State 61-38 and outscored the Lady Tigers 48-12 in the paint.We didnt play anywhere near the way were capable of playing, and I give Tennessee all the credit, Tennessee State coach Larry Joe Inman said. When we say `tall order, literally they were a tall order.Nared and DeShields each posted double-doubles, with Nared having 16 points and 10 rebounds while DeShields added 15 points and 10 rebounds.Kortney Dunbar had 13 points and nine rebounds. Alexa Middleton had nine points and 11 assists. Schaquilla Nunn added eight points and 15 rebounds.Maxine Beard scored sevven points to lead Tennessee State (1-5).dddddddddddd.THE TAKEAWAYTennessee State: The Lady Tigers continued their shooting slump by going 5 of 22 from 3-point range and 8 of 43 from inside the arc. Tennessee State is shooting 35.3 percent overall and 26.1 percent from 3-point range amid a grueling early-season schedule featuring plenty of teams from bigger conferences. Tennessee States five losses have come against Xavier, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Wisconsin and Tennessee.Tennessee: The Lady Vols responded to their two-game skid by shuffling the lineup. Sophomore guard Meme Jackson made her first career start for Tennessee and Nunn was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for two of Tennessees last three games. They replaced the injured Reynolds as well as Middleton, who moved into a reserve role.INJURY NEWSTennessee was playing without usual starting point guard Jordan Reynolds, who hurt her hamstring Sunday at Virginia Tech. Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick expressed confidence that Reynolds would be available Sunday against Baylor.Tennessee State played without injured guard/forward Imani Davis, who was averaging 11.7 points per game.HONORING GATLINBURGTennessee participated in pregame warmups wearing special T-shirts with the word Gatlinburg over the Lady Vols logo to honor victims of the wildfires that have killed seven people and have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in the Great Smoky Mountains area.Warlick said she spoke this week with Lisa McGill Reagan, a Lady Vol from 1976-79 who lost her home in the fire.Ive lived here pretty much all my life and Ive never seen anything so devastating thats close to home, Warlick said.NEXT UPTennessee State: At Lipscomb on Dec. 11.Tennessee: Hosts No. 4 Baylor on Sunday. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '