At 36, Czezlaw Lukaszewicz of Chateauguay, Que., was possibly riding his last hope to compete at an Olympic Games at the national championships in Peterborough, Ont., this past July. But he surprised even himself to win the men's road race and automatically gain a berth on the Olympic team. It was his fourth career Canadian cycling crown.

 "It's a dream come true for me," said Lukaszewicz, a father of two. "I never thought I'd beat those guys. I just told myself that I wanted to be dead tired at the end of the race. I'm dead tired."

 Lukasczewicz races mostly in North America during the summer to gain some prize money. He is member of a pro team based in the Czech Republic but they have a low budget and can't afford to fly him out to Europe very often. His wife works as a nurse and during the winter Lukasczewicz minds the family household.

 He competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria and finished ninth.

2000 Games
Sept. 27: Men's road race: Czeslaw Lukaszewicz, Quebec City did not finish.


2000 Games Cycling Coverage