LONDON - Dont award Mark Cavendish the gold medal in the London 2012 Olympic Games road race just yet. The sprinter from the Isle of Man will be carrying the weight of the home nation when he goes to the starting line Saturday morning on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace, but many riders are picking 22-year-old Slovakian sensation Peter Sagan to upstage the British star. "Hes the biggest talent Ive ever seen," American sprinter Tyler Farrar said Friday. Farrars teammate, 40-year-old Chris Horner, thinks the 250-kilometre road course and its nine circuits of the punchy Box Hill climb in the Surrey countryside could be too much for Cavendish, who prefers flatter courses with straight finishes. Horner thinks Sagan, who has shown the ability to easily handle more moderate climbs, is the rider to beat after his revelatory rides in the Tour of California and the Tour de France. "Hes probably the biggest threat to Cavendish," Horner said. "Hes going to destroy the field up the climb at some point. I dont think he wants to come to the finish with Cavendish, and certainly his odds of winning are going to be fantastic if he comes with a small group." There are certainly other riders who have the ability to shake up a sprint finish. Germanys Andre Greipel is coming off three stage wins during the Tour de France. Australias Matthew Goss has shown good legs most of the season, and hes backed by a strong team that includes former Tour winner Cadel Evans, Simon Gerrans and Michael Rogers. "Youve got to have a really open mind for this race," Goss said. "Its not just Box Hill. Youre going up and theres no descent straight away. Its up and down, undulating the whole lap. Its going to be really hard to control with five guys. I could see a few of the bunches get together." Thats what the American team thinks will happen, too. Sagan likely will try to split the peloton on Box Hill, positioning himself in the first group with the knowledge his sprinting prowess should allow him to pull away late. Cavendish likely will be in a trailing group, leaving it to a British team that features Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and stage winners David Millar and Chris Froome to pace him back to the front over the roughly 30 miles from Box Hill to the finish line. "I would put Sagan down as my absolute favourite," Horner said, "if he can arrive here with the same form hes had all year, which I dont see why not." "Hes going to be extremely strong on the climb, and maybe have a little bit of patience to see if someone else attacks," Horner said. "But if not, hes going to definitely split it on the climb at some point in time. Hell be in the front group and Cavendish will be in the second, third or fourth group, but Sagan will definitely be featured at some point." Sagans big breakthrough came in this years Tour of California, where he won five of eight stages and was second in another. His impressive form carried over to the Tour de France. Sagan and Cavendish each won three stages, but the Slovak won the coveted green jersey given to the rider who amasses the most points during the sprints. Its the same jersey that Cavendish won last year. "We just have to key off those guys," said New Zealands Greg Henderson, one of the darkhorse sprinters hoping Cavendish gets dropped on Box Hill. "I race them every weekend. I just raced three weeks around France with them. Im not intimidated at all. I know how to go against them." Still, Cavendish is the favourite to win for a nation burning with cycling fever. Bookmakers around London are generally taking 5-4 odds on the "Manx Missle" to deliver the road race gold medal. Sagan is generating the next-best odds, depending on where you go, with Greipel, Goss and Belgian rider Philippe Gilbert also getting some action. What if Gilbert was a betting man? "I wouldnt bet on Cavendish as the odds are too low," he said with a laugh. "I would take a bit more of a risk. I dont know. Perhaps I would bet on Sagan." He wouldnt be alone. cheap nfl jerseys . After his father left when he was not yet 2 years old, Lee Brooks raised him and his six older siblings by working multiple jobs, building and rebuilding automotive parts and working in the fields of Northern California. cheap jerseys from china . The third-ranked Spaniard withdrew from the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Tendinitis has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June. http://www.cheapjerseysnflchina.us/[/ur... . Cheer tackle Willie Roafs induction. Watch Drew Brees produce a touchdown on his only try. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysnflchina.us/]wholesale jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. cheap jerseys . The accident occurred when driver Justin Wilson struck the back of Bourdais car Friday morning during the first of two practice sessions. Chuck Homan, a member of Bourdais Dragon Racing team, has leg injury. TOKYO -- The International Ice Hockey Federation is operating on the assumption that NHL players will take part in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "Weve prepared everything with the idea that NHL players will be there," IIHF President Rene Fasel said Friday. "Weve decided about the format and expect them to be there." Fasel was re-elected to another four-year term as president at the IIHFs general congress in Tokyo. Just 16 months before the 2014 Sochi Games, NHL players are not certain to compete in the two-week tournament in Russia run by the IIHF. Fasel said the tournament will start a day later than the 2010 games in Vancouver. "We decided to start on Wednesday instead of Tuesday," Fasel said. "In Vancouver, we started on Tuesday but the players will need more time to travel to Russia. It will mean less rest between games but we have to start oon Wednesday.dddddddddddd." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said no decision is imminent about possibly shutting down for two weeks to accommodate an Olympics in which some games would be played in the middle of the night in North America, thus affecting TV viewership and interest. Before the NHL makes up its mind, a collective bargaining agreement between owners and players must be negotiated. The NHL locked out its players on Sept. 16 when talks broke down. The two sides plan to meet again Friday. Russian player Alex Ovechkin, one of the NHLs signature stars, is threatening to play in Sochi no matter what the NHL does. Fasel said the NHL could decide as late as January not to come but the tournament will go ahead. "Well play the tournament anyway," Fasel said. "There are not only 750 NHL players playing hockey in the world." ' ' '