CYCLING: ONE SPOT OPEN AT CYCLING TRIALS.

Byline: Mirjam Swanson Staff Writer

REDLANDS - A spot on the U.S. Olympic men's cycling team is at stake in today's Team USA Selection Race, which will take place over an 118.7-mile course at an altitude of 12,000 feet.

The course, which will be used for both the women's 73.1-mile selection race at 8:30 a.m. and then for the men's at 12:30 p.m., is a combination of the Redlands Bicycle Classic's Panorama Point Road Race and Sunset Road Race.

Chris Horner, a former four-time Classic champion who will compete for an Olympic spot on familiar ground, is considered a strong favorite. He admittedly is more dangerous during stage races than one-day affairs and also admits he is not riding with the same out-of-this-world form he had when he cruised to his fourth Classic victory in five years this past March.

And as the most dominant domestic rider around, he will be a closely marked man. But Horner is in Redlands. And the people of Redlands know what that means.

``Having the trials in Redlands just makes it comfortable for me,'' Horner said. ``I've been staying with the same host families (at Classics) for five, six years in a row, I know the area, I know the courses ... so I feel pretty comfortable when I get to Redlands.''

Horner would like to earn the Olympic berth that eluded him before, when he was passed over in favor of two lower-ranked riders in 1996.

``It's the Olympics, you really don't need any more motivation than that,'' Horner said.

Horner could be the one to benefit from USA Cycling's Olympic selection procedure. The winner of today's race will be nominated to join a team on which the other four spots are determined by international ranking.

Many other countries' cycling federations build Olympic teams by relying either solely on rankings or on both rankings and the votes of a committee.

``I think it's a good process,'' Horner said. ``I don't do international races (to collect UCI points), so one winner-take-all absolutely works in my favor.''

If Horner wins today, he would take the spot from other talented riders who haven't accumulated enough international points to crack the top four but could be contributors in Athens.

Veteran Fred Rodriguez is one of them. Rodriguez, 30, has ridden two Tour de France races and won his third USPRO championship in Philadelphia earlier this month. Out-sprinting cycling superstar Alessandro Petacchi in May's Giro d'Italia was a career highlight for the former Whittier resident, who now races for Italy's Aqua & Sapone team.

He'll be there to challenge today, along with the Navigators' Kirk O'Bee, who finished just behind Rodriguez at the USPRO championships.