Can you win a World Championship alone? The answer is yes. A very eloquent example is the World Championship in Plouay, France, on October 15, 2000, won by Latvian Romans Vainsteins. 25 years have passed since the rider adopted by Lombards won under the rain in Plouay. Vainsteins, born on March 3, 1973, gave his best in the 2000 season: he won the last stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in San Benedetto del Tronto, the Coppa Bernocchi in Legnano, 2 stages in the Rhineland Tour (Germany), and then triumphed in Plouay. Sunday, October 15, 2000, the most beautiful day of the courageous sprinter Vainsteins' career.

It was also a special day for the town of Plouay, with just over 5,000 inhabitants, in the Morbihan department of Brittany. In a land where cycling is a religion, the crowd was impressive. The race covered a distance of 268.9 kilometers. There were 19 laps to complete, and bad weather complicated things for the riders. It was cold, and simultaneously in northern Italy, there were massive floods and landslides. The sky above Plouay grew increasingly gloomy, but the riders' jerseys still shone. Latvia started with just 3 riders: Vainsteins, Nate Reiss, also known for mountain bike victories, and young Raivis Belohvosciks. In reality, midway through the race, Reiss and Belohvosciks were already out, and Vainsteins found himself alone defending his country's colors against the powerhouses of Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, and all the more cycling-advanced nations.

But Romans didn't give up, staying cautiously near the front of the main group. The Latvian was in his final races as a member of the Caldirola Sports Group of proud Brianza origin. Vainsteins already had a contract to join the new Domo-Farm Frites in January 2001 and wanted to bring an important achievement with him. Plenty happened during the race, with no shortage of tactical misunderstandings. They reached the final lap with increasing escape attempts, but these were futile, with the main group repeatedly becoming compact again. Everyone thought Oscar Freire would win in a sprint, like the previous year in Verona. Instead, the tough Vainsteins skillfully positioned himself in the trains of the strongest riders and powerfully emerged in the center of the straight ahead of everyone.

Romans became World Champion, ahead of Polish rider Zbigniew Spruch, with Oscar Freire third, and Michele Bartoli in fourth place earning the title of best Italian. In reality, the Pisan was furious, as not everything had gone well for the Italian team in the finale. Paolo Bettini, ninth place, was accused of not leading out Miki Bartali. Perhaps it would have been better to have Bartoli pilot the sprint for Paolo, who was notoriously more explosive. The post-2000 World Championship Italian team's locker room was about to become a powder keg. Vainsteins' rainbow jersey made Nando Caldirola, a wine entrepreneur and team patron, happy. Except for Caldirola's fans, all other Italians present in Plouay and those watching on TV were sad. Endless controversies followed the race, and Antonio Fusi lost his position as national coach because of the World Championship's outcome.

Romans, the lone man against everyone, defeated the powerhouses. We emphasize, this has happened rarely in World Championship history, but one can also race alone, or almost alone, and win, as did American Greg Lemond in Altenrhein (Switzerland) in 1983 and Irish Stephen Roche in Villach (Austria) in 1987.

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) km 268.9 average 42.970; 2. Zbigniew Spruch (Poland); 3. Oscar Freire (Spain); 4. Michele Bartoli; 5. Tobias Steinhauser (Ger); 6. Niki Aebersold (Switzerland); 7. Scott Sunderland (Australia); 8. Chann McRae (USA); 9. Paolo Bettini; 10. Francesco Casagrande.