"We avoid having hot shots take off and leave slower riders in the dust."

More important, it would add to construction time, leaving riders at risk for at least two more years.

Billows of acrid smoke then infiltrated a nine-car No. 3 train, leaving riders gasping for breath, vomiting and sobbing with fright.

Although that left most rival riders behind, it forced Armstrong to work harder than he wanted to.

At one of the two busiest stations, Peachtree Center, escalators broke Saturday, leaving riders to walk up 132 steps to the street.

It is themed after a canal race through Roman ruins and leaves riders completely soaked after the ride.

It simply ascends the tower and then drops down, with the track curving to horizontal, leaving riders on their backs.

That would leave enough riders to populate a large city standing in long lines the first few days after the fare increase.

The race usually leaves riders caked in mud and grit, from the cobbled roads and rutted tracks of northern France's former coal-mining region.

It broke down often and in 1999 the last two cars derailed just before the final brake, leaving riders stranded for a couple of hours.