Cassani's game of catch-up

Barbara Cassani will be an American in Paris when she arrives on Tuesday, but she will have more than sight-seeing on her mind. She could be excused some wishful thinking - that something untoward happens in the French capital as the World Athletics Championships unfold.

Nothing life-threatening, of course - but a New York-style blackout would do nicely, putting a timely spoke in the Parisian wheel as it gathers momentum towards Olympic D-Day in 2005 for bids for the 2012 Games.

The London bid leader has already missed a trick by Bank Holidaying at home rather than making herself busy with the bigwigs of the International Olympic Committee and International Association of Athletic Federations over the past few days. When she does eventually touch down, the former airline chief will find, rather like the London bid itself, that she has a lot of catching up to do.

As you might expect, Paris is using its obvious charms to woo potential IOC votes, and will not be shy of demonstrating its eminent suitability as host city for 2012 by staging a showpiece at the Stade de France. From chic to cheek, as it were.

True, there was something of a technical hitch with that computer cock-up which made a French farce of the voting procedure for places on the IAAF Council when Seb Coe cemented his position as front-runner for the post of Cassani's chief aide-de-camp by obtaining a vital seat for the UK. The Parisian own goal cancelled out the one scored in the big athletics meeting at Crystal Palace a fortnight ago, when the 100 metres failed to go like clockwork.

This is how it is going to be from now on as this Olympic tale of two cities reaches its denouement in Singapore just under two years from now. Of course, there are seven other contenders, but for the moment it is Paris v London, going tête à tête.

Ignore the chauvinistic William Hill odds of 7-4 on London. Paris, with so much already up and running, is clear favourite at this stage of the Games, as Cassani well knows. This is why she has been holding brainstorming sessions with her embryo team in an attempt to find ways of off-setting the early Parisian advantage.

Like the Government, London's bidders need to be adept at burying bad news. Maybe the Sports Minister, Richard Caborn, here on a flying visit this weekend, will be able to offer some advice.

What is apparent is that London desperately needs some top-level PR, without becoming paranoid. As Alain Lunzenfichtel, Olympic correspondent of France's daily sports newspaper, L'Equipe, says: "The French don't have the same obsession with London that Londoners have with the French.''

Even so, the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, who is Cassani and Ken Livingstone rolled into one as he also chairs the French bid, will be quick to point out to visiting VIP's that whereas London has not staged an Olympics since 1948, Paris has not had a summer Games since 1924. Moreover, it was at the University of the Sorbonne in 1894 that a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founded the modern Olympic movement.

As they run down the Rue de la Paix next weekend, the World Championships mara-thoners may experience a taste of things to come, with Paris's Olympic posters already plastered all over the city, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Stade de France. The get up and Go girl who once also worked for British Airways had better get here quick and start flying the flag.