Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405080104
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
To the side, his six teammates will stand, basking in the glory, content in knowing that their pain, hard work and sacrifice are what made the victory possible.
Like basketball and football, cycling is team sport. In a 12-day stage race like the Tour DuPont, cycling becomes the ultimate team experience.
The overall individual title is worth $40,000, but an additional $160,000 is available in the Tour, which runs through the Roanoke Valley on Monday and from Lynchburg to Blacksburg on Tuesday. Money is awarded each day for stage victories and at the end of the race for the top sprinter, climber and young rider and the top team performance.
The most coveted prize, however, is the individual title, and it takes an elite athlete in awe-inspiring shape to win. A keen knowledge of cycling logistics and team strategy also are essential.
Not all of the 16 teams - 10 professional and six amateur - entered in the Tour are capable of winning the individual title, so teams must assess their strengths and their opponents' weaknesses and set realistic goals.
The strategy begins when teams choose riders for the cycling season, which commences in February. Seven to 19 riders usually comprise a team.
Each team in the Tour DuPont fields seven riders, including a designated leader who will vie for the overall title. How are the other six riders chosen?
"Generally, there are people on the squad who are geared toward stage races and others who are one-day racers," said Greg "Sarge" Christopherson, general manager of Chevrolet-LA Sheriff, which won the team title in the 1993 Tour DuPont.
"Occasionally, there's hurt feelings - `You're going, you're going, you're not going,' " Christopherson said. "But when it's a close call you have to look at rider history, current form and which course we're riding."
Christopherson said the field for a stage race such as the Tour DuPont could be broken down into three categories: favorites, maybes and long shots.
Usually a race field contains four or five favorites, teams likely to have their leader in contention to win the overall title.
"Favorites try to prevent any surprises, cover all the bases," Christopherson said. "They're on the offensive, yet focus on the defensive side also to control the race."
Three to four teams fall into the category of maybes, teams that have a lot of potential or that are riding a hot streak.
"Maybes are opportunists," Christopherson said. "You never know what's going to happen with them. They can win a stage or even take the yellow [leader's] jersey if they get the right breaks.
"Maybes won't do any of the work. They'll let the other five [favorite] teams do that and then capitalize on their efforts."
The long shots, teams with nothing to lose, comprise the rest of the field. Amateur teams usually fall in this category.
"They'll take the big risks with an all-or-nothing attitude. They'll try breakaways at unusual times and try and catch people off guard," Christopherson said. "Cycling is a sport where anything can happen.
"If a long shot is in a good position at the right time, maybe riding on the wheel of a favored rider, he could conceivably turn that into a spot on the podium."
Regardless of which category it falls under, each team focuses on advancing its team leader toward the individual title and placing other members high in the general classification.
Twenty thousand dollars is awarded for second place and $10,000 for third overall. Prize money is split, an incentive for every team member to work as hard as possible.
A secondary goal for most teams is the team championship, which carries a $5,000 prize. Most don't enter the Tour DuPont aiming for the team title but will focus on it toward the end of the race.
"You'd throw that out the window, sacrifice everything to have someone win the yellow jersey," Christopherson said. "But sometimes it just happens naturally.
"Last year, we looked and said, `Hey, we have a shot at the team title,' and won it."
Prestige - along with $1,750 - is attached to each of the Tour's stage wins. The sprint jersey and mountain jersey are worth $5,000 each, and the Best Young Racer Award carries $1,000.
In addition, teams often can earn more money with incentive pools provided by sponsors. Team sponsors may offer bonuses, which Christopherson said are kept confidential but generally range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Cyclists also may have independent sponsors that will offer incentives for specific accomplishments. For example, a rider may have a contract with a sunglasses manufacturer which pays him a certain amount for every day he wears the yellow jersey - with those sunglasses on, of course.
A $10,000 bonus will be awarded May 13 to the winner of Stage 9 - a 132-mile road race from Asheville, N.C. to Charlotte, N.C. - courtesy of a corporate sponsor in the area.
The quintessential "pay for performance" occurred last year when American Lance Armstrong won $1 million for his sweep of the Thrifty Drug Triple Crown.
Although team sponsors play a large part in cycling, they usually don't dictate actual strategy in the race. The brains behind the brawn are the general manager and the director sportif (team manager), who meet with the team before each race and each stage.
The teams assign jobs and discuss individual riders and the course as well as various scenarios that may occur during the race.
"All the pain, suffering, danger, headaches - that's the normal stuff," Christopherson said. "When you start using your brain tactics . . . that's when you make a winner."
Christopherson noted that a team often will change its strategy several times during a stage depending on how the race unfolds. Team vehicles riding behind the pack are tuned in to the Tour's radio channel so managers are aware of what is happening in the race even if they can't see it.
For example, when a breakaway occurs at the front of the pack, an opposing team must recognize the rider, determine if he's a threat and decide whether or not they need to chase.
However, sometimes numbers are misread and the radio transmission can get confusing, causing teams to lose precious seconds. Christopherson said it's helpful when riders are able to communicate with each other and the support staff in their team vehicles.
"A rider will drop back to the team support vehicle and ask what's going on," he said. "We give them information and advice on what to do next and pass it along to each other. They'll get together and talk."
Another innovative mode of communication is used exclusively by the powerful team Motorola, whose sponsor manufacturers radios. Team members wear headsets and are able to communicate with support staff without having to drop back.
"It's very expensive," Christopherson said. "It's a definite advantage and convenient, but I wouldn't say it has caused them to win.
"It has helped, but the Tour DuPont still comes down to who has the best overall team."
by CNB