Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 10, 1994 TAG: 9405100122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Hopefully, [the incline] will slow them down enough so I can get some good shots," Eberlein said, pointing to the three or four cameras and scads of film he had packed in the back of his car. His license plate read "Cycler 1."
But when Eberlein arrived on the mountain, Vinton resident Aaron Craig was already there. Craig thought the road was to be blocked off at 7 a.m., so the recent Roanoke College graduate arrived at 6:30. The racers weren't scheduled to pedal by until close to 11:30.
The pair didn't mind the wait, though. By 10 a.m., they had a preview as racers warmed up on the hill and non-tour cyclists made a try at the mountain - from groupies in mock team uniforms riding decked-out bikes to obvious amateurs on beat-up 10-speeds.
"You can usually tell by the facial expressions who's in the tour," Craig said.
Craig jokingly compares the hard-core fans to the groupies who follow the Grateful Dead on tour, consumed by their pastime to the point of near-obsession.
"They're like Deadheads," he explains of the cycling fans. "My friends were like, 'I'm going to follow the Dead this summer. ' I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm going to follow the Tour DuPont.' "
As race time nears, a dozen or so have gathered at the curve, equipped with a portable TV, police scanners, cameras and starting lists. It's an enthusiastic crowd, and when ESPN and CBS commentator Phil Liggett chugs by on a bike, the group cheers. Then two tour workers cruise by in an official tour Saturn, selling official tour programs, at $5 a pop.
Several spectators gathered on the curve shell out the money and ask the driver to autograph theirs. She says she's the national snowboard champion, and who's to say different?
The racers start to come by - some slowly, with faces contorted and teeth gritted, others faster, with an even pace and muscles pumping. It's five miles into the time trial and about half a mile from the top of 12 O'clock Knob, where racers can acquire points toward a "king of the mountain" jersey.
The beginning stages of the race favored sprinters, and spectators are eager to see who will excel on the first-ever mountain time trial.
"This will change the classification. This will tell who's in shape," says tour worker Jan Nachtergaele, a Belgian and former racer who has traveled to the United States the past three years to work the Tour DuPont. "Time trials don't lie."
Eberlein is more blunt: "This will separate the men from the boys."
Rob Bushnell, routing coordinator for the tour, is cheering on everyone who comes by. He says he doesn't have any favorites. It's his job to oversee the workers who put up the direction and distance signs for the cyclists and the spectators. Getting to watch the race and know the racers is just a perk of the job.
An urban planner in the Washington, D.C., area, Bushnell takes off two or three weeks a year to work with Tour DuPont.
"It's like travelling with the circus."
by CNB