Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The course is unchanged and organizers of Stage 5 of the Tour DuPont hope the results will be the same, too.
Last year's time trial through the Roanoke Valley was the turning point in the Tour DuPont, the highest-rated non-European cycling race in the world. Russia's Viatcheslav Ekimov finished first in the stage and went on to win the overall championship in the 12-day race.
The Tour DuPont will make its second consecutive appearance in the Roanoke Valley the afternoon of Monday, May 1.
``This is considered the stage that will make or break the Tour,'' said Steve Brunner, vice president of Medalist Sports, Inc., who spoke at a news conference Wednesday in Roanoke. Medalist is the Richmond-based company that organizes the Tour DuPont, now in its seventh year.
In a time trial, cyclists race strictly against the clock. The Stage 5 course is the same as last year, with competitors leaving the Salem Civic Center at one-minute intervals. They will wind through Roanoke County, making climbs over Twelve O'Clock Knob and Mount Chestnut, before finishing at the city market in downtown Roanoke.
However, Stage 5 spectators will be treated to a slightly different show. The difference, Brunner said, is timing.
Last year, cyclists came into the time trial with ``fresh legs,'' Brunner said. This year, the overall course has been altered so that competitors will have one mountain stage - Lynchburg to Blacksburg - before coming to the Roanoke Valley.
``Riders will have to make a choice: Should they expend a lot of energy in the first mountain stage or save some of their reserves for the mountain time trial?'' Brunner said. ``[The Blacksburg stage] will take a lot out of the riders. The times might be slower [in the time trial], but I think it will really animate the race.''
Brunner said Medalist also has upgraded the Mount Chestnut climb to category 3 (on a scale from 1-4, with 1 being the most difficult) and added a check point at the top. The six quickest riders to the check point will earn points toward the King of the Mountains jersey, which is worth a monetary award at the end of the overall race.
Medalist also is considering adding a second time check on Mount Chestnut so that racers and fans can compare times of cyclists during the race, Brunner said. A computerized board at the finish line displays the times of top riders at the check points.
Meanwhile, members of Cycle Roanoke Valley, Inc., the non-profit organization that coordinates the valley's stage, have been busy obtaining local sponsorship. Brian Duncan, assistant director of economic development for Roanoke County and Cycle Roanoke Valley's vice president, said the group has met 48 percent of its fund-raising goal of $120,000.
``That's the number actually committed,'' Duncan said. ``We're so far ahead of where we were at this time last year.''
Included in that money is the rights fee of $7,500 paid to Medalist and an $8,000 debt from last year. Duncan also added that Cycle Roanoke Valley Inc., still is negotiating for a title sponsor for the stage.
NOTES: The Roanoke Valley's stage was shown on a tape-delayed basis on ESPN from 12:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. the night of the race last year. Its 0.61 market share was second only to the Tour's overall finish in Winston-Salem (0.73) in terms of viewing audience. ... On May 1, ESPN will broadcast highlights of the stage from 5:30-6 p.m., and ESPN2 will air a show from 6:30-7 p.m. ... Bill Clark, the Roanoke City public works director, is restructuring the finish at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Williamson Road. The intersection was open last year and caused problems with cyclists riding into traffic. One lane of traffic likely will be closed and barricades set up.
by CNB