Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504260035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Important enough that Motorola, the top American cycling team and defending team champion, made a last-minute decision to bolster its squad with one of the best climbers in the world - Colombian Alvaro Mejia.
Important enough to send Mejia from Italy to Virginia on Friday to check out the stages where most cycling experts think the Tour DuPont will be won or lost.
``Both stages are going to play a big role, but how big we won't know until the race starts,'' said Mejia, speaking through an interpreter. ``There are a lot of good riders coming over so you never know what's going to happen.''
Motorola announced this week that for the first time it's seven-man team for the Tour DuPont will include Mejia, who will be able to lend support to teammate Lance Armstrong. Mejia is also a strong time trialist who could contend for the overall title.
Armstrong, a native of Texas, is one of the favorites in the Tour DuPont field this year after finishing second the past two years. He will be battling again with defending champion Viatcheslav Ekimov of the Novell team.
Motorola's move should significantly impact the strategy of Novell, particularly in the first mountain stage of the race. Stage 4 is a 141-mile race from Lynchburg to Blacksburg on April 30 that includes five major climbs.
Steve Brunner, vice president of Medalist Sports, Inc., the Tour DuPont's organizer, said Novell had no climbers the caliber of Mejia.
``Motorola's strategy, therefore, may be to permit Mejia to attempt a breakaway on Stage 4 and see how Novell reacts,'' Brunner said. ``It seems apparent that Motorola is most afraid of Novell [for the overall standings] and knows its vulnerability is in the mountains.
`` ... In many ways, it makes Stage 4 more important than Stage 5 in the grand scheme. It may be one of the most interesting stages to monitor in this year's race.''
Stage 5 is the mountain time trial May 1 in the Roanoke Valley. A major tactical question is whether cyclists will attack in the Blacksburg stage or try to conserve energy for the time trial, where Ekimov took control of the race last year.
``I think the strongest riders will try and gain some time in the mountains,'' said Mejia, who was fourth overall in the 1993 Tour de France. ``If they are in good physical condition, the body recovers quickly. I don't think they will try and conserve energy for the time trial.''
by CNB