Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504270014
SECTION: TOUR DUPONT PAGE: TD-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Look at a calendar, though, and it becomes clear this stage will be much different from last year.
Stage 4, which will take place April 30, covers 141 miles from the flatlands of Lynchburg to the mountains that loom above Blacksburg. Other than the fact that the riders will take a longer swing through Blacksburg before finishing at the Virginia Tech Mall, the route basically is the same as last year's Stage 6.
The major difference has less to do with distance and altitude than it does with the day of the week. This year, the Lynchburg-to-Blacksburg stage will be ridden the day before the Roanoke Valley time trial. Last year, the time trial was run first.
As slight as the switch may seem, it will have a major impact on race strategy. The time trial was the turning point of the race last year. Viatcheslav Ekimov put on the yellow jersey after winning the time trial last year and rolled on to the overall championship.
``Last year, a lot of things were decided after the time trial,'' said Jim Birrell, the technical director of Medalist Sports, Inc., which organizes the tour. ``Ekimov put a lot of time on the rest of the field during the time trial. All he had to do after that was just be on [second-place rider] Lance Armstrong's shirttail.
``I just thought it would be interesting to have a tough mountain stage before the time trial. It will make for an exciting Stage 5 race. ... Our goal is to see the yellow jersey change hands as many times as possible. If we don't accomplish that this year, I don't know how to do it.''
Since the first four stages of last year's race were reasonably flat, the riders entered the Roanoke Valley with fresh legs. Now, with a long mountain stage preceding the time trial, riders must decide either to attack the mountains and risk being fatigued for the time trial or to race conservatively during Stage 4 and save strength for the Roanoke Valley.
``If you're having a good day, maybe you should just go for it and try to win [the stage],'' said Bart Bowen, a rider for the Saturn team. ``There's a good chance you'll be able to bounce back the next day. If you're just barely making it [in Stage 4], if you're having to kill yourself the whole way, you should probably be a little more conservative or you won't be able to show up the next day.''
The toughest portion of Stage 4 comes in the final 30 miles. About 110 miles into the race, riders begin to ascend Salt Pond Mountain in Giles County, a Category 1 (the most severe) climb that reaches 4,000 feet near Mountain Lake. Ten miles later there is a shorter climb up Brush Mountain, then a steep hill welcomes riders into Blacksburg.
``That Mountain Lake climb is one of the hardest climbs in the Tour,'' Bowen said. ``When you hit it, you've got some serious miles in your legs. The last 20 miles you've got some real big rollers and a steep wall into town.''
Those climbs thinned out the pack last year, leaving only five riders with a chance to win. Oscar Pellicioli won in 6 hours, 28 minutes, 27 seconds.
Stage 4 begins at 9 a.m. in Lynchburg and should end in Blacksburg around 3 p.m. The course winds north of Bedford then heads toward a Category 2 climb near the Peaks of Otter. There is a Category 3 climb up North Mountain between Fincastle and New Castle, then another Category 3 climb, 2,780 feet up John's Creek Mountain in Craig County.
From there, the altitude dips no lower than 2,000 feet above sea level.
The only major difference in this year's course is the extended swing through Blacksburg. The riders will come into town along Harding Avenue, then they'll take a swing around the Virginia Tech Drill Field and head for downtown along Kent and Washington streets before sprinting down Main Street toward the finish line on the mall.
The Blacksburg portion was extended to give an expected crowd of more than 30,000 a better opportunity to see the riders.
by CNB