ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010009
SECTION: TOUR DUPONT PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 2, 1996.
In the Boones Mill map on page 8 of Wednesday's Tour DuPont preview
section, the road passing through Boones Mill was mislabeled. It should
have been labelled U.S. 220. Also on page 8, the map of the Roanoke
finish was wrong. A corrected version of the finish map appears today on
page B4.
With its varied and sometimes difficult terrain and its position between two of the more critical stages of the 1996 Tour DuPont, Stage 5 from Mount Airy, N.C., to Roanoke figured to be one of the least predictable parts of the race.
Then they brought money into it.
Twenty-five thousand dollars will be up for grabs Sunday when the Tour goes from Mayberry (the town in the ``Andy Griffith Show'' was based on Mount Airy) to strawberries (the annual strawberry festival is this weekend in downtown Roanoke). A short sprint line in Stuart alone will be worth $10,000.
Thanks to all that green - from a start that will feature a Barney Fife impersonator to the finish on Jefferson Street in Roanoke - Stage 5 is anybody's race.
``If there's going to be a freak breakaway, chances are Stage 5 is where it's going to happen,'' said Steve Brunner, vice president of Tour organizer Medalist Sports, Inc.
According to Brunner, Stage 6 (from Salem to Blacksburg) and Stage 8 (Bristol to Beech Mountain, N.C.) were established as the most difficult days of the race. Many riders originally looked at Stage 5 as an opportunity to rest - as much as a 113-mile mountain course allows.
Medalist, however, ensured that wouldn't be the case when it persuaded DuPont to put up $10,000 for the Stuart sprint line, just 27 miles from the start. As a bonus, 10 seconds will be deducted from the time of the rider who is leading the race when it reaches Stuart. So instead of dogging it in the flatlands, race participants will be rolling for dollars.
``The sprinters are going to be happy with that; I don't know if the people who win the stage will be happy about that,'' Brunner said. ``It will force such a hard tempo at the start of the race, it adds a new dynamic.''
The standing of some of the race's most powerful teams, like defending champion Motorola or the world's No.1-ranked unit, Mapei-GB, will be affected if too many upstart riders decide to dash for the cash.
``With money on the line, all of a sudden you get a couple guys who fly off the front and try to break away and Motorola has to make a cognizant decision, knowing that tomorrow they have 134 miles of very rough terrain: Do they go chase, or do they not?'' Brunner said. ``You pick and choose when you use your energy.''
Once the riders hit Sugarloaf Mountain in Franklin County (the 58-mile mark), there won't be a choice. It's going to take everything the riders have to scale the first mountains of the eighth edition of the the Tour. The toughest climb comes at Cahas Mountain, the 88-mile point.
``You can look at the profile and see it's a rollercoaster ride,'' said Jim Birrell, the course designer. ``The nice thing about Stage 5 is the really winding corners. You could break away and not be seen and only be a mile-and-a-half away.''
That definitely will be true on the descent from Cahas, known at that point as Five Mile Mountain. The road's switchbacks are sharp and dangerous. David Talbott, chairman of Franklin County's organizing committee, said that is one of his few concerns about the stage.
``I'm glad we're going to have the Tactical Rescue Team behind them,'' Talbott said.
After the riders get all wound up on the mountain's twist and turns, they will straighten themselves out with a sprint line through Boones Mill, where another 10-second bonus awaits the leader. The race course crosses U.S.220, which will be closed in the southbound lane from Va.613 to the point where the northbound lane meets Va.684. The logistics have presented a difficult task for race organizers, who will close 220 for a half-hour beginning at about 4 p.m.
Franklin County sheriffs Capt.Billy Overton said his main concern will be ensuring the safety of the mass of spectators expected to flock to Boones Mill. A traffic buildup is unavoidable.
``They've had so many accidents on 220, people ought to be used to having it closed,'' Talbott said jokingly.
Once the race leaves Boones Mill, the riders have one more climb up Lynville Mountain to Windy Gap before following Va.116 through Mount Pleasant to Ninth Street. Spectators at the Jefferson Street finish line will be able to see it all develop on ``Big Mo,'' the big-screen television which will be on display. Riders are expected to finish between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
``Because there are some key mountains right outside the city, seeing all that transpire on the big screen will make it very dramatic when these guys finally hit the final circuit,'' Brunner said.
``Stage 5 could be one of those stages, because of the money and because teams may be looking ahead to Stage 6 ... all of a sudden it could put a lot of pressure on this stage being a big, big stage without anybody really knowing until it actually plays out.''
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: 2 charts. color. 3 maps. color.by CNB