
DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709270138

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 16   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   78 lines

FITNESS WORKS IS OVERPOWERING IN NASA-LANGLEY RACING SERIES

THE FITNESS WORKS Racing team is a rarity.

The cycling team has enjoyed total domination of the NASA-Langley bicycle racing series. This year, it won all 26 races in the series, a first for the five-year event and a rarity in any sport at any level.

And a surprise to members of the team.

``Nobody had ever come close to doing that,'' said Bill Collins, the team's unofficial spokesman. ``It got to be a big deal, to the point where we were racing against everybody else and they were all out to get us.''

That mentality actually helped the nine-member team that features cyclists from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and the Peninsula.

``It made it more competitive and it made us race truly as a team,'' Collins said. ``Not many of the teams raced that way and that's what you have to do to win.''

The criterium series runs from March to September on the Peninsula on a banked, asphalt course eight-tenths of a mile long. Each event is 35 miles.

While the NASA-Langley series is considered a local training event, there are cash prizes and that attracts some lofty talent, according to Collins. Some teams have six-figure budgets.

``There are several former Olympians in it and racers from all over the world,'' he said. ``That's what makes it so good.''

But few had the team frame of mind that FWR does. Sponsored by Fitness Works - a local exercise equipment company - owners John Carey and Gordon Bingen, and cycling companies like Fuji, FWR had the big-time look.

``But we didn't think like that,'' Collins said. ``We didn't care who won individually, it was for the team and we worked like that.''

And on any good team, unselfishness is a key element.

Still, FWR members obviously looked out for Collins, who won 22 of the 26 races and is the current leader in the Pro/Am Division of the Omnium Standings for a state championship. Points are awarded for criterium events (circular courses), time trials and road races. The state points road race is today in Charlottesville and a good placement would get him the state title. He leads a former Olympian by several points.

And Collins has a shot at winning - having added the Mid-Atlantic masters road race title last weekend over a field of 75 competitors. Teammates Jeff Parker and Bob Collins - no relation - were second and fourth, respectively. It was the fourth-straight year that a FWR member has won the title.

Coupled with the series sweep, FWR can now lay claim to being the dominant force in state cycling.

While that might not seem like a big deal, it is.

``Cycling in this state is much bigger than anybody thinks,'' Collins said. ``It's very competitive. There are some big companies that pay big salaries, lots over six figures, to teams. These teams have guys who do nothing but race.''

Bringing us to another element that makes FWR different. Of the nine members, seven hold full-time jobs and one is a student in college.

Next year, the group will step up a level and do more touring around the country. That will require even more time than the group already puts in.

``We cycle from 300 to 350 miles a week year-round,'' said Collins, a former Navy officer and runner. ``Some of us only have a few more years left doing this and we want to see how high we can go with it.''

So far, so good. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

The Fitness Works Racing team, from left, Bob Collins, Bobby Powell,

Jerry Burkett, Bill Collins, Noel Wick and Jeff Parker. Not

pictured, Tom Ozoroski, Jeremy Eizensopf and Troy Catapano.

Graphic

TEAM ROSTER

Bob Collins-Virginia Beach

Bobby Powell-Williamsburg

Jerry Burkett-Newport News

Bill Collins-Virginia Beach

Noel Wick-Norfolk

Jeff Parker-Virginia Beach