(Nic Brown (LeMond
Fitness/Captain CRA-Z Soap) leading
Wes Sielger (West Virginia) through the start finish
when they were two minute up on the main field)
Wachovia US Pro Championships
Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2003
by Bil Innes
(Bill Innes, a member of the LeMond
Fitness/Captain CRA-Z Soap Pro Team, filed this report from the US Pro
Championships, where an estimated 500,000 people were in attendance for the race
through the streets of Philadelphia. The event received considerable regional
television coverage as well as national broadcasts on the Outdoor Life Network).
The day was starting out a little fuzzy. The
sun was hidden under a veil of mist that clung to the edges of the downtown
buildings like moss on trees. Where has the sun been, we all wondered, where has
it been all month? There was only coffee that tasted like it had come from a
latrine at the hotel but we had little time to enjoy it since we had to be at
the start nice and early. Parading around in your kit seems only to lock the
nerves up, but it was good exposure for our sponsors since we finally had
clothing to wear. Adrian (Laidler), Leigh (Palmer), Eneas (Freyre), Andy
(Crater) and I slipped our way down to the start, leaving Nic (Brown) behind to
get some last minute things together in the hotel.
At the start finish area we found the car
and broke out the leg oil since it was a little cold and wet. We made it over to
our tent where we met up with Helen Iams, who some of us would like to recruit
as team doctor. She gave me a quick little peak flow test, which I failed
miserably. I started hacking up some green stuff. Not a good sign before the
biggest race of the year. We lined up way to early but it was a chance to see
some of my friends that made the trip over from NYC to see the race, as well as
some old friends that I'd not seen since Boulder days. It was a good reunion,
but altogether shortened by the playing of the National Anthem. It was time to
go to work.
The horn sounded and we rode off for the
first of three short laps around the start finish area, then we streaked by for
the last time, heading for the first encounter with the 17% grade of the
infamous Manayunk wall. It was startling to hear all the screaming as the pack
pondered it's way up. It took a long time to reach the top as we were all
thinking of saving our legs, all except four guys who tore off the front and
quickly got two minutes on the pack. It stuck for the majority of the day. Nic
got himself into a move with Wes Siegler from Team West Virginia and they
planted themselves two minutes up on the pack and two minutes behind the
leaders.
The feed zone was a little chaotic so I went
back and forth from the car to get some refreshments for the boys. It was fun to
see the LeMond Fitness car up in the #2 spot in the caravan. It's usually buried
in the back somewhere, never to be seen. But now there it was in all its
stickered glory, which was good too, the decals only arrived that week. It'd
been funny to see a plain car feeding a pro team, though. So I grabbed the
bottles and snacks form Joe Holmes, rally driver extraordinaire, and headed up
the side of the pack to get all the boys. Andy got his special bottles delivered
at 35 mph, as did Adrian and Eneas. Leigh and I took to the back once again in
case we were going to cough up a lung or anyone needed anything.
The race flew by and we knew that it was
time the hammer fell. With 6 laps to go, after getting plenty of TV time, Nic
and his breakaway partner were caught. The pack then streaked up the hill like
a formula one car on a light load. I hung on for grim death and barely made it
onto the back of the field. Lemon Hill was next and that was more of the same,
as well as the flat section towards the finish, as well as...well pretty much it
went balls out until we hit the wall again and I got popped, but Andy, Nic, and
Adrian hung on. I met up with an Italian guy and he and chatted on the way into
the tents, though I've to be honest and confess that I didn't understand a
thing. He spoke a little too fast for my gutter Italian skills. Leigh and Eneas
were in the tent when I arrived and we slammed down some Cokes and got cleaned
up.
The pack continued tearing it up, capturing
the lead break of four guys with three laps to go and then it all went to hell.
Attack after attack until 50 men were left in the lead bunch. It seemed like
someone would get away, but it stayed together and the field sprint exploded on
the final run in to the line. It looked like streaks of red, yellow, white and
blue, but in the end it was Zanini from Saeco who pulled out the win, with Mark
McCormack becoming the US Pro champion with his fourth place finish.
In all it was a good day for LeMond
Fitness/Captain CRA-Z-Soap, considering we were all feeling a little under the
weather. We got some good exposure for the sponsors with Nic being out front all
day and with Adrian and Andy finishing it was good for morale. I'm off to get my
peak flow up...as well as find out where I can find the sun!
LeMond Fitness/Captain CRA-Z Soap is a
Division III professional cycling team with a focus on developing “stars of the
future”.
The LeMond Fitness/Captain CRA-Z Soap Pro
Cycling Team is proud to be sponsored by LeMond Fitness (www.lemondfitness.com),
Captain CRA-Z Hand and All Purpose Soap (www.cra-z.com),
Blender Magazine (www.blender.com),
American Italian Cancer Foundation (Honorary Sponsor -
www.aicfonline.org), Mazza Consulting, King Capital, K-Rain (www.K-Rain.com),
Aardvark Consulting (www.aardvarkconsulting.com),
MAL Capital, MiDa, Velocity (www.velocitygym.com),
Il Fiore Ristorante, Trilogy Capital, ComfortDirect.com, Passerelli Landscaping
Services, SoBe Lean (www.SoBeBev.com),
R&A Cycles (www.racycles.com)
as well as numerous individual benefactors.
Suppliers: LeMond Bicycles (www.lemondbikes.com),
Spinergy wheels (www.spinergy.com),
Profile Design (www.profile-design.com),
Northwave shoes (www.northwave.it),
Limar helmets (www.trialtir-usa.com/2003-limar/limar.htm),
Rudy Project (www.rudyproject.com),
DeFeet (www.DeFeet.com),
Speedplay (www.speedplay.com),
Nokian tires (www.nokiantyres.com/bike),
Mazur Coaching (MazurCoaching.com), Honey Stinger (www.honeystinger.com)
Visit the team web site at
www.KissenaSports.com
