(The
Taylor Street Hill and the crowds were awe-inspiring)
(Cameron Hughes at the front as
the field pass the start/finish)
T-Mobile International
San Francisco Grand Prix
September 14, 2003
The LeMond Fitness/Captain
CRA-Z-Soap team rolled into town and prepared for the big hills of San Francisco
by training down south in Redwood City. The long steep hills near Billy Innes’
house would hopefully prepare the racers for the punishing SFGP circuit.
Fillmore hill was a steep 18 percent climb that, rumor had it, went on forever,
and Taylor hill was 16 percent and just a couple of blocks shorter. Throw in a
bunch of top European pros like Stephano Garzelli and Gilberto Simoni (both
recent winners of the Tour of Italy); Alexander Vinokourov (winner of the 2003
Paris-Nice), Lance Armstrong and their respective teams and you have one of the
biggest races in the country. Our team has been looking forward to this race all
year and everyone was going to do his best to get a good result.
The crowds that lined the course were enormous.
There was an estimated 600,000 people there all trying to get a better look at
the riders suffering their way up the climbs that rose like walls of asphalt.
The first time the racers saw Fillmore there was a collective gasp that tore
through the pack. It goes straight up and the lowest gear we used barely got us
up and over. Our legs and lungs were on fire. Climbing the Taylor Street hill
shortly afterward produced the same burning from lactic acid and riders began to
get spit off the rear of the pack. The crowd was so loud in places you found it
hard to hear yourself think. The race had us riding up these hills 10 times and
each time the crowd got louder and louder.
New recruit Aaron Olsen had a rough day, with
three
mechanicals and a whole lot of chasing the peloton; it was a long day for him.
Our other new signing, young Ian MacGregor (20) fared well in the bunch for
most of the race, but like Billy Innes, Eneas Freyre and Leigh Palmer, the
climbs and the pace finally took their toll and they were forced to retire along
with a boatload of European racers. Cameron Hughes stuck to the pack and climbed
like a mountain goat. In the final few miles leading up to the sprint finish,
Hughes lost a few places avoiding the crashes of Miguel Meza (Schroeder Iron)
and Scottie Weiss (West Virginia). When it was over he managed a very
respectable top-20 finish behind deserving winner, Chris Horner (Saturn).
It was a great experience for the first-year
LeMond Fitness/Captain CRA-Z Soap team. San Francisco is truly a world-class
event that we’re lucky to have.
Results
T-Mobile International
San Francisco Grand Prix
September 14, 2003
1 Chris Horner
(USA) Saturn Cycling Team (4.24.33)
2 Mark McCormack (USA) Saturn Cycling Team (@ 0.49)
3 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor (@ 1.02)
4 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Team Telekom (@ 1.04)
5 Uros Murn (Slo) Vini Caldriola/Formaggi Pinzolo
6 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators
7 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze
8 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Vini Caldriola/Formaggi Pinzolo
9 Lorenzo Cardellini (Ita) Domina Vacanze
10 Eric Wohlberg (Can) Saturn Cycling Team
11 Mike Sayers (USA) Health Net
12 Ted Huang (USA) Webcor Cycling Team
13 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Team Telekom
14 Andy Bajadali (USA) Ofoto - Lombardi Sports
15 Alex Candelario (USA) Prime Alliance Cycling Team
16 Mark Walters (Can) Navigators
17 Gordon McCauley (NZl) Schroeder iron
18 Damon Kluck (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor
19 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Team Saeco
20 Cameron Hughes (Aus) LeMond Fitness - Captain CRA-Z Soap
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,
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
