1999 USA Cycling Junior and Senior Championships
News
A few photographs of the event may be seen at www.AustinImage.com
6-28-99: Rescheduled Time Trials Completed: The event can be characterised in a few words: no hitches, muggy weather but no rain, many missing riders. This time, I came home with the top finishers in the Seniors and U23 categories.
6-27-99: Junior and Elite Criterium Completed: Lots of exciting racing. Conditions were good up to the 17-18 Junior Men race, during which there was a storm that flooded the streets and shut off power to Loveland for nearly two hours. There was a small delay while generators were brought in and various systems were rebooted. The remaining races were held on wet/dry roads, and led to a number of mishaps - none serious. I guess there is a good reason why photography and writing are done separately - I don't know who won. I do know a member of my own club went out early, got caught by four others including Patrick Heaney, which in turn were caught by about nine more riders. Patrick went out strongly at the bell, but a Saturn of Bellview rider won a wild sprint in the twilight (and narrowly missed us photographers cowering along the barriers). Check USA Cycling's site for results (assuming Fred's computers survived the storm).
6-26-99: Mari Holden and Danny Pate each won Senior Road Races titles solo after gigantic accelerations on the final lap. The hills were steep, and the heat was nearly as bad as last year, but the crowds on Mount Adams and Eden Park enjoyed the racing immensely. Very interesting races.
6-25-99: Time Trials to be rescheduled: At a meeting tonight Evan Call, MD of USA Cycling, described the rescheduled time trial. It will be held on Monday, June 28 at 8:30 at the same location.
The course will be modified in several ways: 1) The out portion will be in the slow lane of Route 52, in the same direction as traffic (in the fast lane). The in lane will be on the shoulder (this is a well-paved, recently swept shoulder). 2) Barrels, not just cones, will separate riders from this traffic. 3) Ten police cars will circulate in the traffic lane, holding traffic to 20 mph. 4) Cones will be placed to separate the two rider lanes (this was not definite). 5) It will not rain (this also was not definite). A partial yet very expensive (for everyone) solution to the problem caused by yesterday's cancellation.
6-25-99: Junior National Races Completed: The event went well for 9 of the 10 races held today - whew! Traffic problems caused by miscommunication during the first few races over the essential role of the broom wagon, and the need to pull racers who fall off the back, resulted in a shortened Boys 17-18 race at the end of the day. Race officials had announced the possibility at the start.
6-24-99: US National Elite and Junior Time Trials Cancelled: Citing unspecified safety issues over the course, USA Cycling officials, who had not inspected the course until this morning, decided to cancel all events. Coming after a two-hour delay during sometimes heavy rain, the announcement caused bewilderment, anger and grief among waiting cyclists and their families. Sources stated that the course was viewed as too narrow (one lane of a four-lane highway, plus a shoulder in good condition), especially at the turnarounds and in view of the rainy conditions.
The other three days of the racing schedule will take place as planned.
6-24-99: The local racers greatly enjoyed hanging on to a furious pace (27.1 mph) set by three National Champions that appeared at a Wednesday Night Ault Park Criterium. Patrick Heaney raced Ault Park last year and became Road Race Champion three days later; having learned this valuable lesson, he returned last night and gave a good show. The weather is now predicted to be in the low 80's, with some odd amounts of rain.
6-23-99: As I count them, these are the entry statistics:
- Senior/U23 Time Trial: 157
- Senior/U23 Men's Road Race: 206
- Senior/U23 Women's Road Race: 57
- Senior Men's Criterium: 132
- Senior Women's Criterium: 63
- [I didn't count the U23's in the Crits]
- There are 684 entries in the Junior events.
6-20-99: We've had a wonderful weekend here, weather-wise. Let's all think good thoughts about next week. A few more volunteers would be appreciated for Friday, and for preparation and tear-down for the other days. Contact Phyllis Hoke, Hokepd@pg.com for more information. Otherwise, all our wonderful volunteers got their training last week. Perhaps you'd like to see some photos taken at Redlands earlier this year.
6-17-99: The times for some of the associated events are given on the home page, recently updated. Kid's races, Bike Safety Town, Police MTB races - great events.
6-10-99: The Flying Pig Marathon had its inaugural run this year. It was quite an event (the name derives from Cincinnati's former status as a major hog processing center, which led to Ivory soap, Proctor and Gamble, ...). Your webmaster managed the photography for the event (and will for the Nationals again this year).
6-9-99: Volunteer training has been scheduled for next Wednesday and Saturday; see the Volunteer Info page. Some information about local races just before and after the nationals has been added to the Racer Info page.
6-8-99: We've been saying that it would be cooler this year - it couldn't possibly be hotter. After today, however, we're not so sure. Whew. Last year, a lot of racers wished they had carried more water on the time trial and in the Crit. On another weather-related subject, if you ride up the bike trail about a mile north of Loveland, you'll see the damage caused by the tornado that passed through here April 9th.
6-7-99: There is a contact listed now for obtaining host housing. See the Racer Info page. You'll also find information on race times and distances on the Courses page.
6-4-99: Information on the Police Mountain Bike Challenge events has been added. They could use some volunteers, and volunteers are still needed for the main events of the Nationals.
6-3-99: A map for the Junior Road Race is now available and others have been revised. The Senior Road Race has been changed slightly in the downtown area, and racers will do the hills before crossing over the Ohio River into Newport, Kentucky. See the Courses page.
5-15-99: Planning continues with a Steering Committee meeting this Monday evening at 7:00 in the Loveland Safety Center Building. The Flying Pig Marathon was a wonderful distraction from cycling, no?
3-13-99: You can now register online as a volunteer. The time slots on the form may change as our plans evolve.
2-13-99: Proposed, preliminary, unapproved, unfinalized courses have been defined and posted. The time trial course (same for all divisions) is much improved over last year, with an out-and-back configuration on a flat highway alongside the Ohio River.
The Senior Road Race will be held on a course very similar to last year, through downtown Cincinnati, across the river into Northern Kentucky, up Mt. Adams. Some changes will be made to reflect the construction taking place, and some to make the event more friendly to spectators.
The Criterium for all divisions will be held on the same course as last year, through Historic Loveland. Loveland is crazy for cycling! Expect a big crowd. This is also a good place to depart for training rides on the roads northeast of Loveland that intersect the Bike Trail.
1-3-99: The website has been reconfigured to serve the 1999 event. More information will be added as it becomes available, and we'll dress up this page a bit as we go. The most significant news for those who are involved in the staging of the race is that a professional event management firm directed by Jay Downie has been hired to stage the race. Downie Productions has managed major events in many locations, most notably the Tall Stacks events. I think we're in good hands.