Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Cyclists who weren't anxious to return to the Roanoke Valley for Stage 5 of the Tour DuPont may be having second thoughts.
The valley, which was introduced to riders with a brutal mountain time trial last year, will be one of two stages on the route of America's premier cycling event this year to offer cash bonuses for individual performances other than sprints.
``There's no incentive quite like money for these guys,'' said Steve Brunner, vice president of Medalist Sports, Inc.
Medalist is the Richmond-based sports marketing company that organizes the Tour DuPont, a 12-day, 1,130-mile race from Wilmington, Del., to the Piedmont Triad in North Carolina. This year's event begins April 26 and ends May 7.
The Tour features a 141-mile mountainous stage race from Lynchburg to Blacksburg on April 30, followed by the May 1 time trial in the Roanoke Valley. Cyclists will leave the Salem Civic Center at one minute intervals and make climbs over Twelve O'Clock Knob and Mount Chestnut before shooting up Brambleton Avenue and finishing at the market in downtown Roanoke.
The fastest cyclist to the top of Twelve O'Clock Knob will earn $1,000, courtesy of John Deere Health Care. The overall stage winner will receive an extra $1,500 from Cox Cable.
``As an event organizer, [the sponsor money] is great to see,'' Brunner said Thursday during a news conference at the Salem Civic Center. ``The more money involved, the more exciting it makes it for the riders. I think you'll see people really attack the first climb.''
Medalist awards money to the winner of each stage in the Tour DuPont and to the overall winner, and Brunner said that money usually is split among team members along with the sponsor bonuses. The total purse this year is $250,000, making it the third-richest cycling race in the world behind the Tour De France and the Tour of Italy.
Stage 6, from Galax to Charlotte, N.C., on May 2 is the other leg of the Tour this year that offers a large cash incentive. Charlotte's local organizing committee will award $10,000 to the stage winner.
Many of the stages also offer bonuses to the first cyclist to reach designated sprint lines, with those prizes adding up to more than $30,000. Brunner said the sprint-line concept has led to a competition between smaller cities along the route to offer bigger purses.
``It's great and it's so unique,'' he said. ``And it seems the farther south you go, the more pride you find. It's a unique way of contributing to the character of the race.''
Also at Thursday's news conference was Brian McDonough, a member of the American Shaklee team. Afterward, he biked portions of the Roanoke Valley route and planned to report back to his teammates.
``This stage is noted as probably one of the deadliest of the Tour,'' said McDonough, who trains in Winston-Salem, N.C. ``Time trials are hard enough, but to have two climbs, too ...
``I'll just be trying to survive these two days'' in Blacksburg and the Roanoke Valley.
by CNB