ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 7, 1996 TAG: 9605070111
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: |By ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
AS THE RACERS strained toward the finish line, college students strained for answers. It was an exam day at Virginia Tech.
At the moment Tour DuPont cyclist Lance Armstrong crossed the finish line Monday evening, Christian Lovern sat in a classroom taking an exam in his landfill design class.
It was a bummer - a major bummer. The Virginia Tech senior was aching to stand along the roadside, watching the cyclists whoosh by en route to the Stage 6 finish line.
"We're going to chew out our professor," he said, half joking, just a few hours before his exam.
Unfortunately, this year's Tour DuPont stage through Blacksburg fell on an exam day at Virginia Tech. The lucky students who did not have exams scheduled at the time cyclists raced through Blacksburg joined the throngs of people who gathered for that quick, exhilarating moment at the finish.
Graduate student Gary Yerkes even attempted to concentrate on his accounting-class notes while he sat on a grassy hill near the "Big Mo" television screen, which broadcast the race's progress.
"I just figured I'll study until they come around the bend," said Yerkes, who admittedly was easily distracted.
Students such as Lovern were not as lucky. Early Monday afternoon, he sat with two friends at the Hardee's restaurant in the Squires Student Center with a large pile of notes spread across the table.
The warm spring air, the sound of a band playing downtown, the feeling of anticipation amid the milling crowds called to him. He allowed himself one hour to join the throngs before venturing into his 4:25 p.m. exam.
"Especially with all the hoopla, when you're walking down the mall seeing the finish line, this is the last thing I want to do - sitting here studying," Lovern said.
What Lovern missed was Blacksburg's fourth turn with the Tour DuPont. A threatening gray sky in the morning gave way to a sunny, warm afternoon, offering an ideal day for the race and its surrounding events.
Mothers and fathers wheeling smiling babies in strollers, pony-tailed youths with tattoos who carried skateboards, college students, Blacksburg residents, even a woman in bright pink plastic hair curlers filled the streets of downtown throughout the afternoon. Booths offering food, jewelry and brochures lined Blacksburg's College Avenue.
Some, like Roanoke resident Betty Candler, staked out an enviable seat on the grass a few feet from the finish line a few hours before the cyclists were expected to cross it. She set up three small umbrellas over a blanket to protect her young granddaughter, Jade, from the sun.
"I'm just a supporter," said Candler, who saw the race in Roanoke on Sunday. "It's exciting."
The day's excitement was channeled into a few tense moments as fans lined the streets, waiting for the cyclists to come into view.
First, there was the wing-waving Hokie bird - the ubiquitous Virginia Tech mascot - who cycled by the cheering crowds. Then came the pace cars, the police on motorcycles and finally a victorious Lance Armstrong, the lone red-faced cyclist far ahead of the pack.
Perhaps Lovern heard the cheers from his classroom. Even before the exam, however, Lovern knew he would get no sympathy from the professor.
``He'll say, `suck it up, that's life,''' Lovern said with an anguished grin.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. The crowd cheers as Lance Armstrongby CNBfinishes first in Stage 6 of the Tour DuPont in Blacksburg. This
year's race through Blacksburg fell on an exam day at Virginia Tech.
color.