ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 27, 1996 TAG: 9605280135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
STEVE BAUER AND CLARA HUGHES prepare for today's Saturn Festival Cup with victories in the annual race.
Through the fog that shrouded the knobby shoulders of Mill Mountain like a shawl, Steve Bauer and Clara Hughes shone like beacons for the cycling team.
The two Saturn bikers rode rings around the competition in winning their respective pro categories in the Roanoke Orthopaedic Center HillClimb on a foggy, drizzly Sunday afternoon.
It was the second straight title for Hughes, who won the women's pro division by covering the 1.87-mile climb in 10 minutes, 20.4 seconds and beating second-place Sandra Seward by nearly 1:42. Bauer won the men's pro division in 8:32.28, just six seconds off the course record set by Brian Walton.
Not a bad time on a day suited more for the setting of a dark European film than for record-breaking cycling.
``These weren't bad conditions,'' said Hughes, a native of Hamilton, Ontario. ``I like riding though fog. It's kind of an eerie feeling. The houses at the bottom of the hill are really nice and the streets are narrow ... it felt like I was in France.''
Bauer, who rode through Roanoke two weeks ago in the Tour DuPont, sliced through the fog like a lighthouse beam to beat Radisa Cubric by 15 seconds. Bauer, Cubric and Christopher Blake were the only three riders to break the 9-minute mark.
``The air is too thick,'' said Bauer. ``Whether it's warm or not, it's difficult to get the good air down when the air is this dense. The positive was that it was cool.''
Bauer and Hughes are hoping Sunday's victories can propel them to high finishes in today's Saturn Festival Cup, a criterium race that makes a loop around downtown Roanoke.
``I haven't raced a criterium for a while,'' said Bauer. ``I used to race them a lot until I began racing in Europe and in road races. I haven't done too much training in the last two weeks since DuPont. I'm still in pretty good shape.''
Despite the misty conditions, the course stayed in pretty good shape. The course rises 847 feet on an eight percent grade from the start line on Walnut Avenue up swervy Sylvan Avenue, where automobiles no longer tread, to the finish near the base of the Mill Mountain Star.
Since most riders average speeds only 13-15 miles per hour going uphill, negotiating switchbacks in the fog proved less arduous than would be expected if riders were plummeting downhill at high rates of speed.
``Going downhill in weather like this would be scary,'' said Scott Weiss of Radford, who repeated as Senior Category 3 champion.
``It was tough to see right at the top, and a few guys said they could feel their back wheel slide going around the curve. It was really misty. It made my lungs hurt.''
Billy Pearlman of Roanoke won the Masters 35-and-over division and Salem's Andra Dalgren won the Citizens 13-16 division.
Sunday's race awarded $2,500 in prizes, today's races features a $14,500 purse. Hughes and Bauer would like a piece of that.
``I'm really happy to do well here,'' Hughes said. ``I like the people here and I like putting in a good performance. Hopefully, I'll have good legs [today].''
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF Brian Toone pedals ahead of Scottby CNBPaisley while climbing Mill Mountain during the ROC HillClimb on
Sunday.