Race “Day One” of the ID3 3-day cycling stages proved to be anything but a walk in the park Saturday. The strenuous 1.87 mile course up the infamous old winding road to the top of Mill Mountain put time-trial cycling to the ultimate test as part of the 2010 Coventry Commonwealth Games.
Roanoker Bernie Sanders, a 10-year cycling veteran with over 250 races under his belt, spelled it out after completing his run – “This was a S-U-F-F-E-R-F-E-S-T,” Saunders, 60, laughed. “This race is as tough as any of them. The race up Wintergreen Mountain (near Charlottesville) is several times longer mileage-wise, but Mill Mountain is just as steep.”
The cyclists started at the corner of Belleview and Walnut Avenues, but after a short series of rises and plateaus up Walnut toward the JP Fishburn Parkway, the route took a hard right onto Sylvan Road as the adventure began. Once the only route by car to Mill Mountain summit, zoo, and the star, the narrow road has hairpin curves, switchbacks and ascends in a manner clearly not for the faint of heart.
The vertical rise of the course is slightly over 900 feet and includes a classic bridge-tunnel. The finish line is located next to the overlook at the base of the iconic star.
Most of the riders were part of sponsored cycling teams, but the camaraderie among all was amazing as they congratulated each other at the finish line for just making it to the top. Several riders pedaled over to the wall at the courses end, and virtually collapsed in exhaustion looking for a prized bottle of water. One rider said it was a 1.87 mile course with 1.5 miles of pure pain.
Not all of the cyclists, however, outwardly showed the effect of the climb. The brother-sister combo of Adam and Emily Croft rolled successfully across the finish to the cheers of the crowd. “It was really hard,” Adam Croft admitted. “I’ve been in competitive races throughout the State of Virginia for three years.” Sister Emily, also a 3-year competitive cycler, agreed- “It’s really steep, but it’s really fun. That middle part was tough.”
Incidentally, Adam was the youngest rider Saturday at the ripe age of nine. Emily checked in at 13. After an interview with a television crew, both appeared ready to challenge the course a second time.
As one rider prepared to take the shorter and calmer route back down the Fishburn Parkway to the starting area, he noted, “We’ll be back tomorrow for the stage-2 Criterium in downtown. At least those laps are flat.”
By Bill Turner [email protected]