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9/15/2001 Hello all. It is with mixed emotions that I post this today. The race on September 9'th was an extremely happy and exciting event as top cyclists raced over and over through my neighborhood - but those happy memories now will be tinged with the images from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. My thoughts and best wishes go out to the victims and rescue workers and their families. I personally was much comforted to think back on the words and thoughts of John Adams, signor of the Declaration of Independence and second President of the United States.
He showed in thought, action and words that freedom does not come without risk and that to be free means to decide that you are and then make it so. I recently read the excellent biography of his life by David McCullough and highly recommend it ( ISBN: 0684813637)
Ok, back to the race.
The course looped through the City several times - 10 in my neighborhood and then an additional 5 times through downtown. If you look at the map here I took pictures from the KOM point essentially at the 7:00 o'clock position. The crowds where very deep along the hills - which meant that either we have a lot of educated race fans here or the news folks got the word out. The Fillmore street hill was 8 people deep at the top. Where I was positioned latter in the race on the hill, I had to stand back in the intersection to get a look up. The total estimated crowd was 135,000 people - many of the average fan only knowing and wanting to see Lance Armstrong. Robin Williams and the other knowledgeable fans were cheering everyone of course - the sound was amazing!! Everyone I spoke to had a fantastic time and was hoping that it becomes an annual event. The winner was George Hincapie from USPS. The race was eventually won on the Taylor street hill (see the second KOM point) in the final lap -Hincapie went off like a rocket and the two surviving Saturn riders - Barry and Klasna had nothing left. A huge 100 meter gap opened within 15 seconds and Hincapie was gone. Barry and Klasna tried to work together to pull him back but their legs had nothing left.
Click here for the post race wrap up Click here for the race results Click here for the official race site
My photos - I don't have everything back yet (but will post soon), these are just the digital stills and movies shot with the digital still.
Video
montage of the race - streaming Microsoft format (7 Mb about 9 1/2
minutes) The size and quality are not up to George Lucas' standards
because I was not very prepared and this was shot with a digital still
camera - video is not its forte... I eventually remembered how to zoom
on it though so the end works a little better than the start.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERS, AS HINCAPIE WINS
SAN FRANCISCO GRAND PRIX
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (September 9th, 2001)- While it wasn't the rider
that most Americans are familiar with, the U.S. Postal Service Professional
Cycling Team did indeed emerge victorious, as George Hincapie held off the
Saturn duo of Michael Barry and Trent Klasna to win the inaugural San
Francisco Grand Prix.
For Hincapie, the formula for success was deceptively simple: �When everyone
else started getting more and more tired going up the Fillmore hill (a
half-mile climb with an average gradient of nearly 18%), I stayed the same.
I didn�t feel super-great at the start, but I rode my way into the race,
thanks to the efforts of my teammates. They deserve this win every bit as
much as I do.�
Those teammates included three-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong,
whose well-documented battle with cancer and subsequent return to the top of
the sporting world has earned him worldwide attention and adulation. While
Armstrong wasn�t at his best today- �I�m still not 100% recovered from the
stomach bug I had earlier this week�- his efforts, as well as those of U.S.
Postal Services teammates like 2000 Olympic gold medalist Viatcheslav
Ekimov, put Hincapie in the position to win.
Of course, in the early going, it looked like U.S. Postal had been left
completely out in the cold, as a seven-man breakaway that contained three
Saturn riders- but not a single �Postman�- escaped the strong international
field just 13 miles into the 125-mile race. The group consistently gained
time on the rest, due largely to the efforts of Saturn rider Eric Wohlberg
(�He was driving at the front of the break like a freight train!� marveled
U.S. Postal team director Frankie Andreu). By the 55-mile mark, Saturn�s
efforts were shedding riders and amassing a lead of over two minutes. And
that�s when the sleeping giant, U.S. Postal Service, came to life.
With Armstrong and Ekimov forcing the pace, the field shattered, and a chase
group of 14 coalesced. After an eighteen-mile chase, the group had closed in
on the remaining leaders, and that�s when the race really began. A new
quartet formed, with holdover Klasna being joined by Barry, Hincapie, and,
for a time, Mark Walters (Navigators) in what looked to be the decisive
move. With the advantage of numbers, Saturn looked to be in the driver�s
seat- though Barry and Klasna were quick to dispel that illusion. �Even
though there were two of us in there, I was NEVER confident, � said Barry
afterwards. That opinion was echoed by Klasna, who added that �I wouldn�t
have been confident unless we�d have dropped him on the last climb- and
maybe not even then!�
As it turned out, the Saturn duo was correct to be concerned, as, with just
two miles remaining, Hincapie decided to roll the dice and launched an
attack on the final climb. Barry and Klasna hesitated, and that was the
race. Though Barry managed to close to within a second at the finish line,
their efforts weren�t quite enough, as Hincapie held on for the victory.
Afterwards, all three men waxed enthusiastic about their first racing
experience in San Francisco, and about the crowds in particular. �It was
incredible, better than the World Championships�, said Barry. �To race in
front of a North American crowd this size, and for a North American team, it
was just incredible.� Klasna agreed: �Going up the climb, I was smiling
every time!� And so were the estimated 350,000 San Franciscans lining the
race course. When asked by race announcers whether they wanted the San
Francisco Grand Prix back in 2002, the answer was a resounding �YES!�
In the BMC Software Grand Prix standings, Vassili Davidenko moved into first
place overall as a result of his seventh-place finish. The BMC Software
Grand Prix series concludes on Sunday, September 16th, with the BMC Software
Tour of Houston.
The San Francisco Grand Prix presented by BMC Software is the third stop of
this year�s BMC Software Grand Prix series. The 3-year old BMC Software
Grand Prix is the key series of races within the Pro Cycling Tour (PCT). The
BMC Software Grand Prix brings many of the world�s top professional cyclists
to U.S. soil to compete for prize purses and potential bonuses that exceed
$200,000. For additional information on the BMC Software Grand Prix visit
www.bmcgrandprix.com <http://www.bmcgrandprix.com>.
BMC Software, Inc. [NYSE: BMC], is the leading provider of enterprise
management solutions that assure business availability - maintaining and
optimizing business-critical systems with automated infrastructure
management and unique service management capabilities. BMC Software is a
member of the S&P 500, with fiscal year 2001 revenues exceeding $1.5 billion
and offices worldwide. For more information, please visit BMC Software's Web
site at www.bmc.com <http://www.bmc.com>.
The PCT is the nation�s premier cycling series linking 15 of the top
professional criteriums, road races and stage races from across the United
States from March through October. PCT is managed by Threshold Sports and
sanctioned by USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport of
cycling. For more information, log on to www.procyclingtour.com
<http://www.procyclingtour.com> or www.usacycling.com.
-30-
Results
SAN FRANCISCO GRAND PRIX
Presented by BMC Software
September 9th, 2001
1. George Hincapie (USA) U.S. Postal Service; 125 miles in 5 hours, 20
minutes and 42 seconds
2. Michael Barry (CAN) Saturn @0:01
3. Trent Klasna (USA) Saturn @0:10
4. Mark Walters (CAN) Navigators @ 1:13
5. Mark McCormack (USA) Saturn @ 4:32
6. Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) U.S. Postal Service s.t.
7. Vassili Davidenko (UKR) Navigators @ 4:41
8. Kirk O�Bee (USA) Navigators @ 4:55
9. Chris Wherry (USA) Mercury s.t.
10. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) Saturn @9:48
11. Tim Johnson (USA) Saturn s.t.
12. Harm Jansen (NED) Saturn s.t.
13. Glen Mitchell (NZL) Navigators @12:30
14. Chris Fisher (USA) Saturn s.t.
15. Jason McCartney (USA) Jelly Belly s.t.
16. Brendon Vesty (NZL) Navigators s.t.
17. Luca Barla (ITA) Saeco Macchina delle Caf� @13:23
18. John Kelly (USA) Alto Velo/Webcor s.t.
19. Thomas Frischnecht (SUI) Alto Velo/Webcor @13:25
20. Scottie Weiss (USA) Zaxby�s/DeFeet @13:38
21. Jon Hamblen (USA) Wheelworks/Cannondale @13:56
22. Steve Larsen (USA) Prime Alliance @14:30
23. Ted Huang (USA) Alto Velo/Webcor @16:20
24. Dirk Friel (USA) Zaxby�s/DeFeet s.t.
25. James Mattis (USA) Alto Velo/Webcor s.t.
26. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Lombardi Sports s.t.
27. Patrick Heaney (USA) Lombardi Sports @17:14
28. Domingo Gonzalez (MEX) Corona/Mastercard @17:45
