Jan
22
So this last Saturday night the wife had the rare treat of going out alone for the evening. With 2 kids (one 4 and a half and the other 18 months) we obviously rarely get out much. Being the bike geeks that we are (she’s a Cat 2 herself), where do we go? How about to a bike race. That choice would probably elicit the same response form our non-cycling friends as when we told them that we were going to honeymoon by taking our bikes to France and following the Tour de France for 10 days through the Alps and into Paris. They just don’t understand, do they?
We had some awesome seats at the ADT Events Center (what’s wrong with just calling it what it is: a velodrome?). About 3 rows up from the track and right at start/finish line. Pretty great viewing location for our first track race - I won’t count the Tuesday night amateur races at the Cooper City, FL track I saw 7 years ago while visiting the folks in Miami. Much nicer track, this LA velodrome. I guess this wood track was made in Belgium or Holland and shipped over here for assembly.
A few of my fellow Interbikers went, too: Robert and Lance with spouses/friends. I wish I had more and better photos, but my point-and-shoot camera isn’t very nimble with the fast moving sport shots. A Cat 4 in a Pro/1/2 field, if you will…
The photo at the top of this post is of Sarah Hammer winning one of her many medals during the 3-day event. This one is of her during the individual pursuit, an event in which she is the reigning world champ. The amount of power she generates is evident while watching her - not the smoothest of riders, she seems to really muscle the bike around the track. Very impressive. Her opponent, Joos of Germany, was a contrast in styles and very smooth. But, obviously, she was not nearly as powerful as Hammer.
This shot is to show off how close our seats were. These are the two finalists in the men’s sprint: Roberto Chiappa of Italy and Gregory Bauge from France. Chiappa looked really intense on the start line with a few aggressive psych-up “bunny-hop” like moves while his assistant held him up. He would jerk up on the bars and slam his front wheel down on the track. He seemed really wound up for the race. It didn’t seem to influence Bauge as he went and beat Chiappa in two straight races for the gold medal.
Los Angeles (actually Carson, south of LA) has an awesome facility and if you get a chance to see one of these world class events and are within a few hours drive, you should really try to get there. This wasn’t a cheap event with tickets at $30 and $40, but it’s a rare opportunity to see a track event with so many world class racers.