INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Cycling news roundup

Weekend wrap-up:Tour de France and RAIN

As the 180 cyclists remaining in this year’s Tour de France made their way into the Pyrenees for Stage 10 this past weekend, Indiana saw an impressive and competitive race of its own when 1,165 riders took part in RAIN–Ride Across INdiana.

While Indiana’s gentle slopes might not compare to the mountains at the France/Spain border, riders of the 160-mile course along U.S. 40 from Terre Haute to Richmond faced plenty of challenges, including morning thunderstorms followed by an afternoon of heat and Indiana humidity. Cyclists left from the Illinois border at 7 a.m., with  most reaching the cross-state finish line at Goshen College in an average time of 11 hours and at an average speed of 12-15 mph.

Others, however, were in it to win. The tandem team of Scott Moon of Avon and Kurt Lorenz of Brownsburg came away with the most impressive RAIN results. The duo finished in first place with a time of six hours 55 minutes.  Moon and Lorenz broke away from the pack less than 20 miles into the race and were never caught by the lead group of riders (who were not riding two to a bike) and finished more than 10 minutes behind the top duo. Christopher Arzberger lead the pack of single riders across the finish line following a hard-fought challenge by Michael Moran at seven minutes six seconds.

Meanwhile, back in the Tour de France, 32-year old Chicago native Christian Vandevelde of  Garmin/Chipotle currently holds on to the third place position after two days of serious mountain climbing on Sunday and Monday.  The 21 stage course, which began on July 5, takes riders on a 3,500-mile cycling journey throughout France in 23 days, with only two days of rest–the first was yesterday, July 15.

This is the third Tour de France for Vandevelde, who was part of Lance Amstrong’s winning U.S. Postal team in 1999 and 2003. He also raced with the CSC team in 2006 with a 24th place finish.  

Vandevelde starts Wednesday’s Stage 11 only 38 seconds behind the yellow jersey, currently held by Australian Cadel Evans. Vandevelde’s former CSC teammate Frank Schleck of Luxembourg is just one second behind Evans in second place. The Tour now heads west, through Provence and towards the Alps, before arriving at the finish line in Paris on Sunday, July 27.

Best in the nation

Indianapolis resident Chad Burdzilauskas took top honors at the USA Cycling National Championships on July 6 in Louisville. Burdzilauskas finished first in the 2008 Masters National Road Championships among riders in the 30-34 age group with a time of 1:11:00 for the 64-lap, 37-mile criterium.

Burdzilauskas is new to the Texas Roadhouse team this year but is no stranger to local cyclists who have had plenty of chances to finish behind him in a number of races over the past few years, including a first place finish at the Eagle Creek Criterium earlier this summer.  

A bit of a speed-junkie, Burzilauskas has been a professional speed skater for many years and was part of the USA national team prior to going pro. He admits that his favorite part of cycling is the speed as well.  “The greatest thing about bicycle racing is the adrenaline that you get sprinting at 40 mph for that final sprint.”

While Burzilauskas was the fastest at the National Championships in Louisville, he wasn’t the only local rider to place in his category. Karim Abdelkader of NUVO-Cultural Trail finished 23rd with a time of 1:12:41.

NUVO-Cultural Trail racing series continues

The third race of the NUVO-Cultural Trail Series, a 10-mile scratch race at the Major Taylor Velodrome, will be held this weekend on July 18. Racing starts at 7 p.m. at the velodrome. Mark your calendars, dust off your track bikes, bring your family and friends (free admission for spectators) and come join the fun! The race will be held as part of the ongoing “Hot Summer Nights” Friday night races at the track.

The NCT series pay-out of  $5,000 goes to five teams after the Saturn of Noblesville Criterium on Sept. 13. The series was designed to add stronger team competition and more money to existing individual payouts so that teams have a greater incentive to race with more riders and a more tactical plan. The top 20 score points, and this year the scale is weighted so that smaller teams have an opportunity to contest the overall win.  

Go to www.nuvoculturaltrailcycling.com for updates, results and rules.

For information on racing at the Major Taylor Velodrome go to

www.majortaylorvelo.com.

2008 NUVO-Cultural Trail Series  Current Team Standings

Nuvo-Cultural Trail...........141
Mesa Cycles............................90
Priorty Health U23...............88
Indiana Hand Center...........52
Zipp Factory Team................52
Team Koehlinger...................48
DRT Racing...............................40
Pista Elite................................36
Calistoga Racing Team......32
Nova Cycle Sport.................28