|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
  Jemison of the Stars and Stripes Who says its ever to late to dream
Posted: Friday July 17, 1998 01:06 PM
Special from L'Equipe, the French sports daily PARIS (CNN/SI) -- The U.S. Postal's perfect team player, who turned pro at the age of 29, dreams of becoming like Udo Bolts. "When he was younger, he was wild, even a little crazy. Now he's calmed down; he's more serious," the U.S. Postal team press attache said of Marty Jemison. It wouldn't be interesting if Jill wasn't also his wife. The Jemisons met almost 10 years ago. She was looking for somebody to drive her back after she'd competed in marathons, and he volunteered. Cycling was just coming into his life, so was Jill. The menage a trois is still going on. The 33-year-old Salt Lake City native is one of the Tour's veterans, "but a young racer," the 1993 U.S. national champion said. It's only his fifth professional season, after all. "I started cycling very late. Before, I played soccer, I ran. When I started studying at the University of Utah, I lived 16 miles away, so I decided to bike there. It was a good way for me to get rid of all the energy I carried along," he recalled. When he got his degree in business, Jemison decided to try his luck in France. In 1990, he landed in Oloron-Sainte-Marie. "It was difficult. The culture shock, the fact that I didn't speak French, the team," he said. The following year, he went from the Pyrenees Atlantiques region to that of the Loire-Atlantique. "In Ch‰teaubriand, some friends took me under their wings. It was a gratifying experience," Jemison said. As an amateur, he won two stages of the 1992 Tour of Martinique, one in the Tour of Guadeloupe, one in the Tour of Loire-Atlantique and one in the Fleche de Locmine. "It's in France that I learned cycling," he reckoned.
In 1994, at the age of 29, Jemison decided to force his way into professional cycling. "I was motivated enough to turn professional. I went to talk to some coaches," he said. He was lucky enough with the WordPerfect team. "The company is based in Utah, like me. When I met Jan Raas, I used this argument to sell myself. And it worked," Jemison said. He only stayed with them one year, placing ninth in the Tour du Limousin. The following year, he raced for the Montgomery team, then got hired by U.S. Postal in 1996. 1997 was his best year. He won his only prestigious race, the First Union Grand Prix, in Atlanta in a constant downpour, and competed in his first Tour de France. "A dream come true. My parents followed the whole race behind me last year," a happy Jemison said. Jemison has always been a team player, and intends to stay that way. "My model is Udo Bolts. He's modest, serious. A teammate who makes his team powerful. I want to be like him. In the last two stage races I've competed in, the Tour of Luxembourg and the Tour of Rheinland-Pflanz, I finished in the top 10 because Lance Armstrong won both races. It boosted my confidence, I love to help my leader. It's the same thing with Hincapie now on the Tour. It gives me the impression that I exist, not to be hidden in the peloton. I'm going to help him take the yellow jersey before devoting myself for Jean-Cyril Robin, our leader," he said. That means there's a lot of work still to come for the rider who also sends a little something to the Salt Lake Tribune and the Park City Record by e-mail every night. Park City is where he's had a four-floor house built and where he gets ready for the cycling season in the winter, at 8,000 feet. He takes five-hour walks with snowshoes in the powder to muscle his legs up. He also takes his bike down in the valley on his snow-bike and hits the road. Copyright (c) 1998 L'Equipe
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
