|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
'Get out of my way' in five languages
Posted: Thursday July 06, 2000 01:11 PM
A Stanford University graduate, Nicole Freedman began cycling in 1994 with the Stanford team. Earlier this year the 28-year-old won the U.S. Olympic road race trials in Jackson, Mississippi, earning an automatic spot on the 2000 Olympic team. A native of Wellesley, Mass., the 5-foot-2 cyclist currently trains in Palo Alto, Calif. Check out Freedman's diary every other week on CNNSI.com.
July 6, 2000
Each June, the Hewlett Packard International Women's Challenge brings the top women cyclists from around the world to the United States (Boise, ID) for 12 days of racing. For those of us headed to the Olympics, the Hewlett Packard Challenge provides an invaluable opportunity to test our skills and fitness against the competition we will meet in Sydney. Over the last ten years, the Hewlett Packard Women's Challenge has grown into one of the premier women's stage races in the world as evidenced by the fact that my overall placing has gone down at least five places per year. The Boise fans, the professional race organization, the prize money and Idaho's gourmet chicken fried steak have earned the HP Challenge it's honors.
The 2000 field included over 120 riders, from a dozen countries that nobody can find on a map, with unpronounceable names such as "Polikeviciute", "Lehtimaki" and "Ljudimila," which translate in English to "Smith". Racers whose names contain no vowels were given complementary entries into the race. Race promoter Jim Rabdau, with input from Satan, designed this year's race to include eleven stages, 629.9 miles and 12,450 feet of climbing. Overall, the Challenge included eight road races, one circuit race, one individual time trial, one criterium, eight hundred and fifty-nine mountain passes, fifteen tornadoes, seventy-five snow storms. My six-woman Chalres Schwab team ate 863 Clif bars, drank 2 million gallons of Smartfuel while completing the equivalent of a full transcontinental ride. Boise fans of all types turned up in droves to watch the races. A panoply of cheers, eminate from the crowd: "Believe in yourself. Use your inner energy," (Vegetarian Zen's); "You can do it. They're just in front (10 miles) of you" (Recreational Athlete who has never entered a bike race); "Why are you women so slow?" (Drunk Jerk) I was especially touched after the final race when a shy young boy approached me to autograph his shirt. "How did you do in the race," he asked sheepishly. Upon replying, "Somewhere in the middle," he immediately yanked the pen from my hand and ripped off his T-shirt to ensure the pen hadn't mistakenly marred his shirt. Light winds, upwards of the speed of light, defined the week and a half. Each day team vans battled heavy winds in order to deposit women at race starts in major international urban centers such as Twins Falls, Burley, Buhl, and Lethal Firebird, Idaho. Racers laughed hysterically and unsympathetically throughout the drive, as they watched Boise's natural wildlife, including birds, antelope, large cows and potatoes swirl in the windy air, whipping past the van. Minutes later, the vans deposited racers at the start line after which team mechanics laughed hysterically as underfed World Champions, Olympic medalists and National Champions swirled in the windy air, whipping past the van alongside large cows, antelopes, potatoes and birds. The more "solid" or "sturdy" riders among our group among us had little difficulty keeping our wheels grounded on the pavement. My Schwab team and I put in a strong performance. Personally, I gained valuable pre-Olympic international experience, such as how to yell "Get out of my way" in five different language. Like many of the Americans, my surviving teammates and I will take a generous ten days of rest before repeating the process at the five day Fitchburg Stage Race and the BMC Criterium in San Jose. The Europeans fly off to Italy to start the twelve-day Giro de Italia in a half hour. I hope to be able to get out of bed by then to watch them race on TV. -- Nicole
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
