Capitol Criterium bike race in DC as seen by an activist

The 2010 Capitol Criterium was not only a bike race, it was an opportunity to boo and shout at Mayor Fenty for his shelter closings and school takeover performance. The bike racers, unlike the Mayor(who I booed and jeered), put on an excellent performance.

It was amazing to see cyclists powering up the 14th st hill from Penn Ave faster than some cars would climb the hill, and certainly cornering faster than most drivers would dare take these same corners.

These racers can sprint to speeds over 40 MPH(almost anyone can sprint to 30+), and the entire race can average over 30 MPH for the entire duration of the race, far higher than the average speed a car would see in city traffic. To put this in perspective, a rider or driver at this speed could go from Gaithersburg or even Germantown to the Washington Monument in less than an hour.

On the other hand, the pro teams and some amateur teams as well are sponsored by major corporations, even CAR MANUFACTURERS like Subaru are known to sponsor teams. The entire race was put on by the same outfit that runs RFK Stadium and the notorious Washington Convention Center.

Of course, if the Convention and stadium people want to stage an event that could tempt wealthy commuters to try riding bikes themselves, that could reduce the number of cars on the road, so in my overall judgement, the notion that "even assholes are good for something" applies here. Those who drive big SUV's will find that about $3-5,000 will buy them the exact same bikes the racers ride. In 2000, my messenger bike would have been marginally competitive, though not with me riding it.

The Convention Center/Sports bosses are seeking to get the Giro d' Italia, a bike race second in importance only to the Tour De France,moved to DC. Somehow I think millions of Italian cycling fans would be very unhappy with doing this, as entering the US for any propose is a brutal process these days.

Final results of the Pro race at the 2010 Capitol Criterium are as follows:

Jackie Simes(Jamis/Sutter Home) broke away to win, escaping from the field five laps from the finish, along with Bobby Lea(Bahati Foundation), who rode at the front of the breakaway before being passed and ending up second to Jackie Sim's first place finish.

Drafting, leadouts, and strategy are at least as important in bicycle racing as in stock car racing, if not more so.

One final note: I had to leave early for another event, and found the draft behind a truck very beneficial for a few blocks as I too had to race for time to avoid being late.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Bicycle racing
• cycling
• DC
• Capitol Criterium