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Enduring rain, dirt for glory
By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer
DADE CITY -- Dade City doesn't coddle bike racers.
And puddles that kicked up enough mud to tint their faces like five o'clock shadow and paint skunk stripes down their jerseys. Were they complaining? Nah. "Everyone talks about this course being the most difficult of the year," Orlando bike racer Kristine Bilyeau said. "Everyone complains about it. But everyone goes." Dade City's fourth annual foray into racing, called the Dade Battle of Brilliance, has a reputation, not always deserved, as a crash fest. Luckily for Dade City, it was Zephyrhills' preliminary races on Saturday evening that contributed the worst bodily injury. A racer's seat stem cracked. The resulting spill sent the man to the hospital with a broken collar bone. Among racers, it's one of the most frequently fractured bones. Four minor tumbles marked the Sunday morning racing in Dade City. Bruises and scrapes tattooed elbows, thighs and behinds. Seventh Street and Live Oak Avenue, where pavement turns from asphalt to brick, meted out the most punishment.
John Lieswyn, team captain of the 7 Up/Maxxis team, collected $1,000 for winning the top race in Zephyrhills. His Uncola colleague, Brice Jones, took $800 for the most hotly contested race in Dade City, a 90-minute thigh burner. Actually, the money goes into a pot to be split among team members. For racing, despite the allure of individual glory, is a team sport. Members of the other pro team, sponsored by Colavita olive oil and Bolla wines, finished near the top. The event Sunday was "criterium" racing, meaning bicyclists pedal laps around a closed course. Winners earn points that, accumulated over the season, decide the top racers of the year. Sunday's drizzly, drippy weather didn't stop the races, although riders took extra care around corners. Entrants numbered about 300 Sunday, fewer than the hoped-for 400. "Rain hurts a lot. I'd say 20 to 30 percent of racers stay home," announcer Tim Molyneaux said from the grandstand at the finish line on Seventh Street. "It is more dangerous. There's a lot of racing left this season. Why race if you don't have to?" Skies opened up for the women's race about 11:45 a.m. The rain beat diagonally on the roads. At Fifth Street and Meridian Avenue, it almost became a cross-country race, such was the stormwater torrent flowing in the opposite direction of the racers. Crews from the city's public works departments dashed into the streets with push brooms and squeegies to help puddles into drains. The rain didn't help spectators, either. Discounting families of racers and volunteers, fans were sparse. As one race climaxed with two laps to go, Molyneaux joked about the smattering of applause, smattering being two clappers. "Sounds like a funeral out there," he said into the microphone. Crowds improved later after the rain stopped. From his perspective as a biker who raced 112 times last year, Lieswyn said the sport usually helps revitalize downtowns. People shop in stores and visit restaurants they hardly knew existed. Eventually it helps staunch the flow of businesses to the suburbs. "I personally like coming to towns," Lieswyn said as he leaned against the side of Kiefer Village Jewels before his big race on Sunday. "You can't race around a Wal-Mart."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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