The US Pro Road National Championships Made for an Exciting Sunday in Knoxville

USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

As much fun as the criterium offered on Friday night, the main event in cycling waited for Sunday in downtown Knoxville. The crowds were solid, but unspectacular, but they grew through the day. As was the case last year, I missed most of the women’s race due to the radio show, but I was able to catch the last couple of laps and to see Coryn Rivera cross the finish line first.

The weather alternated between cloudy and tolerable, sunny and nearly unbearable, and rain. Fortunately, there was less rain than had been predicted earlier in the week. It was hot enough after the women’s race, that I took the forty-five minutes to catch some air-conditioning and lunch back at the house. I missed the women’s podium and I regret that.

USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

The men’s race started as a typical long-distance road cycling event: A break away formed and was gathered in by the peloton. More cat-and-mouse followed with the peloton shifting forms and numbers. The cyclists became so strung out that riders were being pulled off the back. As a spectator, it was hard to know who was passing – whether beginning or ending of the pack.

Eventually a four-person breakaway established itself and gained some time. It was still relatively early, maybe six laps into the race, so typically they would be pulled back into the pack. A small chase of six riders formed behind them and then, in a surprising development, the peloton shattered. By halfway through the race there was scarcely a pack to spot. Suddenly, it appeared the race was between the two lead groups.

USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018

Strategically, the second group, while comprised of six riders, faced a challenge: Two of the riders in the group had a team-mate in the front four and were content to let them contend for the championship. As a result, they declined to take turns pulling the group forward and that likely doomed the group from making up any ground.

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Men’s and Women’s USA Cycling Pro Criterium 2018 Photos and Results

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

You’ll have to pardon me if I linger over this past weekend’s cycling events. The weekend was jam-packed, with Gay Street closed on Friday evening for the first national championship US Pro Cycling Criterium for men and women. The street was closed Saturday for Pride (which I’ve already covered) and again on Sunday for the Cycling Road Race National Championships.

“Criterium” was a new word to me, but it simply means, “one-day bicycle race on a circuit road course. The circuit in this case started on Gay Street heading south, turned onto Hill, moved over to Hall of Fame where it turned left, then it moved up Church back to Gay, with a left on State and another on Clinch, to complete the circuit. The women’s race was 75 minutes and the men’s 90. It’s an intense race with technical turns and the women’s race was complicated by rain.

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

Crowds formed up and down Gay Street, with smaller groups of people scattered about the rest of the course. Gay street was the most picturesque, of course, but other views were also fun. Small clusters of people climbed the Dwight Kessel Garage for a great view. I loved watching the cyclists pass under the massive basketball atop the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium, Knoxville, June 2018

USA Cycling Women’s Criterium Podium, Knoxville, June 2018

The corner at Clinch turning on to Gay was a hot spot for fans. Seeing the racers turn that corner at break-neck speed and sometimes on a wet course was nothing short of amazing. It’s hard to ride fast and make a corner. It’s hard to ride fast in a large group. To do both is why these women and men are called professionals. The corner of the railing at Clinch and Gay must have been rubbed smooth by the end of the races because it appeared to be brushed all weekend.

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Knoxville Pride Parade 2018: Rainbows and Good Will to All

(I anticipated missing this year's Pride Parade, so I asked Scott McNutt - past writer for the News Sentinel and Metro Pulse to fill in. As it turned out, I was able to attend, so I took the photographs. As always, there will be an additional load of … [Continue reading]

Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (6/24 – 7/3/2018)

If you want to be certain your event is included on this calendar, I’ll need your event two weeks in advance. The absolute best way to make sure I include your event is to make a FB event and invite me – two weeks in advance. My FB “events” are the … [Continue reading]

Pride Month: Sharing Art and Culture

In recent years the LGBTQ community has seen a massive rise in visibility in the media. Where remaining closeted was once crucial to the success of someone’s career there is now a large and growing population of artists, singers, and actors who are … [Continue reading]