Conference noted::bicycle

1948.0. "CoreStates US Pro Championship" by JUNCO::RNEWCOMB (FBA --> It's Fantastic) Wed May 22 1991 13:30

Article: 4241
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JOE CIALINI, UPI Sports Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.sports.misc
Subject: New finish to CoreStates cycle race
Date: 21 May 91 20:11:50 GMT
 
 
	PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- The seventh edition of the CoreStates U.S. Pro
Cycling Championship will have a new finish when the 156-mile race is
held June 9.
	To comply with new international cycling regulations, organizers have
changed the length of the finishing loops that cap off the race in
downtown Philadelphia.
	Instead of the riders having to cover five short loops near the
finish line, they will have to travel three loops that will be exactly
three miles long and include a challenging hill and some tight turns.
	``It will add something to the race,'' said David Chauner, chairman
of International Cycling Productions Inc. and founder of the event. 
``There will be a short steep hill at Lemon Hill and the riders will
have to cover that at a fatiguing point of the race.''
	In the past, the leading riders have been caught by a larger pack of
trailing competitors in the final laps, making it difficult for
spectators and officials to follow the race.
	``To avoid confusion and to make the race more competitive so riders
don't overlap, the new regulations require that finishing laps be at
least three miles in length and that works out well for us,'' Chauner
said.
	Previously, the finishing laps were about 1 1/2 miles long and the
longer laps should mean the best rider will win the race, said 1984
Olympic gold medalist Alexi Grewal, who will compete in the CoreStates
race for the fourth time this year.
	Italy's Paolo Cimini won the 1990 race by taking advantage of a duel
between Grewal's Coors Light and the 7-Eleven racing teams, which took
turns challenging for the lead while Cimini tagged along behind.
	When the leading riders tired, Cimini was there to pass them and
cross the finish line first.
	Grewal, who finished fourth in the Tour du Pont race that concluded
Sunday, said the new finishing loops will make it more difficult for
that to happen.
	``It will make the race more exciting and make it more difficult for
a rider to retrieve a group that is away and give riders who are strong
in the final few kilometers a chance to attack,'' he said.
	A field of about 100 racers from at least 17 countries are expected
to compete in the race. Greg Oravetz, who won in 1989, and Roberto
Gaggioli, the 1988 winner, will seek to become the first rider to win
the race twice.