June
2002
Feature
Story: Hurry up and watch!
First Union Classic bike race turns the streets of Trenton
into all fast lanes-for one day at least
By
Joe Emanski
It's not the Tour de France. But for one day a year, Trenton becomes
a focal point of the cycling world, in the U.S. anyway, and this
year the date is June 6, when Trenton will again host the fourteenth
annual First Union Classic.
Starting at 4:30 that afternoon, some of the world's most accomplished
bicycle racers will compete for 13 laps over seven miles of capital
city roadway in what is billed as one of the fastest races on
the U.S. circuit. Riders reach speeds of about 35 miles per hour
as they battle for a share of the $20,000 purse.
A record 20 teams, including 11 American, one Canadian, one Australian,
one Polish, three Belgian and three Italian teams are registered
for the race. Among the international field of racers will be
1997 winner Jay Sweet, who set the course record that year.
Also expected to race are 2000 champion Fred Rodriguez and 1999
champion George Hincapie. Not competing this year will be 2001
race winner Julian Dean, whose season ended earlier this year
in a crash.
The 91-mile race, which came to Trenton in 1989 after originating
in Freehold, essentially shuts down the streets of Trenton for
an afternoon each year. While that's no picnic for the many state
workers who make their daily commute into the city, the silver
lining is that there's an opportunity to view one of Mercer County's
most amazing annual events.
*
* *
The First Union Classic is one of four races that compose the
First Union Cycling Series. The First Union Cycling Series is
a key series of races within the ten-event nationwide Pro Cycling
Tour (PCT). Riders first compete on June 4 in Lancaster, Pa.,
at the First Union Invitational.
After the First Union Classic, riders move on to Philadelphia
for the First Union USPRO Championship and the First Union Liberty
Classic, which run virtually concurrently. The Liberty Classic,
a race featuring elite women cyclists, begins 10 minutes after
the USPRO Championship.
Both men and women racers in Philadelphia must endure the "Manayunk
Wall," a notorious steep grade on the Philadelphia race course,
a number of times in order to win. Trenton's route (see map in
the special pullout section of this month's Downtowner),
features no such mammoth obstacle.
The Trenton setup starts and finishes in front of the N.J. State
Museum, on West State Street. During each lap of the race, riders
wind around Cadwalader Park and through the turns of Barracks,
Front, Warren and Livingston Streets. The twists and turns around
City Hall are a feature of the course.
All together, the First Union Cycling Series account for nearly
$225,000 in prize money, making it a potentially lucrative week
for some of the racing teams, whose riders are professionals who
commit themselves to riding full time.
The First Union Classic began its days in Freehold, the county
seat of Monmouth County, N.J. It wasn't until 1989, when Freehold
had since proved unsuitable to the long-term viability of the
race that the race's organizers decided to bring the event to
Trenton. According to Sally Lane, director of the Trenton Convention
and Visitor's Bureau, the former CoreStates Bank (now First Union)
approached the City of Trenton for help.
"There
are sort of three parts to putting on the race in Trenton,"
says Lane. "There's the technical race management, which
is all done by a group now known as Threshold Sports. There's
the bank's hospitality tent, which the bank arranges. And there's
the coordination of local services, particularly police, bus routes,
parking, resident notification along the route."
Once Trenton was able to put all the components in place, it became
obvious that the city could handle hosting an event like the First
Union Classic.
Trenton's businesses have learned how to take advantage of the
race as well. The South Warren Street "Block Party"
is one example of utilizing the race to build business year round.
Led by Tom Fowler of Checkers, the businesses of South Warren
Street get organized each year and make the day something special
for the customers who look forward to the race-as well as those
who feel "trapped" by the traffic impossibilities the
race creates.
"This
year, [the race] is the day before First Friday, so we'll have
a logical extension for all the good feeling the race engenders
amongst those of us who go to see it," says Lane.
Additionally, according to Lane, the Lafayette Yard Marriott has
already begun to assume its role in the city's increased ability
to draw and entertain crowds. The Marriott will be feeding the
cyclists, staff and officials after the race this year.
It's just another example of the way in which Trenton's businesses
have demonstrated that they are willing and able to help revitalize
the community.
*
* *
Should Jay Sweet, Fred Rodriguez or George Hincapie win this year's
race, it would mark the first time that anyone has ever repeated
as First Union Classic's victor. According to Sweet, winning is
"definitely one of my major goals. It's a perfect race for
me and I proved that when I won it in 1997."
Sweet hasn't actually raced in the First Union Classic since his
record-setting victory. So in a way, he feels almost like he's
returning to defend his title.
"I
turned to my French team (Big Mat) and [this race] wasn't part
of my program," says Sweet of his reason for missing the
previous four Trenton races.
Sweet,
now a first-year member of Team Saturn, is back in town and eager
to challenge past champions Rodriguez and Hincapie. Before joining
Team Big Mat, the Adelaide native won the race as a member of
the Australian national team. "I've got 100 percent strike
rate, that's the way I look at it."
Racing
teams, with sponsors like Saturn, the U.S. Postal Service, and
Jelly Belly jellybeans, enable riders to be able to afford a lifestyle
of training and racing during the racing season. Sweet says after
four years with Big Mat, he was eager to return to the U.S.
"I'd
been in Europe for seven years and basically I was mentally tired
and run down and I just wanted a change," he says. "It's
tough living in a European country, dealing with the languages
all the time. I wanted to come where I could speak my own language.
Since I've joined Team Saturn I'm thinking I'm quite happy to
extend the [one-year contract that he's currently signed to]."
Sweet expects to race about 80 days this year-down from the 100
to 120 days a year that racers can expect in Europe, where action
is a bit more hectic. Still, it's better than the situation in
Sweet's native Australia, where there are no professional cycling
teams. The many talented Australians who participate on the international
racing circuits all must seek other shores if they are to have
much of a chance of making a living as cyclists.
*
* *
More
than 500,000 spectators are expected to line the streets of Philadelphia
to watch the 156-mile First Union USPRO Championship-which is
the longest running cycling event in the United States, with a
$130,000 purse-and the 57.6-mile First Union Liberty Classic,
the richest single-day women's event in the world with a $51,000
purse.
Trenton's expectations are a bit more modest: 10,000 spectators
are expected on June 6. While greater turnout might delight the
promoters, it also means that those who decide to go out and enjoy
the race will be able to find plum spots from which to watch the
race unfold. Cadwalader Park, which serves as a "feed zone"
for the race, is particularly noted for the views it affords,
and the start/finish line at the State Museum also offers some
intriguing possibilities.
But just because the Trenton race is smaller than some doesn't
mean it hosts a lesser quality of bike racer. 2000 First Union
Classic winner Fred Rodriguez has won the Philadelphia USPRO Championship
two years running.
"It
was actually a good field in 1997 because a lot of European teams
came over to compete in it," says Sweet of Trenton. "Some
riders on the European teams were Tour de France stage winners.
One of the Tour de France stage winners is another sprinter, which
is what I am. Which is why it was such a big thing for me to win
against him [that year]."
Sweet can attest that it's not the crowd's size so much as its
enthusiasm that helps determine how the racers feel received in
the cities where they ride.
"My
first memory of it is it was fast and the crowd was spectacular,"
he says. "Usually, you don't really hear too much when you're
racing, but I heard the crowd when I had one lap to go and I think
that really motivated me to push myself and win the race. Some
people don't find that the crowd motivates them, but for me it
was a big factor."
Trenton's workforce has not always been the race's most vocal
supporting unit. But as the race enters its fourteenth year, it
has clearly developed a devoted following and deserves to generate
even more interest as Trenton's rejuvenation efforts move into
full swing.
Those who are already downtown at 4:30 in the afternoon should
make a point of putting the race on their calendar this year.
The chance of being disappointed is about as slim as a bicycle's
racing tire-and the opportunities to be a part of Trenton's ever-refreshed
community are rarely as invigorating as the First Union Classic.
