Press Release
Improved Foothills race pleasing to pro riders
Anniston Star
April 11, 2011
PIEDMONT — The longer, stronger Foothills Classic road race course was a hit with the pro cyclists who ran it Sunday. It was also a kick in the pants.
"That was a damn hard course," women's pro winner Catherine Cheatley said.
That's a mouthful coming from Cheatley, the New Zealander and 2010 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar champion who gave her team a weekend sweep of the area's annual cycling bonanza.
Colavita teammate Janel Holcomb won the Sunny King Criterium women's pro race Saturday night in downtown Anniston.
Cheatley was not alone in her assessment of the Foothills course.
"The course was actually pretty tough with climbs and stuff," said men's pro winner Cole House, who races for Real Cyclist. "With the situation where we had to chase, it definitely made it a lot harder.
"On a really hilly course like that, it's hard to do."
That's what the pros wanted.
Organizers of the Sunny King crits and Cheaha Challenge added the Foothills road race in 2010 to entice pro riders from the Saturday crits to stay around for Sunday. After the inaugural Foothills, the pros, who use the Foothills as a training race, suggested making the course longer and stronger.
Race director Curtis Cupp obliged, adding five miles to the pro field, stretching it to 69. He also traded some flat runs for climbs at Cottaquilla and Vigo.
The higher difficulty level came as a pleasant surprise.
"We heard it was rolling to flat, and I was just like, ‘Whoa! That's not flat at all,'" Cheatley said. "It was tough out there.
"... You were either going uphill, downhill or slightly uphill. When you race tough courses, it's hard on everybody, and it definitely didn't come easily."
It just seemed that way.
Cheatley, Courteney Lowe and Colavita teammate Andrea Dvorak broke out from the start and left the field behind. The trio finished several minutes ahead of a field sprint, led by fourth-place finisher and women's cycling legend Laura Van Gilder.
Lowe was second and Dvorak third.
"It was definitely a really, really nice course," Cheatley said. "The race was really well-marshaled, and I definitely think I'll be back (next year). It's tough."
House won a more exciting finish, eking ahead in a sprint with several riders and pumping his fist at the finish line.
He edged Pure Black Racing's Michael Northey, who also finished second in Saturday's Sunny King men's pro crit, and Kelly Benefit's Daniel Holloway.
One of House's teammates, Mike Midlarski, led an early break and caused a field split about midway through. The rest of the team was content to lay back, but the lead pack flagged Midlarski down sooner than expected.
"We had to start chasing to bring back the break and keep the gap from growing," House said.
The second pack caught the lead group on the final climb and set up a large field sprint at the finish. Pure Black and Kenda riders tried to lead out, but Real Cyclist teammate Cesar Grajales pulled House to the front and in position for the sprint.
"I had to come from pretty far back," House said. "... I didn't really know where the finish was. Then, when I could see the finish, I just tried to speed by the other guys.
"That opened up the sprint fairly close to the line, and I just held it off."
House, from Green Bay, Wis., was the victor from a sold-out field of 100 riders for the Foothills' men's pro race. The field was nearly double that from 2010, and the race sold out two weeks in advance.
"It's a good race," House said. "With the crit and the road race, and it's definitely good to have the double weekend like that. It brings in more racers and makes everyone want to stick around.
"The road race also gave us a chance to redeem ourselves after the criterium, which didn't go so well for us."
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