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Tour of the Valley gets tough
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Erin Quinlan, the co-director of the upcoming Tour of the Valley, speaks at Thursday’s press conference at YSU. Pro, elite and amateur bike racers will participate in the event, which runs July 8-10.
The Third annual Tour of the Valley features 21 categories of races from July 8-10.
July 5: North Lima native David Wenger, the U.S. criterium champion, will give a cycling clinic at Cycle Sales in Boardman.
July 8: Time Trial from 5-8 p.m. open to all at the Mastropietro Winery in Berlin Center.
July 9: Columbiana Road Race features a 33-mile course that begins in Columbiana. Pro riders will make three laps.
July 10: Criterium in downtown Youngstown from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The pro event features speeds of 35 miles per hour over the one-mile course that begins at Youngstown State University. Also available is a community ride for non-racers at 8:30 a.m. that begins at YSU and goes through Mill Creek Park.
More information: Visit www.TourOfTheValley.com.
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
The hills of downtown will be alive with the sound of cyclists pedaling and panting when the third annual Tour of the Valley stages its criterium race on July 10.
Dan Quinlan, Tour of the Valley race director, says the biggest change to this year’s cycling gathering is the race course that now includes Youngstown State University.
“We’ve changed this course,” said Quinlan at Thursday’s press conference, referring to last year’s layout that was downtown. “YSU has become a great supporter.
“They’ve replaced Hazel Street [so] we have this great new little corridor that we get up through with the bicycles,” Quinlan said. “We thought that there’s no better venue in this downtown area.”
The change helps Quinlan create a tougher course to inspire top cyclists to participate.
“To make the riders suffer as much as we can, that’s my job,” said Quinlan of adding the Hazel Street hill to each leg of the 25 lap race. “We saw [the change] as extremely appealing to our rider network across the country.”
Quinlan said Tour of the Valley is hoping for a slight increase in cyclists from last year’s 350.
“We’re expecting at least last year’s number and maybe we’ll be over that by five-10 percent,” Quinlan said.
In 2009, the Tour attracted 155 riders.
This year’s criterium closes the three-day event that has 21 races. New categories include those for Juniors, Women Cat 3-4 and 1-3, and Masters (age 40 and older).
The criterium will begin at the Williamson College of Business on Hazel Street.
“We will go around Rayen [Avenue] to Fifth Avenue and down to Commerce [Street] and over around the DeYor Performing Arts Center on to West Federal [Street] and back up the hill,” Quinlan said.
“To make them race up that hill on every lap, that’s our goal. That will be the finishing straight.”
Quinlan said the race will test the toughest of cyclist.
“The riders of tired after three days of racing,” Quinlan said, “Criteriums are high intensity, extremely fast and stressful for most racers. I think the design of the course is actually going to make this race something the riders want to do.
“They are going to want to come back just for that event alone.”
North Lima native David Wenger, recent winner of the criterium national championship, will race in the criterium.
Quinlan said Wenger also will give a cycling clinic on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Cycle Sales in Boardman.
The tour begins July 8 at 5 p.m. with a time trial at the Mastropietro Winery in Berlin Center. The time trial is open to anyone.
The Tour shifts to Columbiana County on July 9 for a 33-mile course that starts in Columbiana and goes south toward Beaver Creek. This year, the pro cyclists will ride the course three times compared to two in 2010.
Also on July 10 will be a community ride for non-racers that will begin at 8:30 a.m. at YSU and proceed to Mill Creek Park.
Quinlan’s wife, Erin, is to co-race director. She said their goal for the weekend event is to promote the Mahoning Valley.
“Our mission is to play a leading role in making the Valley a young and active community,” the president of Carbon Racing said. “We are creating with Tour of the Valley a new culture of cycling.
“As an eco-friendly event,” the Tour also is promoting ways for residents “to reduce their impact on the environment,” Quinlan said,
For details, visit TourOfTheValley.com.