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Drops play factor in Stage 2 Tour of Valley event
COLUMBIANA
If Gunnar Shogren hadn’t dropped his water bottle around the 20-mile mark of Saturday’s road race stage of the fourth annual Tour of the Valley cycling event, would his outcome be any different?
He hopes not.
The Morgantown, W. Va., resident won the 50+ Masters division in a time of 2:21.23 during the approximately 80-mile course through northern Columbiana County.
“When you win, you can’t complain,” Shogren said. “I was a little void of water. [When I dropped my extra water bottle], at that point I thought, ‘Do I need more?’ Apparently not. It would’ve been nice to get a quench on through but it helped push me even more.”
This is Shogren’s first appearance at the Tour, but he’s got plenty of friends joining him.
Fellow Morgantown native, Mike Lavingood, won the 40+ Masters division in the same time as Shogren.
“He knew when I was going to be attacking on the last lap,” Shogren said. “We had a small group, not everybody could stay, and part of the way through we caught the leader. We both agreed that now’s the time to pin it.
“We decided to cross the finish line together. We’re not teammates, but we’re roomies.”
Along with some family members, the tandem is staying the weekend at a dormitory on Youngstown State’s campus.
As Shogren took the top spot on the championship podium, his wife, Betsy, handed him a tiny plush gorilla.
“His name’s P.T. because I rode for the Dynamic Physical Therapy team, last year,” Shogren said. “Now that I ride for Team Pathfinder, we didn’t really want to change his name because gorillas don’t deal well with that.”
P.T. shows his support by donning a miniature version of Shogren’s green and white uniform.
A pair of other first-time Tour of the Valley riders earned the top spot in their respective divisions. Lorena Brown won the women’s 3/4 with a time of 1:24.40 and Ian Baun won the junior group in 1:13.52. They were the two early circuits performed on a shorter course.
“Friday was my first time trial race and I didn’t do very well,” said Brown, a Navarre resident. “I expected to do well today to make up for that. I was well-pleased with the course. I do well on hills.
Baun, a 15-year old from Pittsburgh, agreed.
“The course was fine. The hills were something to deal with, but they weren’t bad,” Baun said. “I had a good time.”
Rain was in the forecast for most of Saturday, but very little precipitation fell from the ominous skies.
“We had a little bit come down on us in the earlier groups,” Brown said. “It didn’t get the road wet and everybody stayed safe which is the most important thing.”
Well, almost everybody.
In the most advanced group, the pro 1/2, an early crash involving at least six riders sent three of them off the course and one to the hospital.
Andrew Seitz of Pittsburgh had noticeable gashes up and down his right arm. His shoulder was bandaged and had a few scrapes on his back.
“It could’ve been worse,” he said. “This is just road rash that I can deal with.”
The crash also ended Bob Strumpf’s day, but Matt Weeks from southern Ohio caught the brunt of the fray. An ambulance picked him up on the course and he was diagnosed with a separated shoulder.
“Yeah, 100 percent, the worst separation you can possibly get,” Seitz said.
Strumpf added, “you could see the bone sticking out pretty far out from his shoulder. It was gross and really bad.”
Jack McCann, a junior racer from Cincinnati was in a similar crash two weeks ago. He suffered a concussion and was back on the bike for the first time this weekend.
“It’s a humbling thing,” he said. The crash put me back in a place where I always need to acknowledge what could happen. You have to be prepared for everything.”
For all the passion the riders have put into the sport, they’ve received fulfillment and acknowledgement this weekend. After two days in the country, the Tour concludes today in the city. Downtown Youngstown is the site for the finale — the criterium.
“This area has been wonderful,” Shogren said. “As racers, you don’t always have the support on courses, but I saw plenty of people out and waving and supporting us. It’s nice to be appreciated sometimes.”