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Tour of the Valley opens with Time Trial
Hundreds drawn to Tour of the Valley
By Doug Chapin
ELLSWORTH TOWNSHIP
After an evening in which “sustained power” was an important factor, some 350 cyclists will take on a “High Roller Course” today in the fifth annual Tour of the Valley.
Bicycle racers from throughout Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and beyond competed Friday night in the Time Trial, the first of three stages of the Tour.
The Road Race begins at 9 a.m. today at Columbiana High School and the Criterium will be run Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. in downtown Youngstown.
The Tour event is organized by Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association under the auspices of USA Cycling.
The Time Trial was a straight out-and-back race of about 8 miles, run against the clock on Ellsworth Road east of race headquarters Mastropietro Winery.
It requires “more sustained power,” according to Dave Chernosky, of Cuyahoga Falls, who celebrated his 48th birthday on Friday and has competed in the Tour all five years of its existence. “It is a good aerobic, but it is kind of a specialty race.”
Today’s Road Race will be contested on a 26-mile course on the roads of Columbiana County and will feature six large rollers, or hills. Some categories of racers will run one lap, some two and the contestants in the men’s professional categories will run three laps.
The course begins at Columbiana High School, proceeds west to Fairfield School Road, south to Route 558, west to Route 164, south to Route 517 in Lisbon, then east to its merger with Route 558 at Route 7. The race continues east on 558 to Route 46 and it goes northwest from there through New Waterford and back to Columbiana.
“They just started this course last year and, it depends on what you like, but the hills aren’t super big but there are a lot of them,” said Ryan Uber, 26, of Warren, Pa. “I like climbing and I like the hills.”
Sally Price, of Cuyahoga Falls, also has competed in the Tour since its inception and won the Tour’s Criterium event last year in her category.
“They have changed the course a couple of times but it’s still really hard,” she said. “I started competing in triathlons so I like road races, especially hilly road races.”
The Criterium course on Sunday follows Federal Plaza, West Market Street, Commerce Street East and West and North Chestnut Street.
Time Trial results are available at tourofthevalley.com.
The Tour of the Valley continues to attract a large field of racers for a variety of reasons.
“It’s actually a cool race, the setting for the Time Trial is unique, it’s special for us,” Chernosky said. “And it’s a great idea. People like to stay and enjoy the winery and at 8 miles, it’s a short time trial.
“Not a lot of stage races are timed out over a three-day period and they do a good job organizing that. Some people like this race for that, though I would prefer them all in one day.”
Uber, who competes for the Hollyloft/Alfie’s team of Jamestown, N.Y., and has run just the Road Race the past two years, cited the large field as an attraction.
“They have a good turnout of teams, so I guess the size of the field is a factor in why we come here,” he said.
Price’s reasoning affects just the professional category of racers.
“There aren’t a lot of local events that have all three stages,” she said. “And some people like to come to this event because they pay decent prize money.”