From: sutton@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Rich Sutton)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing
Subject: Re: Celestial Seasonings Classic
Date: 25 Aug 92 21:38:44 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Aug25.154420.6579@athena.mit.edu> stigmata@athena.mit.edu (???) writes:
>does anyone have the results to the Celestial Seasonings
>Stage Race?  also, a specific queation about the last
>stage, Morgul Bismark.  what percent is the last climb,
>the wall, at and how long is it?
>
>thanks
>
>andy


Inga Thompson took the women's gc and Engleman took the men's.

The men's Morgul-Bismark was exciting. I caught the last 4 laps or so
(14.7 mi per lap with =~ 1080 ft, of Avocet 50 climbing per lap.)
A =~ 5 man break with Phinney (Coors Lite), McCormack (IME?), Stenner
(Natl. 40k TT champ, a BEEFY lad! I don't see how he could hang on
those hills), Randy Whicker (Team Spago, former Natl. RR Champ and Ft. 
Collins resident), and Kent Bostick (Team Shaklee). With 3-4 laps remaining 
they had a 3:40 lead on the pack.  One lap later the lead was down to 1:40 
and the wind was starting to whip up. Stenner was starting to fade. 
The wind picked up some more. A little rain started to come down. We
just assumed that with the small break, the increased wind, and the pack
bearing down that the break would fail.

On the next lap the wind really shredded things. Stenner had been dropped.
I believe that Bostick was back in the pack on this lap and McCormick, 
Phinney, and Whicker were the remaining members of the break. Swart was 
towing Engelman off the front of the pack. The pack came by. It was no 
longer the monolith it had been, more spread out into clumps of riders. 
Stenner had blown up. He rode up the wall and abandoned. 

They came around again for the final lap. (BTW these guys were doing slightly
over 30 min for a lap.) Swart had been an animal, having bridged Engelman
up to the break. The wind was pretty fierce now and it rained pretty steadily
for the last lap. With three Coors Lite riders and Whicker in the break we
just knew it was a question of whom the Coors riders would choose to win.

The answer was Phinney. Why not, it's his home town and Engleman already
had the gc. Engleman came in second. A few seconds later Whicker and
Swart dueled it out for third. Whicker won! (A couple of my team mates
and I were vocal Whicker supporters. There were three of us and three
Coors Lite riders. Hmmm.) I'm surprised that Phinney could hang as well
as he did. He looks so BIG on the bike, like a football player. One of 
my teammates said he's really slimmed down in the upper body, trying to
be more well rounded than just sprinting these days.

Soon the  rest came in. Bostick and McCormick had hung on for top 10
finishes.

As for the steepness and length of the wall I can't say. I tried to 
glimpse at McCormick's gear in the final sprint and it looked 
something like a 39x14. Of course that's McCormack, not us. 

The women's race had a 2 rider break for several laps. Eve Stevinson
and the Natl. Women's criterium champ hung on til the end. The Crit
champ jumped at the bottom of the wall and took the stage. Sorry I don't
have the name. The women's race seemed a lot more conservative. I guess
Inga had the gc sewn up and her Kahlua team mate was in the break. It
was pretty inspiring though, a regular who's who of USA women's cycling:
Thompson, Dede Dement, Rebecca Twigg, Bunki Bunkaitis-Davis, Golay, etc.
These women know how to suffer! I wish I could work that hard!

-Rich
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