By Josh Cook
Temperatures in the triple digits didn’t slow down eight individuals with ages nearing triple digits Wednesday in Louisville.
That’s because those eight won USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships at Cherokee Park on the hottest day of the year when temperatures reached a high of 102 degrees locally in the first day of road racing in the six-day event.
The day began at 8 a.m. in the 80+ age category, which was won by Carl Grove (Bristol, Ind.). Frederic Schmid (Waco, Texas/Bicycles Outback-Magura) captured the second race, the men’s 75-79.
“It started out very fast,” Schmid said. “The guys ahead of me started fading in the hills and I was able to work my way up near the front.
“USA Cycling officials were unfailingly efficient and friendly. The timing process is great and I really liked the course at Cherokee Park. This event seems to get better each year.”
Kenneth Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga./Fulton Flyers) won the men’s 70-74 division, while Thomas Weil (Naperville, Ill./ABD Cycle Club) won 65-69 and Kenny Fuller (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) won the 60-64 age group.
“The heat had a lot to do with the way the race ended up,” Fuller said. “It ended up pretty early going into a group of about 12 people, then it went down to about 8 people, and then two guys went off the front with two laps to go.”
Louisville’s Brad Swope (Sonovelo-Fetzer Cycling Team) was second to Fuller.
Andrew Crater (Asheville, NC) won 30-34, while Terry Duran (Birmingham, Ala./Birmingham Velo-Tria Market) won 50-54 and Robert Anderson (Mill Valley, Calif./Team Specialized Racing) captured the 55-59 age group.
Racing continues Thursday at Cherokee Park with all of the women’s and tandem age groups scheduled to race. For more information and/or results visit www.usacycling.org.
