International Womens Challenge

The Stages:

June 21: Stage 1 - Kuna to Idaho City Road Race, 93 kms
June 22: Stage 2 - Emmett to Horseshoe Bend Road Race, 129.6 kms
June 23: Stage 3 - Lowman to Stanley Road Race, 95 kms
June 24: Stage 4 - Stanley to Ketchum Road Race, 53 kms
June 25: Stage 5 - Twin Falls to Glenns Ferry Road Race, 127 kms
June 26: Stage 6 - Mayfield Head to Head Time Trial, 7.2 kms
	 Stage 7 - Bogus Basin Time Trial, 2.7 kms
June 27: Stage 8 - Statehouse Criterium, 56.2 kms
June 28: Stage 9 - Middleton to Hyde Park Road Race, 92.5 kms

Previous Stories

HORSESHOE BEND - Monday was one of those strange, bizarre days that over the years has made the International Womens Challenge, well, strange and bizarre.

For the record, Lithuanian mountain lover Rasa Polikeviciute conquered the final seven steep miles up Idaho 55 near Horseshoe Bend to win an 80-mile country adventure that started in Emmett.

She edged Canadian Linda Jackson at the line and owns the leaders jersey of the $100,000 bike race going into todays 58.5-mile ride from Lowman to Stanley.

Polikeviciute, one of the worlds best climbers, has led this race before - and shes never finished better than 10th.

This time might be different.

Her team HP Mopier, is known world-wide as cyclings Dream Team. The powerful foursome includes her twin sister, Jolanta, Gianta Gruodyte, who helped dominate part of Mondays race; and Olympic gold medalist Zoulfia Zabirova.

they own three of the top five sports in the overall standings.

Also, Fridays time trial is only 4.47 miles, shortened from last years 16.3-mile distance. That should help Polikeviciute, who isnt a strong time-trialer, regardless of her confidence.

"yes, this time I can will it," she said through an interpreter.

Jackson was that friendly interpreter, which was odd considering the two had just battled for 3.5 hours during the toughest leg of this eight-day journey.

They were laughing and giggling and enjoying the media attention - despite a sometimes intense rivalry that is three years old.

"She did a lot of work on the climb. She had to pull a lot harder than I did." Jackson said. "It came down to a sprint and shes a good sprinter, and she did most of the work, so she deserved to win."

Odd?

Not on a day that started with a dog who altered the physics of the race for 71 miles.

When the country pooch bolted from the front yard of a farmhouse south of Emmett, it startled the front of the pack and allowed four riders to bolt into the lead.

"The dog created a lot of confusion," said first-day race leader Karen Kurrick (Klein), who finished fifth in Mondays race, 57 seconds behind the winner.

Although Annette Madigan (Start to Finish/Full Sail Ale) eventually dropped off, that confusion allowed Julie Young (Saturn), Jackie Martin (Shaklee) and Gruodyte to dominate the next 71 miles.

Alone and working together, they led the chase pack by as many as five minutes.

Along the twisting and rolling route, the leaders passed some of Idahos famous exotic wildlife; ostriches, emus, pot-bellied pigs, llamas, donkeys, deer, cows, horses and even a six-foot whale.

A whale?

In the Emmett countryside?

OK, it was somebodys large inflatable toy along the roadside, but this race had just about everything else.

Including a whale of a crash.

In fact, there were about six crashed in this race. The race medical staff treated about 12 riders for road rash, Finlands Anu Oinonen has a knee injury that might keep her from continuing, and Linda Kruse got the worst of it all.

The Team EDS rider faceplanted on the pavement, just before the summit of Little Freeze Out Hill, and ended up in the emergency room at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.

Kruse, who was treated for a broken tooth and a lacerated chin, was released with no place to go. Because she didnt finish Mondays race, she wont be allowed to continue today.

The strangest accident happened when a motorcycle policeman crashed, only to get run over by a handful of riders.

The largest accident happened when a team support vehicle accidentally led the large chase group down the wrong road at an intersection.

About 30 meters into the mistake, bikers braked.

Wheels screeched.

And about 15 bodies went flying as other racers scrambled to find the right road.

"More confusion," Kurrick said.

"It was really, really scary out there today because a lot of riders went down." Jackson said. "I hate stuff like that. This race is generally really well organized and very safe, but I guess there was some miscommunication and some misdirection on the road."

Eventually, the race returned to normal and the chase pack swallowed the three leaders in downtown Horseshoe Bend.

And Polikeviciute chewed up the final seven miles, a 1,620-foot climb to the top of the new Horseshoe Bend road.

"Maybe I go boom in the time trial, but for sure Im very strong in the climbs," she said.

The next two days will cover 120.8 miles and 3,160 feet of climbing.

By Nicole Freedman of Team Shaklee

A painful but profitable day at the races

I realized I had a far-from-ideal first stage when I read the Statesmans introduction to my first diary entry.

Describing my "spirited personality," in lieu of stellar race results, I couldnt help but associate the description with a "less-than-attractive blind date who has a great personality."

I apologize in advance if the rest of this diary is a bit dry. In addition to sapping my strength, Tuesdays 80-mile race (which ended with seven mile, 1,620 foot climb) sapped a bit of my spirited personality, too.

The Horseshoe Bend race was particularly painful as the pack spent 75 of 80 miles chasing four riders, including my Shaklee teammate Jackie Martin, who attacked in the first few miles.

The four remained off the front until the pack finally caught them at the base of the climb, five miles from the finish. Throughout the race, we had to struggle against heavy crosswinds that threatened to blow many of us lighter riders off the course.

The key to success in such a long difficult race is taking car of oneself.

Conserving energy by drafting (not to confused with attaching a bungee cord to the rider in front of you), and eating and drinking as much as possible are crucial. After the first three energy bars, the ostriches and llamas on the side of the road looked quite tempting!

The race featured a number of crashes. Seventeen miles into the race, the pack followed a team vehicle that had incorrectly gone straight through an intersection. Realizing our mistake, we all instinctually slammed on our brakes.

Like dominoes, we piled up on top of each other.

Often, race promoters glamorize crashes for their "human-interest appeal."

One stage race actually sets up bleachers on a particular hairy corner so spectators wont miss and bloodshed.

I dont think any racer will ever joke about a crash. Cycling is extremely dangerous; riders descend at speeds up to 60 miles, just inches apart from each other.

One gust of wind or one riders unexpected move can take down the field, ending a racers entire season.

Knowing that weve trained 300-400 miles per week with the sole goal of competition, none of us could ever laugh.

After the race we immediately switched into recovery mode to prepare for (todays race from Lowman to Stanley).

My teammates are among the best: Lying down with their legs above their heads, food and water bottle inhand, they mindlessly stare at the TV (Montel is interviewing a group of 40-50 old men as they defend their marriage to young teen-age girls).

We were too lazy to even use the remote control to change the channel.

Our careful attention to recovery should leave us stronger and more enlightened (thanks Montel) for todays 58 miles.

By Mike Prater, The Idaho Statesman, Tuesday, June 24, 1997

New York native make up quickly for late racing start

Most world-class bicycle racers rely on traditional training methods - hills, roadwork, a few hours in the gym.

Deidra Murphy dodges taxicabs in New York City.

"We use going through traffic as sprint training, like trying to beat a taxicab through an intersection," Murphy, a native of New York City who finds herself in Idaho this week for the Hewlett Packard International Womens Challenge.

Its the first step of Idaho soil for the residents of Greenwich Village, the trendy social district within eyesight of the Statue of Liberty.

Greenwich Village is a just a 15-minute bike ride from Wall Street, where Murphy puts in 50-hour weeks as a trader of distressed debt. She buys discount loans from fragile companies and sells them to vulture investors.

Murphy, who is single, earns about six figures and dreams of her own company, but that doesnt get in the way of her passion for bike racing.

Despite training on an island with millions of people, she finished 69th in Mondays 80-mile road race from Emmett to Horseshoe Bend. Shes 78th after two of nine stages.

Not bad for someone who is 38 years old.

Murphy didnt start racing bikes until she was 32 and traveling in Paris on a business trip. She ended up taking a European bike tour and the only child of a Wall Street father and a mother who casted TV commercials was hooked on the sport.

Now she travels the world with her race bike and is a member of the Irish National Team. She belongs to the New York-based Century Road Club Association, which has more than 600 members and is the largest bike racing club in America.

The club sponsors races nearly every day.

Even at night in Central Park.

Apparently, Murphy always has been a thrill-seeker.

it started slow - gymnastics and horseback riding in high school.

In college, she raced cars.

"I had a BMW and race the SCCA, the Sports Car Club of America," she said. "I love speed."

Murphy sold the BMW after graduating from Ithaca College, where she studied Japanese, Photography and computer science.

Now she used a bike to commute throughout New York City.

Shes never been hit by a car.

Once she was pushed by a pedestrian.

Thats New York hospitality at its finest - and it prepares Murphy for the bumps and bruises of competing against world-class cyclists in races like the Womens Challenge.

New York, Ireland, Paris or Stanley - where does Murphy get to visit today? It doesnt matter where she rides her bike, as long as shes racing.

"Unfortunately, when I was growing up it didnt seem like being a competitive athlete was an option," Murphy said. "You went to college, found a job, got married and whatever."

"Im happy Ive gotten a chance to live out by dreams of being an athlete even though its a little bit late in life."

By Mike Prater, The Idaho Statesman, Tuesday, June 24, 1997

HP accepts Challenge for next several years

Hewlett-Packard Co. will continue to sponsor the International Womens Challenge bike race for "The next several years," the company announced Sunday night.

The computer and electronics giant agreed to take on the sponsorship of this years Challenge after PowerBar dropped out.

The goal for 1998: a race to Driggs, at the base of the Teton Mountains in Eastern Idaho, and back to Boise with a $150,000 purse.

"Jim Rabdau has asked us to come back and were wholeheartedly behind that," HP spokesman Doug Cole said.

Rabdau, the director and founder of the annual bike race, said the 1998 event could run 14 days. The $150,000 would be the richest purse in the history of womens cycling.

"Thats probably where we should be. We havent made any decisions, but Id like to do 14 days to eastern Idaho next year," Rabdau said.

Cole said he couldnt define "several year," but said HP has based its decision on two reasons:

"Most of the sponsorship studies weve seen show that companies get the biggest benefits in the second and third years of their arrangements.....It will take a few years for this to catch on," he said.

"The other reason is, when sponsorship is in a tenuous position in cycling, we think this is a great opportunity to show that were firmly behind this sport and what the women represent."

From Mike Prater, The Idaho Statesman, Monday, June 23, 1997

She started in Allentown, Pa.

And she still won the 57.4 -mile dash into Idaho City, where a wild field sprint, a crowded downtown street and crystal blue skies helped launch the $100,000, eight-day bike race.

Livingston left Allentown, via airplane, on Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to here own airplane disaster story, she showed up at the start line in front of the Kuna City Park about six minutes before the 11 a.m. start.

Race officials delayed the start 15 minutes - a courtesy that may cost her team a few beers - and she scrambled to get dressed and jump on her bike.

In borrowed gear.

Then she went out and shredded Idaho 21, covering the ascent into Idahos historic mining town in 2 hours and 24 minutes. Its the second straight year Livingston has won the race.

Karen Kurreck of Team Klein finished second, but used a 20-second time bonus to carry a 10-second lead into todays Emmett to Horseshoe Bend Road Race.

Livingston expects to be dead tired for todays 80-miler, probably the toughest race of the eight left to conquer. But on Sunday, she was pumping full of adrenaline.

"This race really isnt challenging enough," she said, tongue-in-cheek, "so I thought, shoot, Ill just stop in four more cities on the way and then make sure I lose my luggage and ride in other peoples stuff and arrive a half hour before the start. You know, really make it challenging."

Heres the deal:

Livingston was supposed to fly from Allentown to Chicago to Salt Lake City to Boise on Friday.

There was a detour to Dayton, Ohio, because of lighting and by the time she reached Denver, she was stuck for the night. She slept three hours in an airport hotel.

The Team Saturn rider flew to Salt Lake City, early Sunday, survived a 30-minute delay and an hour of stress, and eventually met an antsy support crew at the airport.

Livingstons luggage never made it, but she wasnt about to wait at the carousel.

Saturn manager Rene wenzel was pacing at the start line.

Three teammates were just as nervous.

And the support crew probably broke a few speed limits racing from the airport through the Kuna Countryside.

In the meantime, race director Jim Rabdau has already delayed the start.

"Saturn owes me a car and a case of beer," he said jokingly. "Well probably hear some complaints. Therell be some talk, there always is, but you have to do the right thing."

Wenzel wont complain, but he wasnt happy with the airplane situation, at least until Livingston crossed the line with her arms high in the air.

Then he have his big winner an even bigger hug.

"Obviously thats not the best preparation for the start of a big race like this, but a world-class rider has to be able to perform under any circumstances and she proved shes a class rider," he said.

Once the race started Livingston had a chance to catch her breath. The pace was slow and field stayed together - until the pesky 1.5 -mile climb to the top of Lucky Peak Dam.

Once on the top, several riders staged mini-attacks with no one taking anything too seriously.

The strategy of this race is well-chronicled: The Idaho City race has ended in a field sprint 12 0f 14 years, so its just a matter of getting to Main Street with the lead pack.

Thats when the real race starts.

The pace did pick up at times and when a pack of 75 riders made than nasty left-hand turn onto Main Street, Kurreck had the lead.

For about a second.

Livingston blistered the final 200 yards and hit the line first. Knowing many battles remain, Kurreck didnt mind finishing second to one of the worlds top finishing sprinters.

"Shes quick, so being second to her, I feel pretty good about that," Kurreck said.

As for Livingston, her post-race strategy was much more simple than anything she endured before the race. "Im beat. Im going to bed," she said.

Gueling race can take its toll on the cyclist

Straight from the race - Nicole Freedmans Womens Challenge diary

I always look forward to the Idaho Challenge. Its the highlight of my season.

In the last two years I have met so many wonderful people in Boise. Returning to this race almost feels like a reunion.

So many of us have sacrificed so much for cycling. I live in a van and earn $5,985 each year - but think of the money I save in taxes.

The van has fake wood paneling - but its bigger than a couple of dorm rooms I had in college.

Cycling is our passion and we give everything to succeed. A race like this that recognizes, publicizes and celebrates women athletics reaffirms our dedication. Im proud to be part of such a race.

Sometimes I wonder if people fully comprehend the length and difficulty of this race. Bike in had, I asked someone at the front desk of our hotel for directions to Curtis Road.

He responded, Oh, its really far. Theres also a hill you have to go over."

Realizing I had only an hour and half, I set out despite his warning. Ten minutes, three miles, and 100 feet higher and later, I reached my destination.

Its difficult to explain how it feels to race 50 to 80 miles every day, nine days straight over numerous mountain passes. Its even more difficult to explain why we do it.

This is the best I can do: Day 1 and 2 are a breeze. By Day 3, no racer would think of taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

By Day 4, eating becomes a chore; force-feeding is a necessity.

Day 5 and 6 become harder for more of us. The thought of stairs is long gone. Merely standing in the elevator or shower can be problematic.

We survive Day 7 and 8 on adrenaline - and it takes about a week to recover from the race.

For this race our team flew into Boise on Friday. I realized my teammate Louisa jenkins had raced here too many times - when she recited the menus of every good restaurant in town as directing the team van to the hotel blindfolded.

Our teammate, Jackie Martin cooked us dinner (pasta, of course) at her host familys house and we headed off to a Shaklee meeting. As part of our team sponsorship, our team hosts a meeting with Shaklee representatives in race sites to talk about nutrition, health, cycling and more.

They seemed shocked to lean that we can stuff down three Carbo Crunch bars in a race, eat up to 4,000 calories in a day and that my 10 hours of nightly sleep does not include a daily 45-minute nap.

Before coming out here, I happened to look at some photos form last years race in cycling publications. The photos depicted brightly clad cyclists with beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background. In addition to my racing goals, I plan to look at the scenery this year.

Im looking forward to an exciting race.

Other Previews by Mike Prater of the The Idaho Statesman

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist and former race champion Clara Hughes has withdrawn from this years Hewlett Packard International Womens Challenge, which starts Sunday.

The 1994 Womens Challenge winner said bronchitis will keep her from the week-long $100,000 bicycle race through Southern Idaho.

"Ive had a lot of bad luck this year, and now a funky flu has turned into this," Hughes said Thursday from her home in Ontario, Canada.

"Its hard missing the races that I love and racing in Idaho is definitely one of my favorite races of the year....Ill be back next year."

Hughes, who finished second in last years race before winning two bronze medals at the Atlanta games, has been fighting tendinitis in her Achilles tendon. She also received facial stitches and a concussion during an April racing accident in New Zealand.

She missed last weeks CoreStates Liberty Classic in Philadelphia and said she wont race again until the Canadian National Championships next month.

California racer Julie Young has replaced Hughes on the Team Saturn roster.

This years eight-day race begins Sunday with the 57.4-mile Kuna to Idaho City Road Race. Starting time in Kuna City Park is 11a.m.

The 14th annual race ends Sunday, June 29, with the Middleton to Hyde Park Road Race.

Twenty-six teams and 104 world-class riders will race nine stages and cover 434.37 miles.

In Hughes absence, the only returning champions in the field are Americans Rebecca Twigg (1984-86) and Dede Demet (1995).

Challenge favorite is ready for the burden - Even her foes are saying Karen Kurreck is the racer to beat in Idaho, Saturday, June 21, 1997

The burden of this years bulls-eye belongs to ... Karen Kurreck.

The International Womens Challenge bike race usually begins with a favorite - and usually ends with someone else hogging the final victory podium.

This years $100,000 stage race starts Sunday, and with nine stages, 434.4 miles and 7,587 vertical feet of climbing left to conquer, theres no way to predict a champion.

The pre-race favorite is Kurreck, the 35-year-old national team rider, software engineer and former Big Ten gymnast.

Oh, one more thing: Shes on of the hottest racers in the world right now.

"This could be Karens year to win it Shes very hot right now," race director Jim Rabdau said.

"Shes probably the best rider we have in the U.S. right now.," national coaching director Chris Carmicheal said.

Even some opponents in this 14th annual race are predicting a Kurreck victory.

"You want my prediction? Karen Kurreck all the way." said Nicole Freedman of Team Shaklee.

For Kurreck, who rides for Team Klein, its a burden shes willing to carry.

"Its kind of funny," She said this week from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. "Im still the same Karen Kurreck, but all of a sudden you win one or two races and everyone thinks youre the favorite.

"I dont know if thats good. Ill be riding around with a bulls-eye on my back, but Ill just have to deal with it."

The world-class women have completed three major road races on this seasons international calendar: the Tour de lAude, a stage race in France: the Thrift Drug/USPRO Championship, a one-day event in Pittsburgh; and the CoreStates Liberty Classic, a one-day race in Philadelphia.

There are 104 riders in this years Womens Challenge, and only two have finished in the top eight of those races: Kurreck and Lithuania power Rasa Polikeviciute.

Kurreck is the only one of those two with a victory, at the Pittsburgh race earlier this month. She outsprinted Russian Zoulfia Zabirova, an Olympic gold medalist, at the wire.

"Things seem to be clicking right now, and I dont know why, but Ill take it." she said.

Kurreck, from Cupertino, Calif., is a five-time veteran of the Womens Challenge who has enjoyed pockets of success in the richest womens cycling event in history.

She finished third in 1993 and 1994 and won two stages in 1995, only to finish 11th. Last year, she was 20th.

Her downfall always seems to be the climbs, especially the 8,700-foot backbreaker to the top of Galena Summit between Stanley and Ketchum. Kurreck has asthma and lives at sea level, neither of which helps to develop solid climbing skills.

"Galena always gets me. Ive just never had good days there," Kurreck said.

She cant explain why, but shes climbing better this year. Maybe its because she broke her leg in January - the result of a freak weightlifting mishap - and shes been training harder than ever.

Also, shes spent the last two weeks at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado where the elevation is 6,000 feet.

Like Kurreck, Polikeviciute has had pockets of success in her two years at the Womens Challenge. But if Kurreck doesnt like to climb, Polikeviciute doesnt like to sprint.

This years time trail - an all-out sprint against the clock - has been shortened from 16.3 miles to 4.47.

That should help Polikeviciute as she tries to win her first Womens Challenge.

Zabirova is the No. 2 rider in the world right now, but shes making her first appearance at the Womens Challenge. The last first-timer to win was Frances Jeannie Longo in 1991.

Polikeviciute is No. 11 in the world rankings, while Kurreck is the top American at No. 23. Other top 25 riders in the field are Lithuanian Jolanta Polikeviciute (No. 13) and Canadian Linda Jackson (14), who won the Tour de lAude.

"This is a race where you cant be up and down. You cant have any bad days, and Karen knows this, " Rabdau said. "This could be the year she strikes, but you go into every year knowing its going to be wide open and this race is no different."

Data from the Challenge:

The all-sports network will televise highlights from the race later this summer....The race champion earns $5,500 of the $100,000 purse....The popular Bogus Basin Time Trial, traditionally the prologue, has been moved to Friday night at 7.....Race fans can follow the Womens Challenge on its web page at www.hp.com/go/iwc....The only returning champions in the field are Americans Rebecca Twigg (1984-86) and Dede Demet (1995). Demet is the top returner from last years race, finishing third, and she was fifth in last weeks CoreStates race in Philadelphia....Five of the nine stages in this years race are new, including the finish in Hyde Park next Saturday at about 1:10 p.m.

More Previews

On the edge of isolation - cycling tries to prevent womens sports from passing them by

The Womens National Basketball Association launched its first season this weekend with more hype than any female athletic venture in history.

The Hewlett Packard International Womens Challenge bike race starts today in Kuna with a few lonely spectators standing on the side of the road.

Corporate sponsorship of womens sports has increased from $285 million in 1992 to $600 million in 1997.

Womens Challenge officials feel blessed to have a one-year, $300,00 commitment from HP to pay for this years race.

In 1972, one in 27 high school girls played varsity sports. Today, that figure is one in three.

The international federation that governs cycling refuses to recognize women who race for a living as professional athletes because, as the cyclist like to say, the sport is run by a bunch of conservative old men from Europe.

Gymnasts are touring the country for big bucks, a prod soccer league is in the works, a pro softball league started this spring and ice hockey is a medal event for the 1998 Nagano Olympics. All just for women.

Quick - name a superstar in womens cycling.

The womens Tour de France is televised in more than 100 countries.

Not in the United States, where the Womens Challenge will get a brief mention on ESPN.

Whats all this mean?

Its the "Year of the Woman" in the U.S. and the sports they play are more popular than ever.

Womens cycling, specifically road racing, isnt enjoying the same success.

"I dont think anyone is satisfied with the attention our sport gets," world-class racer Pam Schuster said. "Our sport deserves to be so much bigger than it is, but I dont know what the solution is."

Thats the problem.

No one seems to know how to fix the problem.

The sport that conquers thousands of racing miles a day cant seem to overcome the chicken-and-the-egg theory.

Without popularity, the sport cant attract attention from the public, media or business world.

Without the attention, how can the sport become popular?

More than anything, the sport needs a star. A Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, a Ken Griffey, Jr., a Lance Armstrong. Maybe even a Dennis Rodman.

"A kid wants to be a pro baseball player not because hes playing games in the sandlot, but because hes watching major league stars," U.S. national coaching director, Chris Carmichael said. "If theres not an attraction, someone for the kids to aspire to, theres no carrot to get involved."

The sport has had only two major starts - Olympic success stories Rebecca Twigg and Connie Carpenter.

Twigg maintains her world-class form, but shes 34 years old; Carpenter is retired.

"The sport needs to have heroes. If you dont have heroes, its hard." Womens Challenge race director Jim Rabdau said.

This is a big problem.

Priority No. 1.

No Americans are dominating in Europe, where the sport is king.

Last years Olympics werent kind to U.S. riders.

And there are no racers - youngsters or veterans - with potential star appeal.

"I cant think of any." Carmichael said.

Its Carmichael, and many others, who believe another missing piece is the lack of a pro racing series. Such a thing would give American sports fans a win-loss gauge to follow the sport.

Women still arent given pro licenses, but they had their firs USPO race in Pittsburgh earlier this month. There is talk in side the U.S. Cycling Federation to begin a pro circuit for women.

"These are steps in the right direction," Carmichael said.

At the Womens Challenge, world-class racers still compete against mid-level amateurs, something youd never see in a mens race where licensed pros have their own elite tours.

This discourages women who arent world-class riders.

It keeps the racing numbers down. In turn, younger women are turning to a magnitude of other athletic options.

"Its crazy that beginners are jumping in with world champions and Olympic medalists. They get creamed...and all this stagnates the sport," Carmichael said. vThere are pockets of cycling success in this country. Mountain biking is huge and the Womens Challenge is alive and well.

Its the only major international stage race in the U.S. - for men or women. The mens Tour de Pont folded last year when the major sponsor backed out, leaving the Womens Challenge as the long survivor.

"Thats an empowering feeling for the women," racer Nicole Freedman said.

Freedman is one racer with a solution, even if its not the solution of choice.

"Betting isnt a bad way to go," she said. "Horse racing isnt a sport and look how popular it is."

Then there are times when Freedman believes the sport is doing just fine. "Sometimes I think maybe we should be grateful for what we have," she said.

Said Rabdau: "Were not doing so bad....This sport is full of great people and if this country doesnt understand that, to heck with them. Remember, its a special character who want to accept all this pain for very little reward."

Boise smokejumper ready to make her legs burn, Sunday, June 22, 1997

Kasey Rose didnt even have to think about a question that might make the rest of us a little squeamish.

Which is scarier? Riding a bike up Galena Summit or jumping out of an airplane and parachuting onto a Galena Summit thats engulfed in fire?

"Riding up Galena Summit, definitely," Rose said.

Rose, of Boise, begins one of the most labor-intensive battles of her life today as a competitor in the Hewlett Packard International Womens Challenge.

Thats saying a lot because Rose, 29, is a smokejumper for the Bureau of Land Management. For the last nine summers, she has plummeted out of airplanes, landed in fiery wilderness areas and battled some of the most significant blazes the West has offered.

Shes made about 170 jumps and battled about 100 fires.

The tall, lanky Rose has carried 135-pound packs on her back and once stayed up for 58 straight hours.

Shes one of the strongest, most durable athletes youll ever meet - and racing a bike 434.7 miles in the next eight days scares her to death.

"I dont know whether to be excited or intimidated," said Rose, who is riding for Team JVC. "Part of me feels Im not worthy. What am I thinking?"

"But its a challenge. The best racers inthe world are right here in Boise and this is something I have to try...I dont expect to be competitive in the race. I just want to finish."

Rose grew up near Seattle and worked long days on local dairy farms. She has a degree in zoology from the University of Washington. She trains on her bike about 15 hours a week - in addition to her job.

She doesnt mid being dirty, hungry or tired.

"I guess Im cut out for a life of hard labor because thats what I enjoy," Rose said.

Director adds new twists to this years race, Sunday, June 22, 1997

Womens Challenge director Jim Rabdau has tinkered with this years course, adding four new faces, a whopping amount of time bonuses and a wild finish in Hyde Park.

"Its not our toughest race, but it might be our most interesting." said Rabdau, who for 14 years has designed courses to challenge most of the worlds elite cyclists.

It all starts today with a new twist to an old favorite - the mad dash into Idaho City. The race has traditionally covered 40.9 miles and started in East Boise, but this years start line is Kuna.

Total length: 57.4 miles.

The eight-day race will cover 434.37 miles and 7,587 vertical feet of climbing.

In the most intriguing change, Rabdau as added 402 seconds of time bonuses, easily the most ever in this race.

There is one 30-second bonus four files from the finish line of Wednesdays Stanley to Ketchum Road Race.

Last years largest time bonus was three seconds.

"who in the hell takes a risk for three seconds?" Rabdau said. "I cant change the roads and I cant add any hills. The only thing I can add is incentives."

The end of the Stanley-Ketchum race "normally gets very tactical. The girls try to outfox each other. I want someone to go for the gold from the top (of Galena Summit)."

The other new races are from Emmett to Horseshoe Bend, complete with a nasty 7 percent climb to the finishline; Twin Falls to Glenns Ferry, following the Snake River, the Mayfield Head to Head Time Trial in the desert east of Boise; and the middleton to Hyde Park finale next Sunday. vThe entire race ends with a three-quarter mile sprint down a narrow 13th Street into Hyde Park, the quaint historic district in the North End.

"It will be a wall-to-wall sprint. The big question is, will everyone fit on that narrow street?" Rabdau said.