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Team TIAA-CREF - 2005
Team Journal Entry - May 3, 2005, by Timmy Duggan
The crowds at Tour de Georgia - who are these people?
The Tour de Georgia was a mammoth event in terms of crowd attendance, and TIAA-CREF's Tim Duggan was amazed at the support from people all over the country as they converged upon Georgia.
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World class bike racing in Georgia brought out spectators by the tens of thousands. I think over a million people watched the race by the roadside. People of all ages and walks of life had different ways to show their enthusiasm and cheer for their favourite riders. Here's a little bit of what we saw from the peloton...
In the morning, on the way to sign in for each stage, you walk through something called 'autograph alley'. Hundreds of spectators hold anything and everything out along with a pen for you to sign. I signed jerseys, hats, a bike, race programmes, little kid's bare arms, and even a traffic cone. That will be worth something someday I'm sure.
Before the start, the Lance-Mobile, a huge motor home that Discovery uses at this race, is surrounded by hundreds of people hoping to get a glimpse of their star. Hopefully some of these people actually watch the bike race, not just how Lance ties his shoes or what kind of sunglass lenses he is wearing today. As Lance exits the motorhome, a couple of 'bouncers' blow whistles and knock the crowd out of the way to get Lance to the start. It's usually total pandemonium. Along the road during the race, people on the side ask 'where's Lance?' or 'I saw Lance!'
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The little kids don't have Lance fever so badly, and are thrilled to miss a
little class to watch the race go by the school. They've all made posters for
the race and as we ride by their cheering is absolutely deafening. Imagine 800
elementary schoolers in the space of 50 metres screaming at the top of their
lungs! Riding by those guys was my favourite.
On the shoulder one day, a guy set up a table with cups of water and watermelon
on it for the racers. I don't think he realized how fast we go and might not
be able to stop on the side for a watermelon break, but it was a nice thought
though. On the 20%
hill before the finish circuit in Rome, a spectator standing in the incredibly
colorfully painted road collided with a racer! The last thing you need when
going up that hill is to have someone run into you!
While warming up for the TT the eligible bachelors on our team were courted
by a couple of young ladies holding their corresponding team trading card. 'Where's
David?' they'd ask. On the torrential downpour day, along with countless other
drenched fans, we saw the Mike Creed fan club, but since Mike wasn't there they
adopted Jason McCartney for the week. The
stage to Brasstown was the best spectator day. They lined the final 5km
of the climb, cheering so loudly and coming in so close that your ear drums
rattled. On the steepest part, I don't think I would have made it up without
a few pushes from friendly spectators. Amidst the craziness and smell of beer
on the mountain, we saw a guy wearing a flesh colored body suit so that he looked
naked. Then we saw Elvis, and I got my picture with him after the stage. I even
got kissed by two girls on my way back to the car!
The final stage was like riding in an NFL stadium, there were so many people
watching the finish.
The Tour de Georgia had some truly impressive fans this year. I hope the race
and world class cycling in the states continues to grow. Riding in front of
all these crazed fans is what its all about!
Ian D. MacGregor
www.JustGoHarder.com
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by
Beth Seliga/
- Fans packed in to see world-class racing during the TdG
- A couple of young heads pop up from the crowd
- Big crowds lined the finishing straight on every stage
- C'mon! Fans were well behaved even though it looks pretty rowdy here
- Mercy! Elvis pops in down Georgia way...
- Rugged up and waiting for the peloton on stage 4
