Racing in Rochester

The action was fast paced. The crowds were heavy, and screaming at every turn. The racers put on an incredible show. Nope, I didn't spend the weekend at Watkins Glen with the NASCAR folks, I stayed right here in Rochester for the fifth annual Rochester Twilight Criterium Professional Cycling race. For those not familiar with cycling, a criterium is like a NASCAR road course on bikes. Around 80 cyclists do about 20 laps of a course a little greater than a mile with top speeds around 45mph. There's bumping, there's pushing, there's drafting, and even crashes. Only when these guys fall, they don't have a car around them for protection.

To have an event on the Professional Cycling calendar held in Rochester each summer is just incredible. What an experience to be able to take in year, after year. Each year it is held, it grows bigger and better than the last in both the caliber of the racers attending, and the quality of the overall event organization. This year, me and the Bob's (Anderson and Welch) headed downtown in time to catch the start of the Men's Masters event. Now, before you start dreaming of a bunch of gray haired men riding around in spandex, in cycling, Masters Class is age 35 and up. So the racing was still very fast, and very well contested. A friend of mine from work raced in the event, and it was great to cheer him on all the way to the finish. He's the one in black.


The event dealt with on and off rain throughout the night, but it did nothing to dampen the action of the races, or the enthusiasm of the spectators. The evening even treated us to a rainbow over the racecourse to set the right spirit for the event.

Once the rainbow faded into darkness, the Men's Pro race kicked off around 8:30pm, under the lights. Oh yeah. As if the event itself wasn't crazy enough, the Pro's race it after dark. And, on Saturday night, they also raced it in the rain. Not the best of conditions, but being true professionals, they still gave us an amazing event. Criterium races offer an opportunity to get right into the cycling action. If you want to test your nerves, try standing on a corner as 80 cyclists pass just inches by you at 45 mph. Not sure it's fast? Check out the videos I took as a sample (yes, that is Bob Welch hanging his head out there to test his mettle).




Me and the Bob's hung in as long as we could, but decided to pack it in around 10pm when the heavy rains started. Didn't matter, we had a blast, and can't wait until next year. We talked about our amazement of the event, the racing, the quality, and how lucky we are to have it right here in Rochester, all the way home.

I am already booking my calendar for next year's race. You should too.