Spokes folk

Champions and amateurs ride in the 40th annual Longsjo Classic

by Sally Cragin

Back in 1964, cyclist Dick Ring was at the starting line of the Longsjo Classic, a memorial bike race to Fitchburg resident and Olympian Art Longsjo. Ring knew and trained with the Finnish-American athlete, and competing in the race dedicated to him was an honor the Fitchburg man wouldn't have refused. But that day, the scheduled race announcer was nowhere to be seen; so when Longsjo's widow, Terry, asked him to take over, Ring didn't hesitate. Who else knew the riders, the terrain, and the sport as well as Longsjo's friend?

Putting aside his wheels for a microphone is a decision Ring doesn't regret, and if you attend the four-day event (July 2 through 5, in and around Fitchburg) you'll hear his commentary on the riders and the sport itself. "The variety of the terrain and the Mt. Wachusett road race is absolutely spectacular, especially the finish at the top of Mt. Wachusett," Ring says. "I'm watching this race being run over the roads that Art trained on, and I get chills up my spine every time I announce."

Now in its fortieth year, the Longsjo Classic is a regular race on the national and international cycling circuit, putting Fitchburg in the spotlight and drawing amateurs, professionals, and even Olympian men and women riders to this hilly mill city. Last year, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia sent cyclists, as did clubs in many eastern and mid-Atlantic states. Champions like Canada's Czeslaw Lukasewicz and Olympian Kathy Watt have stood on the Longsjo podium.

But not all the riders are streamlined pros, and not all cycling is for solitary souls. Gerri Moriarty is the director of the Women's Challenge Series at Longsjo, and has watched the popularity of women's cycling increase in the past four years. "When you see a lot of women in Category 4 [beginner's level], you know the sport is going to grow and progress," she says, adding that more women come every year, and more than a third of the participants in the women's races are new to the sport. About 160 are expected (out of a total of 800 riders).

A cyclist herself, who'll compete in Category 4, Moriarty describes life in the peloton (the large and colorful mass of cyclists) as exhilarating, but "it depends where you are in the race. In the women's peloton, it can be a little more social and cooperative. But when it comes down to the final few miles of a race, no one's being that social." Chat in the peloton, for both men and women, usually has to do with the breakaway (a group of riders which quickly moves forward from the peloton) and "strategizing about what's going on in the race," since there's no way of seeing beyond your immediate neighbors. "There are times in the race where you cannot speak, because you're going so hard and so fast," Moriarty says.

Race director Ray Wolejko loves to ride but, unlike organizer Moriarty, won't be competing in Longsjo. "I'm a doctor, I want to go to work the next day," he says drolly. Wolejko has been involved in the race since 1991, primarily responsible for getting a community (riders, coaches, the Red Cross, city employees, and volunteers) to work together.

"There's a real color and rhythm to the race that transcends the actual strategy that the hardcore bike-race fan understands," he says, adding that "when you look at a lot of professional sports today, you see half-hearted effort, and people playing for millions of dollars." At Longsjo, the top prize is $12,000 for the Men's Pro and $7000 for the Women's Pro. Though "the amount of money won at a race like this is tiny compared to what professional athletes make," says Wolejko, "the effort is much, much greater."

There aren't many athletic events where you can see world-class athletes, up close and for free, and Longsjo is one of them. "You see guys whom you would normally just read about, and now you're racing elbow to elbow," comments Category 2 rider Chris Gulleckson, 26, of Leominster, who'll compete for Team Horst. This will be Gulleckson's 10th Longsjo, but his first in the "pro" category. "Normally, I wouldn't check to see what pros are coming, but now they're my competition," he says. Gulleckson and his two teammates, Arlen Weenzel and Eric Fleming, are local, and they've been riding hundreds of miles a week and talking strategy. "I'm a sprinter, Arlen is a climber, and Eric is a time-trialer," he says. "Last year, Horst was voted most outstanding team in New England, when we were Category 3." Now that these young men have moved up a rank, "the distances are doubled and we feel like pledges for the fraternity. Like, what do you want us to do this year? We'll take it!"

The categories

There are eight categories at Longsjo, including Junior Men and Masters 35-plus. Beginning riders are classified as Category 4 and Category 3. The professional categories are 1 and 2.

The races

Friday, July 2: Royal Plaza Time Trial, Fitchburg.

Bicyclists race against the clock, riding 13 miles up and down the hill leading to the hotel. Races start at 9 a.m. and continue past 4 p.m. The pro women race at 2:45 p.m.; the pro men race at 4 p.m. (Where to see: take the Route 31 exit to Princeton off Route 2 west, follow signs to the Royal Plaza.)

Saturday, July 3: Aubuchon/ Glidden Circuit Race, Fitchburg.

The loneliness of the long-distance cyclist is replaced by the peloton. This 3.1-mile circle takes riders down John Fitch Highway, up hilly Pearl Street, past Fitchburg State College.

"Because the houses are close to the street, the riders are slow, meaning 20 miles an hour, which is still incredibly fast," says Wolejko. "This race often sets up the next day's races." The pro men do 25 laps, and everyone else does six to 10. The whirring gears of the approaching peloton are both exhilarating and terrifying for the novice spectator, and the faces of the competitors are straight out of Edvard Munch's sketchbook. Races start at 10 a.m. pro women compete at 1 p.m.; the pro men at 3 p.m. (Where to see: go down John Fitch Highway, and cross Route 2A heading east. Park when you start seeing barriers.)

Sunday, July 4: Unitil/FG&E Road Race, Princeton.

"King of the Mountain" is a term you'll hear at Longsjo, and it's no exaggeration. This Independence Day race requires competitors to go up and down Wachusett Mountain until they've completed anywhere from 35 to 104 miles. If you go to Princeton's marvelously steep Common, you can stand alongside and cheer riders who are riding almost slowly enough to talk to, but who has the breath? "On the mountain, coming down, they're at speeds up to 60 miles an hour," says Wolejko. Races start at 9 a.m.; and the pro men and pro women start around 12:30 p.m. If you get there by late morning, or early afternoon, you'll see plenty of racers, as the start-times are staggered. (Where to see: Princeton Center, which is down Route 31.)

Sunday, July 5: UMass Memorial Criterium, Fitchburg.

Riders go 'round and 'round the Upper Common (making a circle around Art Longsjo's memorial, in a touching choreography) for a total of 15 miles for beginning riders and 50 miles for the pros. Top speeds hover at 30 miles an hour; the race is so fast, you'll be able to spot "breakaways" and strategy, as the peloton whizzes by every few minutes. Races start at 8:45 a.m. The pro women start at 1:30 p.m.; the pro men at 3 p.m. (Where to see: best viewing is at the Upper Common, but you'll be able to walk this course with ease, and see the hairpin turns at all points.)

Riders and riding

Local women to watch include Katrina Fredrick (Category 1) and Lenore Felker (Category 2), the McCormack brothers Mark and Frank (though Frank has been sidelined with an injury), who ride for Team Saturn. Australian Anna Wilson also rides for Saturn, and the Canadian Elita team includes Gianna Roberge who won in 1997. The big teams are Saturn and Mercury; other teams to watch are the US Postal Service, Shaklee, and the Navigator team. The team that may surprise us: CCB Volkswagen Belgium (gold, silver and bronze winners on the under-23 world-cycling team are expected.)

Read about Longsjo on line at http://users.cyberzone.net/longsjo. Or e-mail the organizers at longsjo@aol.com

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