The Roots of North American Cycling Comes to DVD

By Nelly

Long before Lance Armstrong's 7 straight Tour de France victories, long before Greg Lemond's 3 TdF wins and even long before the legendary 7-Eleven team North American cycling needed a venue to develop talent.

That venue began in 1975 as a 3 day Colorado stage race known as the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic, a race that later grew to be known as the Coors International Bicycle Classic. By the mid-80's the Coors Classic was a full three week race, the 4th largest race in the world and had attracted talent from across the globe.

Race promoter turned filmmaker Michael Aisner has teamed up with Velo Gear to bring back the glory days of North American cycling in an 8 hour 3 DVD set. "Red Zinger/Coors Classic Where it all Began" is evidence that this race was the tipping point for North American cycling. The place where Canadians like Steve Bauer, Alex Stieda and the Canadian National Team got the high mountain race experience in their legs to prepare them for assaults on the European cycling calendar.

If anyone was to benefit from this race however, it was the Americans. This was the birthplace of the 7-Eleven team, the first true American trade team to have success in Europe and the 3 DVD set shows us why.

While there is really not much new in the set (the set is essentially a compilation of NBC and CBS sports coverage along with old 16mm film), it is entertaining viewing for anybody interested in the history of cycling. As the race grew in stature so did the prestige in its' roster. Davis Phinney, Jock Boyer and George Mount dominated early editions of the race. Then as the event's popularity grew, the likes of the Soviet National Team came to do cold-war battle. Eventually attracted by the promise of high altitude experience (the Rockies are much higher than the Alps), the Euro-pros came knocking and that's when the race was at it's most exciting.

American cycling was on the upswing thanks mostly to Greg Lemond's Tour de France victories. Lemond's 1986 TdF win over teammate turned rival Bernard Hinault blew the doors open for North American cycling. Having generated so much interest in the sport, Lemond brought over his LaVie Claire team to race the Coors Classic. That team included Lemond's mentor/nemesis Hinault. Percieved in France as a fiesty competitor, Hinault's countrymen named him "the Badger" for his fighting spirit. Villified in America for a broken promise to help Lemond win the tour, "Le Blaireau" exhibits his control over the peleton in the 1986 Coors Classic. Cameras catch Hinault acting downright dastardly in a crucial breakaway (would it kill le patron to take a pull?) and during post race interviews Hinault comes off as arrogant beyond words, but then again he was leading the race.

The 8 hour DVD set also displays all of the strength, courage and lunacy one would expect in a three week stage race. World junior champion Lech Piasecki (Poland) struggles to the line, his clothes in tatters after a brutal crash. Jock Boyer puts in a heroic effort on the last day of the first edition of the Coors Classic in 1980. Schwinn Icy-Hot rider Jeff Pierce adopts a now laughable strategy to unseat Hinault with a disc wheel and an alpine descent.

Red Zinger/Coors Classic Where It All Began is a must for any cycling afficonado with a sense of history of the great sport. Without an event like this it is doubtful cyclists from these shores would see the success they have since the mid 1980's. To have it documented in one concise package is a real treat.

In the end, the race closed up shop after the 1988 edition. The 7-Eleven team went on to become an international success that morphed into the Motorola squad and eventually Discovery Channel where some guy named Lance won a race or two. Steve Bauer finsihed 2nd in the Los Angeles Olympics and later wore both the white and yellow jeseys at the Tour. And Jeff Pierce, as a member of the 7-Eleven team actually got a stage victory in le Tour.

Perfect for a pre-ride pump up or as distraction while spinning away in the basement this DVD set is a great way to gauge the progress cycling has made on this continent over the past 30 years.

Order your copy at www.velogear.com

Posted by bikergrl at February 7, 2007 10:34 PM

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