by Antonette Brotman

Safety first! Mayor Craig Johnson has his own helmet for the Mayor's Challenge, a race within the Tour of Elk Grove. Photo by Mimi Ragano.
Bloody goo coagulated on Erik Loberg’s skinned knee. The crimson pool stopped gushing by the time he made it to a medical tent next to the course and reported the incident to officials.
Loberg said he was on the receiving end of a domino effect caused by another racer who shoved the rider next to him.
The Cedarburg, Wis. racer took the fall with three other riders in the Belvedere Banquets Elite Category race, one of many bike races in the Tour of Elk Grove. There is a biker etiquette that most riders follow when they race together.
“It’s considered a faux-pas to take your hands off the handlebars at any point during a race,” Loberg said.
Actionwheels.com writer Patty Woodworth explained why taking your hands off the handlebars is improper.
“Releasing both hands from the handlebars or hopping the bike over objects in the road can cause a dangerous loss of control,” Woodworth said.
Loberg said it’s even more dangerous when people push riders into each other than when they butt them off the road.
Had the perpetrator pushed someone off the course, only one cyclist would have been affected. But in this case four people went down.
When racing cyclists often group together. This group is referred to as a peloton. Riders leave the peloton by either leaving the front and breaking away or falling back and exiting the rear.
A breakaway is defined in bikeraceinfo.com’s glossary as “One or more riders escaping from the front of a peloton, usually as the result of a sudden acceleration called an ‘attack.’ Riders work together sharing the effort of breaking the wind and hoping to improve their chances of winning. This can also be called a ‘break.’ Some riders do not possess the necessary speed to contest mass sprints and therefore try very hard to escape the clutches of the peloton well before the end of the race.”
Loberg said he wasn’t sure what specifically made the pushy rider upset, but the seasoned cyclist tried to make the best of the situation and placed 65th out of 86 in the event.
“I guess [the pushing rider] was unhappy about something that went down before the sprint,” Loberg said.
The Tour of Elk Grove also attracted local amateur riders who wanted to try their feet at racing. A beginning racer, Jim Boyer, was nervous for his first event. He rode in the Mayor’s Challenge, which is a race where Elk Grove’s mayor rides with the citizens.
Riders generally prepare for the event, building up endurance, speed and skill.
“To do an event like this, you need to train and ride a lot,” Boyer said. “It’s time to see if it pays off.”
Boyer placed 11th out of 31 for the time trial, just after Mayor Craig Johnson, who placed 10th.
Tony Abruscato, president of Special Events Management, the company that coordinated the event, said the race wouldn’t be as exciting without Mayor Johnson.
“His enthusiasm really brings teams and riders in,” Abruscato said.
Johnson, who even shaved his legs for the event, said “Every year, we build on the previous year; this is the best year yet. It brings a spotlight to the community and brings the world’s finest cyclists to Elk Grove.”
There was blood, sweat and bicycles. Elk Grove’s third annual event built upon the town’s growing tradition.

Steve Chromik III finished the Mayor's Challenge with a time of 4:18, placing 24th. Photo by Mimi Ragano.
Copyright 2008






