City of Greenville Wrap 2014

GREENVILLEJOURNAL

Greenville, S.C. • Friday, August 15, 2014 • Vol.16, No.33

YOUR RACE GUIDE | From Start to Finish August 27–September 1, 2014

EXPERIENCE THE WORLDS

YOUR RACE GUIDE From Start to Finish August 27–September 1, 2014 FIVE DAYS OF EVENTS Handcycling Relay, Time Trials, Road Races and more!

SHOW THE WORLD YOUR SPIRIT! UCI PARA-CYCLING ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The Race is On This Labor Day weekend you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to welcome and cheer for more than 300 top athletes from around the globe without leaving the Upstate. What’s more, this is no ordinary sporting competition and these are no ordinary athletes. It’s the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, an Olympic sanctioned event that is often heralded as the Super Bowl of Para-cycling. The competitors are remarkable men and women who in the face of adversity—amputation/limb loss, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/ wheelchair-users, and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke—honed athletic skills worthy of the world stage. For five action-packed days, relays, time trials and road race competitions will determine victors and showcase the super human spirit and unwavering determination that courses through these elite athletes’ veins. Don’t miss your chance to witness the action and catch the contagious can-do spirit of these amazing athletes firsthand. Here’s your guide to accessing your front row seats.

WHO TO WATCH:

2012 London Paralympic Games Gold Medalist Alessandro “Alex” Zanardi Former CART Series Champion and Formula One race car driver achieved 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division, after only four weeks of training. He has since gone on to win two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

Alex also races a BMW Z4 GT3 for ROAL Motosports in Europe.

The Road to Greenville Two years ago a contingent of local business and community leaders traveled to Belgium to attract the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships—an event that hasn’t graced the soil of an American city in over 16 years—to Greenville. Needless to say, the bid was successful and now Greenville is poised to do what it does best—warmly welcome cycling fans with festivities and fanfare befitting a prestigious international competition.

This is Greenville’s time to combine the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes competing for the most coveted title in the Para-cycling world with a healthy dose of southern hospitality to make sure this awe-inspiring event returns to American soil again and again.

The Competitions Sponsored by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body of professional cycling, the World Championships features relay, time trial and road race competitions. Competitors utilize bikes that are adapted to their ability, including traditional or adapted bicycle, tandem, tricycle, or handcycle.

The World Championships changes locations each year, which adds to the challenge of the competition.

Depending on the course, the race may be more flat and end in a sprint, while other years may feature hills that can result in a solo breakaway.

Handcycling Relay A team discipline that has become a showcase event for spectators. Handcycles can reach speeds of over 30 MPH.

Time Trials A race against the clock where riders start separately ranging from 30-second intervals for all categories. The distance is usually shorter than the road races. The winner of the race is determined by the fastest person across the course.

Road Race Multiple athletes racing by category and classification in a mass start.

Male and female athletes compete in categories related to his or her abilities, such as amputation, limb loss, blindness, visual impairment, spinal cord injury, wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy, brain injury or stroke.

THE COURSES Millennium Campus

Ernst van Dyk South Africa’s Ernst van Dyk is arguably one of the world’s most remarkable Paraathletes. He is a previous Paralympian and World Championship hand-cycling gold medalist and is also a 10-time winner of the Boston marathon in the racing wheelchair category. There are few athletes anywhere in the world with such sporting accolades to their credit.

Categories: C - Cycling - regular and adaptive bikes (upper and/or lower body disability, amputation, cerebral palsy) with five sub-categories (C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5) H - Handcycling - with four sub-categories (H1, H2, H3, H4)

The Time Trial and Road Race courses on the Millennium Campus were selected based on the technical and competitive aspects of the course.

Cracking the Code It’s more fun to watch when you understand the code. We’ve cracked it for you.

Competing athletes are divided into four categories of disability, with designated classifications based on the extent of his or her ability, for both men and women and for all age categories.

The first letter stands for the gender - M for men, W for women. Subsequent letters stand for the sport division and the final number is the class within the division. The lower the number, the greater the degree of impairment.

T - Tricycles - with two sub-categories (T1-T2)

B or VI – Blind or Visually Impaired - plus a sighted pilot on tandem bikes

www.greenvillesc2014.com GETTING THERE

THE TEAMS

Races at the Millennium Campus will only be accessible from Carolina Point Parkway. Free parking is available.

Park only in designated parking areas. Parking Marshals will be on site to direct traffic.

Road Closures: Check out the website for the latest details on road closures.

Over 300 athletes are scheduled to compete at the World Championships. Here are the national teams scheduled to compete: Argentina

WHERE TO WATCH

Australia

Best Viewing Area: Along Carolina Point Parkway in front of the TD Bank Corporate Office.

Best Action: The Hubbell Roundabout Best People Watching: At the Start/Finish Best for Celeb Spotting: The Expo area

Best Spirit: Cheer Competition at the Start/Finish

Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Costa Rica Cuba

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE PLEASE DO

PLEASE DON’T

Bring cash for food trucks and water stations.

Bring alcohol (there will be plenty of spirit at the Cheer Competition).

Bring coolers and baby strollers.

Wear sunscreen and sunglasses (the international spotlight is that bright).

Czech Republic Dominican Republic Finland France Germany Ghana

Take a selfie on the course (be safe by taking one off the course).

Great Britain Greece Ireland Israel Italy

Wear comfortable shoes (expect a little exercise from the parking lot and around the expo area).

Japan Korea Latvia

Bring a lawn chair or two.

Malaysia

Bring your spirit and cheer out loud.

Mexico Netherlands New Zealand

IT’S A FACT Kevin Kopera, M.D., Medical Director at Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital at GHS, is one of only 10 medical classifiers in the world for the Paralympic athletes.

JOIN THE PACK For the latest news and updates follow us on Twitter @SC_NotusSports Facebook UCIParacyclingRoadWorldChampionshipsinGreenvilleSC #Greenvillesc2014

MORE INFORMATION www.greenvillesc2014.com

Norway Poland Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovak Republic South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United States Venezuela

YOUR RACE GUIDE From Start to Finish August 27–September 1, 2014 FUELING DREAMS

Time Trial 8.3km & Road Race Course 11km Includes Time Trial & Road Race Course Time Trial Course Only

Special recognition goes to the following sponsors who made the event possible in Greenville and fueled the dreams of athletes from around the world.

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EVENT SCHEDULE Wednesday, August 27

Saturday, August 30

Opening Ceremony and Parade of Nations followed by live concert featuring Retro Vertigo TD Stage at the Peace Center 300 South Main Street 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

Time Trials Millennium Campus 200 Carolina Point Parkway 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Thursday, August 28

Road Races Millennium Campus 200 Carolina Point Parkway 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

Handcycling Relay BMW Performance Center Track 1155 Highway 101 South, Greer 6 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

Friday, August 29 Time Trials Millennium Campus 200 Carolina Point Parkway 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Expos Sponsor

Sunday, August 31

Media Sponsors

Monday, September 1 Road Races Millennium Campus 200 Carolina Point Parkway 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

COST Admission is free.

Notus Sports Notus Sports, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to attract, create, and manage high-profile sporting events to entertain local sports fans, and promote and showcase the Upstate of South Carolina. For more information, visit www.notussportssc.com.