WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—For the ninth straight year, the Chain of Lakes Cycling Classic has brought some of the fastest cyclists from the Southeast to two tiny towns in Central Florida to put on two big days of high-speed racing. Held in Alturas and Winter Haven on March 5–6, this year’s event continued the tradition of offering great competition for a great cause.
With three stages of racing over two days, the Cycling Classic provides fans and competitors with a chance to experience every aspect of bicycle road-racing, from the very fast and the challenging road race and time trial route used on Saturday to the very technical Criterium course on Sunday.
As always, this year’s Cycling Classic drew praise from both competitors and fans. The event is well-organized and easily accessible for spectators, and challenging for the racers.
The best part of all is that absolutely all the proceeds go directly to the Polk County Humane Society, which, aided in part by donations from Cycling Classics through the years, has just opened a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly no-kill shelter in Winter Haven.
The Road Race
After last year’s torrential rains and the high winds which increased the difficulty of past events, fans and racers alike welcomed absolutely perfect racing weather for Saturday’s road races and time trial—mid-70s with no wind and light clouds to keep the heat down. The race follows a 14-mile route through cow pastures and orange groves, with a couple of tight turns and a long uphill finish to the lap.
Though admittedly not as spectator friendly as the Criterium racing, the road races still offer a chance to see competitive cycling up close. Still, the Saturday races are more for the riders; the Sunday event is tailor-made for fans.
The racing started at 8 a.m. with 50+-60+ Masters, 35+ Masters, and Under-14 kids, and progressed through the various categories including a pair of women-only races to culminate with the Pro 1-2s., Cat 3-4, and 15–18 Juniors. Pretty much any rider from age ten up could find a class in which to compete.
Groups of three or four races started at five-minute intervals, so there were always several groups of riders on the course. The stronger classes did more laps, with the Pro 1-2 riders racing 70 miles.
The end of the day was reserved for the Time Trial where riders race individually, competing against the clock on a simple seven-mile out-and-back course.
Next: Deceptively Difficult Time Trial
Deceptively Difficult Time Trial
The seven-mile TT course is short but much more difficult than its length would indicate because it is slightly downhill heading out and slightly uphill the whole way back. The final three kilometers rise very gently; the final kilometer seems to start almost flat, but it is a “false flat;” that it is, it rises almost imperceptibly, draining energy with each pedal stroke.
The final 500 meters rise a bit more—so riders who pushed hard starting the last kilometer suddenly find themselves drained a few hundred meters from the finish line.
This is where experience and training shows—where riders either cruise to the finish, or dig a little deeper to save a few seconds and maybe gain a few places.
The trick to the time trial while metering energy output to be sure there is something left at the end. Heading out to fast can lead to burning out on the way back. Saving too much for the finish could mean a lower average pace. With both fatigue and elevation rising through the back half of the course, the Alturas time trial course is doubly challenging.
Criterium Racing—In-Your-Face Action
Criterium racing takes place on short, tight courses, often in urban areas. The Cycling Classics Chain of Lakes crit course loops around Winter Haven’s downtown park and through its business district.
While most crit courses are simple squares, the Cycling Classic course is a pair of connected rectangles, with some very tight turns and some extremely fast corners in both directions.
This makes the course a lot more challenging for the riders, and offers spectators more vantage points. Even better is that the center of the course, where the two rectangles link, offers two tight corners, where the mass of riders, traveling at 30–40 mph, have to squeeze from a wide road onto a narrow one while turning sharply.
These are the two most technically demanding corners on the course, and fans can see both of them just by turning their heads.
Spectators standing between the corners can watch the peloton approach from one side, then turn around and watching it coming the other way 30 seconds later.
There are plenty of other places from which to watch the racing; some people prefer to sit in the shade of the parks sprawling oak trees, while others crowd the start-finish straight for a good view of the finishing sprints. But be careful if you lean too far forward: the pack of riders roaring by raises a wind which can snatch your cap right off your head.
As with the road race, competition kicks off at 8 a.m. with riders on the course non-stop until five p.m.—a full day of entertainment, and admission is all free.
Next: The Reason for It All
The Reason for It All
Cycling Classics Inc. was formed in 2008 by a group of cycling buddies who wanted to promote riding, help downtown businesses, and give back to the community. These five—Bill Cundiff, Dan Rooney, Bob Rayburn, Scott Miller, and Howard King—formed Cycling Classics to prove a challenging event for competitors, an exciting event for the spectators, and to support the local charity of their choice, the Polk County Humane Society.
The first race was a tremendous success, and its reputation as a well-run rewarding event has grown with each passing year. Pro riders could probably race elsewhere that weekend for much bigger purses, but the quality of the event, coupled with its charitable nature, has made the Chain of Lakes Cycling Classic a mainstay on the Florida Cycling schedule.
Cycling Classics is not just a non-profit; it is entirely a volunteer organization. Instead of pocketing the registration fees and leftover sponsorship funds, Cycling Classics donated one hundred percent of the proceeds to the Polk County Humane Society’s no-kill shelter—the only one in the area.
Instead of keeping abandoned animals for some set time and then putting them down if they were not adopted, the Humane Society of Polk County keeps every abandoned, neglected, or abused animal. They house, feed, and treat each pet, testing for diseases, de-worming, spaying or neutering ... and they keep every pet until a home can be found for it.
For 35 years the Humane Society operated out of a small building on a narrow back road in Winter Haven. Every square inch was packed with cages or pens housing neglected animals; some had to be housed in pens on the back porch.
In June of 2015 the Humane Society moved into a brand-new, custom built, state-of-the-art facility at 3195 Dundee Road in Winter Haven. The new facility was designed to be extremely energy-efficient (its monthly electricity bills are on par with a typical three-bedroom house) while providing designated spaces to house, treat, and exercise the animal residents in safety and comfort.
According to Executive Administrative Assistant Laura Chaikin, since moving to the new facility, very visible on a high-traffic road instead of hidden away down a dirt lane, adoption rates have increased dramatically. the staff had a hard time collecting a dozen different animals to bring to the bike races to display and offer for adoption.
Great Way to Spend a Weekend
While the date changes each year, the Chain of Lakes Cycling Classic will always occur on one of the first weekends in March. Sunday, in particular, is a great day for the whole family. Winter Haven’s downtown park is beautiful, with a changing array of sculptures always on display. A variety of vendors offer different foodstuffs, or a family could bring a picnic lunch and sprawl on a blanket under the shade of the oak trees.
Admission is free, action is non-stop, and central Florida in the early spring is about the best place a person could be.
And of course, every minute or so a pack of riders will come blasting by just a few feet away at speeds which would be illegal if they were driving.
Check it out.
