Professional cyclist to stop in Marshalltown

Tue November 21 2006
Posted Nov 21, 2006
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By KEN BLACK It’s not everyday that a professional bicyclist, along the caliber of a Lance Armstrong, comes to Marshalltown, but just such an event is taking place Wednesday at the Fisher Community Center in Marshalltown. Chris Horner, a rider with the Davitamon-Lotto team, based out of Belgium, will be sharing stories of his journeys in the work of professional cycling. “He’s a really good racer,” said Robert Peterson, with the Iowa Valley Bicycle Club, which is sponsoring and promoting the event. The online information storehouse, Wikipedia, notes that Horner has “won almost every important race in the US racing calendar.” On the Davitamon-Lotto team, he serves as a support rider to one of the greatest bicycle sprinters of the modern era, Australian Robbie McEwen, who won the green jersey in this year’s Tour de France. The green jersey is given to the person who wins the points classification, also reputed to the rider who has the most “consistent” showing throughout the entire race. Generally, though, this prize goes to the best sprinter in the race. It was the third time the Australian has won it. As a support member, Horner helps his team set up the rider for the final mad dash to the finish, which can be quite chaotic in the race’s flat stages, especially in the first week before the field is thinned out. Horner does have a top-10 finish in a stage of the Tour de France, coming in ninth in Stage 8 in 2005. He was 64th overall in 2006. Horner will share his experiences as a cyclist and give inside information on how a professional cyclist trains, the routines they go through and other such information, according to Peterson. He will be in the area with his girlfriend, Megan Elliott, a Tama native, who is also a professional cyclist. Both will be on the program, which begins at 7 p.m. ——— Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@ timesrepublican.com