Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 12, 2007 issue
The nationally ranked Lees-McRae cycling team will host a number of teams from their conference on Saturday, April 14, and Sunday, April 15. Some of the teams traveling to Banner Elk to race against the Bobcats are University of Georgia, University of Florida, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Cumberland University, Vanderbilt, University of Tennessee and Furman.
With the conference title wrapped up, the Bobcats are excited about racing against their conference foes on their hilly course here in the mountains.
The weekend starts off with a Team Time Trial on Highway 221 from Blowing Rock to Grandfather Mountain. This event will begin around 8:00 a.m. and will run until 9:30 a.m.
The teams will then head to Lees-McRae for a criterium race. The race will follow the same course as last year. From 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., the town will close off Central Way and Banner Road from Central Way to Highway 184, and Highway 184 will have one lane closed from Banner Road to Central Way. The Banner Elk Police will be on hand to direct traffic. Post office parking will be set up in the Avery parking lot on the college campus.
On Sunday morning, the team will host a road race that will begin at the city park at 9:00 a.m. The teams will head out Highway 194 toward Watauga County, racing down 194 to Matney making a right turn on Pigeon Roost, climbing up Pigeon Roost and making the hard left turn on Horse Bottom. They will stay on Horse Bottom until it becomes Dobbins, head to Highway 184, make a right turn and head to downtown Banner Elk. There they turn right and head back to the park to begin a new lap.
The Bobcats invite everyone in the community to come out and cheer on their local national championship team. The team has been to three national championship events this school year, achieving a fourth place finish at Track, third at Mountain and first place at Cyclo Cross. The team is trying to achieve the number one ranking in the country. By finishing in the top 10 at Road Nationals, the team will finish the 2006-2007 school year ranked number one in the country in Div I cycling.