A New Crit in Town
Our friends at Pax Velo lamented the loss of the Leonardtown Criterium, as did many of us. The course was technical, challenging and selective, and inevitably drew top talent. Winning at Leonardtown - nay, even surviving - meant something.
Pax Velo didn't spend the entire off-season crying in their Accelerade, though. In pretty short order they lined up a new loop in southern Maryland that looks to be even technicaler, challenginger and selectiver. They're happy to introduce the First Annual Southern Maryland Criterium.
According to the flyer, "There are 11 turns on tight 1 mile loop on the beautiful LaPlata campus of the College of Southern Maryland." 11 turns? That sounds more like a Formula 1 track than a criterium course. I asked race promoter Jerry Phelps if he had a course map to share, so we could see exactly what 11 turns in one mile looks like. Jerry obliged, and here's your first look at the loop:
Click image to make it bigger.
Looks like a real gas. I'm in. Reg is open. You in?
BTW, Google says LaPlata is only 54 minutes from DC, and an hour and 42 minutes from Richmond. Which is good news - I plan to put the drive time I'm saving straight into training.
Nice!!!
Posted by: Bryan Vaughan | March 26, 2008 at 08:13 AM
Looks like a fun course. I'm in.
Posted by: Stephen Wahl | March 26, 2008 at 02:50 PM
Does anyone know if this is a flat course, or are there any elevation changes?
Posted by: RayMan | March 27, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Never mind, I just used GoogleEarth to see, and there is at most a 20ft elevation in one section. I would say this is a flat course.
Posted by: RayMan | March 27, 2008 at 12:15 PM
it looks alright but its hard to replace the leonardtown course
Posted by: riskus | March 27, 2008 at 05:16 PM