At the end of May my wife and I decided to go to Richmond, VA for the world championship bike races. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since the last time the races were in the United States was 29 years ago. We combined the drive to Richmond with a visit to my youngest daughter and our grandsons in Ohio.

We arrived in Richmond on September 24th. After checking in to our hotel we drove downtown to look at the race area and find potential parking places. The road races began on the 25th with the time trails earlier in the week. It looked like there would be parking close to the start/finish line and we planned on being there.

Each day I was at the 50M sign from the finish line. The weather Friday (25th) included a chance of rain but it didn’t materialize. My wife watched the Friday races but decided to stay at the hotel on Saturday because the rain percentage was higher. I arrived at the 50M spot to watch the start of the Junior Women’s Road Race. The crowd was light at the start but by the finish it was much bigger. The excitement was great with two Team USA women coming in 1st and 2nd. At 12:45 the Under 23 Men’s road Race started and the crowd increased. This time Team USA did not finish at the top but still did great. Driving to the start line we got lost and drove by Libby Hill where the course went up hill on cobble stones. Somehow we got our bearings and made it the starting area.

While waiting on the racers to return to the start/finish each lap I talked to people around me. We met people from Weatherford, TX, Columbia, Florida, Atlanta, GA, Chapel Hill, NC. The people from Erteria were committed to cheering their riders and probably won the spirit award with their flags and cohesiveness.

Saturday was the Junior Men’s road race beginning at 9:00 AM. The sky held back on raining but there was drizzle from time to time. Again I was at the 50M sign or closer to the start finish line. The crowd was bigger than Friday. The Elite Women’s Road Race began at 1:00 with the drizzle still hanging around. The noise at the finish line ramped up each time the women passed through on their 8 laps. Across from where I was one of the VIP areas held people willing to pay the price of admission. Team USA Women tired hard but were not able to win with Team USA member Megan Guarnier taking the bronze medal.

Sunday the Elite Men’s road Race started at 9:00 but not at the start/finish used by the other races. I didn’t read the information correctly that they would start at the University of Richmond about 8 miles away. I wanted to get pictures of the pro’s but wasn’t able to with the mistake. The crowd was much bigger on Sunday. Again the weather forecast called for rain but it didn’t happen. I parked much closer and left the umbrellas in the Jeep but easily accessible. Every time the breakaway and peloton passed the crowd went crazy beating on the barriers and ringing the cowbells Shimano gave out. It was great. Watching Peter Sagan approach the finish line was super as the chasers tried to catch him but failed.

After the race was over we left to go back to the hotel. Once I got back I checked my phone and saw a message from USA Cycling that I had won a signed Team USA jersey from a picture I posted on Twitter. They asked me to come by the booth at the FanFest but since I was already gone I asked if they could send it to me. I am looking forward to getting it and mounting it for display.

I took many pictures with links below. The pictures are broken up by the date.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/texbiker/XM36R4
https://www.flickr.com/gp/texbiker/45o317
https://www.flickr.com/gp/texbiker/30fcS8