PA Lightning Race Team

Team Manager Michael Doupe, Talks Highlights of the 2008 Season
September, 10, 2008

As an avid cycling fan and racer for 25 years, I spend the summers riding, traveling, and racing. The other three seasons of the year are focussed on teaching Special Education middle school classes in the city of Lancaster, PA.

While most of the recent summers have been used to trot around the globe with my family (wife Amy, son Decker [16], and Emma [11]), Summer 2008 was spent as Road Manager with the Pennsylvania Lightning at the inaugural American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5 and at the world famous SuperWeek events in the Midwest.

These were two fantastic events for me personally and as a team. At the Tour of PA, we started as an uncertain, hesitant squad with an excellent group of riders and staff, unsure of each others' abilities and untested against some of the world's top, big-budget Pro teams.

Quickly, however, we gelled and discovered our own abilities - both the support staff and the racers. Along with many stellar moments in the early racing (Mike Chauner twelth in the prologue, Ben Showman making the winning break in the epic stage into Bedford with Jeff Salvitti just off that select group, flawless feedzone hand-ups from massage therapist Val Highsmith, etc..), along with those highlights, one event - for me - stood out from the rest.

The best racing moment all week had to be Michael Chauner leading the breakaway across the Hot Metal Bridge to the Stage 5 Pittsburgh circuits at the American Eagle headquarters. The crowd was huge, the anticipation was palpable, and everyone was straining over the barriers to see the racers come into the city. Finally - going impossibly fast, there was the PA Lightning blue uniform with the yellow lightning bolt - flying onto the course at the very front of the group.

Of course, there were many moments away from the racing which made for a memorable week, but most of those are too strange and weird to write about here. For the curious, many have been chronicled in the (in)famous egglestown.com Lightning Blog with the wit and wisdom of our own Eric Chrabot.

The biggest prize awarded to the PA Lightning that week was not a trophy or a leader's jersey, but everyone on the squad - support staff included - came away with an understanding of the caliber expected from themselves in big-time American racing. All of the riders made the most of the ability, opportunity, and potential to show their mettle at the front of the field. The entire team finished every road stage of the very challenging Tour of Pennsylvania - a feat not accomplished by most of the teams.

This new confidence, coupled with the excellent fitness of racing 450 hilly miles in less than one week, was vital to the next red circle on the calendar - SuperWeek! For forty years, many of the best racers from around the country and around the globe have spent a big chunk of the summers racing in the Midwest - honing their pack skills with 200 other speed specialists vying for the big purses and prestige in Chicagoland and around Milwaukee.

The day after racing the velodrome in Trexlertown, we (over)packed the team van with bodies, wheels and bikes and headed to Chicago. On the way out, we had a layover in Pittsburgh, checked out the famous Wednesday banked parking lot 'drome, then woke up the next day and headed to Chicago. On the way, we stopped over in Indy, saw their velodrome, rode a few miles around Marian College, and rolled into Chi-town to witness an incredible display of Mother Nature's pyrotechnics as lightning repeatedly struck the distant, black top of the Sears Tower.

The next morning's warm-up around the northern suburbs included a ride by the Northbrook Velodrome (four tracks in four days!), and then it was off to the races around South Chicago, where the word of the week was SPEED. I was reminded of the old Henry Ford quotation - you can have any kind of racing you like, as long as it is a crowd-lined, short-course, insanely-fast, twilight criterium.

The laid-back officials and organizers were not expected by this group of East Coast racers, but the ferocity of the racing was exactly what we were hoping for. PA Lightning had no problem going to toe-to-toe with this continent's top criterium racers, as well as a few Aussies, South American, and Kiwi imports as well.

For that "super" week of racing, several team members got in the money, and the revelation of the week had to be PA Lightning's Michael Chauner. While a couple of Pros battled for wins, Michael's consistant, high-end finishing speed could only be matched by a few stars from Rock Racing, Jittery Joe's, Kelly's Benefit, Bissell, or a handful of others.

At the beginning of the last day of racing for the PA Lightning, Michael was sitting third overall at the start, earning the announcer's call-up to the line and the respect and attention from the entire field.

That evening's race was a highlight for the entire team as well. PA Lightning racers factored in nearly every breakaway, and all of the riders who could stay near the front were looking to the Pennsylvania blue and yellow to match the work of the Pro teams that came with greater horsepower and greater expectations to dominate the racing.

It was a hard, thrilling, and memorable week at SuperWeek. A long trip, very fast, very competitive, and very fun. My role as driver was made easy with the beauty of the country, the hospitality of our host family, the thrill of the racing, the gut-busting raconteur Mr. Brown, and the camaraderie of the racers subjected to my rambling stories.

The summer seemed too short after those weeks with the team. I was able to put in more miles on my bike, organize a little bike race in my town, and recently got to race a little bit, too. The motivation and inspiration for my training is due in large part to the dedication and ability I witnessed from this team. I am truly thankful for the memorable time spent as a member of the Pennsylvania Lightning.

Cadence Cycling Foundation Forms Association with PA Lightning.

CCF Mission:

CCF is a Philadelphia-based, competitive cycling program for kids age 9-16. Our purpose is to introduce Philadelphia-area youth to the sport of cycling at the grassroots level and to provide them with the opportunity and guidance to move up into the elite levels of competition. CCF believes cycling can change lives and desires for every child to have access to the sport giving lifelong skills and instilling passion for exercise and wellness.

How Children Benefit:

CCF gives youth the opportunity to step out of their everyday lives and experience a world they may never have known. Not only do CCF mentors work on teaching cycling skills and strategy, but they also convey life-skills, build confidence and provide emotional support. Every child is a future champion, even if it's not in cycling.

How PA Lightning Helps:

There is no better inspiration for future champions than to witness the highest competitive level of the sport as a realistic goal. Having close relationships with the current professionals through the PA Lightning team will provide ambition for young athletes to climb the sport's ladder and to learn the importance of persistence and goal orientation.

The PA Lightning will be the elite racing team for the CCF and will recruit its future riders from the program. Children of the CCF will interact with the team's racers and will be provided with the opportunity to grow beyond cycling's fundamentals with the next step in mind of being a future PA Lightning racer.