Thursday, 6/5/97 Packwood makes history as champ in criterion
race CYCLING: With road race cancelled, cyclist pulls off upset in
his ‘weakest link’
By Rocky Salmon Daily Bruin Contributor A new era of cycling has
emerged at UCLA: an era of outstanding superstars who all know how
to win. On any given day, any of the top cyclists on the UCLA team
can win. This year, Lane Packwood joined the elite riders by
capturing the national championship. In Packwood’s first year of
collegiate racing at UCLA, he managed to rank No. 1 in the state
and pull off a major upset at the criterion course over Memorial
Day weekend. The scary thing is, the criterion is not his strong
point. "I am a road racer," Packwood said. "The criterion is my
weakest link, but since the road race got canceled because of snow
I couldn’t just give up. It was my goal to win the road race, and
when it was canceled I just let it all hang out the next day. It’s
funny how things turned out." Funny because three years ago no one
had ever heard of Packwood, because he had never cycled. He was a
runner, until a trip to Europe when he found a new love. "I kind of
got tired of running, and when I saw some professional cyclists I
thought it was overwhelmingly cool," Packwood said. After being in
the Army for three years, the political science graduate student
was in shape and immediately took up cycling. He raced for two
years in the United States Cycling Federation, a semi-professional
league, before he came to UCLA, where he proceeded to surprise a
lot of people. The only person not surprised was Packwood. "I knew
I was going to do good. I had sacrificed to get where I was,"
Packwood said. "But I don’t mind paying the price to win. If you
can’t sacrifice it all for glory, then you are not going to win."
Packwood does pay the price. Six days a week he trains, in addition
to his hectic schedule of attending graduate classes and living
with his wife and child. Travel money is hard to come by, but
Packwood does what he can. "I do it all for the thrill of winning,"
Packwood said. "It’s all about who comes across that line first."
That thrill for which Packwood was waiting almost did not come in
the national championships in Durango, Colo., because of poor
weather conditions. The night before the criterion race, Packwood
stopped worrying about reaching his goal; instead, he relaxed. "I
think that by relaxing for the race on Sunday (May 25) I was able
to take my mind off winning. It really helped me to enjoy the
festive mood and not get caught up in winning," Packwood said. As
rain fell upon the asphalt, every rider took aim at the defending
national champion, UCLA’s Keith Henderson, and forgot about
Packwood and his stellar season. Three UCLA cyclists had a chance
to come away with a victory, and to make collegiate cycling history
by uniting with Henderson as the second of two cyclists to win
consecutive championships in the criterion. The race started and
Packwood immediately showed his aggressiveness by establishing a
top position in the front of the pack. As the race progressed,
Packwood remained in the lead with two other cyclists. Soon, only
one kilometer separated Packwood from the validation of all his
sacrifices. "I know that I am not a strong sprinter, but more of a
power racer," the national champion said. "So when it came down to
it, I let my instincts take over." Approaching the last hill before
the final breakaway, Packwood used all his energy to sprint up the
hill. Immediately he gained a huge lead and would be able to hold
off the other cyclists in the last 200 meters for the upset. "When
I crossed that line I knew I had made history. It was the best
feeling of elation," Packwood said. "Winning this championship is
the biggest victory ever. It validates all my sacrifices. Now my
goal is to win the road race next year. I have to defend my
championship." Next year, Packwood will try to give UCLA three
consecutive national championships. After next year, he will focus
on racing in the Olympic time trials just to be able to race
against the best in the country. "I don’t think I can make it to
the Olympics but it would be great to race in the trials," Packwood
said. "I have a one-in-a-million shot because racing with them is
like trying out for the Chicago Bulls: Sure it would be fun to play
ball with them for a while, but it’s unlikely you would make the
team." It seems the rain in Durango revealed a brilliant rainbow
arched over UCLA’s cycling team. At one end a pot of gold awaited
Packwood, the spoils of victory for pulling off a major upset of
his own teammate. Previous Daily Bruin stories:Enjoying the ride,
May 8, 1997