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Dr. Thompson returns to the race track
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September 1, 2012 |
 By
Victoria Blake
On
Sunday, September 9, Dr. Jim Thompson of
Thompson Chiropractic Center in Bonners Ferry
will compete in the master's division of the
U.S. National Road Cycling Championships held in
Bend, Oregon.
Thompson will be competing in the Criterium 25
Mile road race, a technically challenging
circuit. In a Criterium, bikers race a circle
route for 45 minutes. A bell is rung and they
have two loops to the finish.
"The course is 0.6 miles in length involving six
corners and will require extreme bike handling
skills," Thompson said. "There will be about 50
of us competing in this race, all going over 30
miles an hour through this course, with a
finishing sprint that will exceed 40 miles per
hour. It'll be very fast, exciting and fun."
Thompson was also racing in cycling 41 years
ago. That was the year he won the California
State Track five mile Championship. That same
season he went on to win the North American
Track five mile Championship in Portland,
Oregon.
"Some things have changed since then in
cycling," Thompson said. "There are many more
avid racing cyclists competing now than there
were years ago. Cyclists like Greg LeMond have
really been a plus to the sport of cycling. With
health and fitness now being an everyday part of
our lives, cycling associations all over the
country encourage all ages to ride and compete
and not just the 'youth' like it used to be.
Bicycles are still basically the same as they
used to be but now are far more expensive as
more people want to go faster and faster with
lighter equipment. The biggest change for me is
trying to train in a four season climate like
Idaho, compared to the ease of training in
places like California, Texas and Florida, where
outdoor training is available all year round.
It's been a long hard haul for me this season,
especially staying motivated during the winter.
But getting to this point of qualifying for the
nationals has made it all worthwhile."
Thompson will be representing Idaho when he
competes Septemer 9 for the national
championship in Oregon. |
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