Franklin woman to ride in local bike race

Published 8:36 am Friday, July 15, 2011

Franklin's Taryn Hains, a cyclist with Celerity Cycling, will compete in two of the three races during the Franklin Omnium this weekend. Time trials start at 8 a.m. Saturday on Main Street.| Dale Liesch/ The Tidewater News

FRANKLIN—With two children and a job, 28-year-old Taryn Hains struggles to find time for cycling competitions, so the competition is coming to her.

The Franklin resident and member of the Celerity Cycling team of Norfolk will participate in two of the three races during the Franklin Omnium this weekend.

“I think it’s great,” she said of the first local race in more than a decade. “It’ll be fun for people to come out and watch.”

Hains will compete in time trials on Saturday, July 16, and a road race on Sunday, July 17.

This is the first event the cycling team has hosted; teams are required to host one race per year.

Hains, who rides with local cyclists, would like to compete professionally.

“The longevity is good in cycling,” she said. “You don’t necessarily get worse with age.”

During a time trial, each racer starts alone and is followed by another about every 30 seconds. Time trials start with the junior category at 8 a.m. They will start and end on Main Street.

The second race Saturday is the criterium. A criterium is individual racing split up by category depending on skill level. In all, there will be seven categories, ranging from the fastest non-professional riders to novice riders. Women’s and junior races also are planned. Those races start with the junior category at 1 p.m.

Each race in the criterium will begin on Main Street with a mass start. The course for the criterium will head down Main Street and continue through Third, Franklin, Fourth and onto High Street before heading down Second to First and back to Main.

The Sunday road race starts with the women’s division at 8 a.m. near Hunterdale Elementary School.