MC's Kopinski tells tale of L'Etape
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Mark Kopinski '79
(Photo Credit: Bloomberg News Photo) |
The Tour de France is in
full force these days, and riders will cover more than 2,200 miles in
the grueling 21-stage race, which concludes in Paris on July 27.
A year ago, Mark Kopinski
’79 took part in the L’Etape du Tour, an event for amateur cyclists over
the same Pyrenees mountain course the Tour de France followed a week
later.
A Bloomberg news story
titled “Tour de France Wannabes Jam Own Race as Drugs Taint Real Thing,”
led off with Kopinski as it described the amateur event.
“Mark Kopinski whipped out
his BlackBerry and e-mailed friends that he was ‘feeling like a rock
star’ after three of five climbs,” wrote the article’s author, Alex
Duff. “His bluster disappeared as he ascended the (5,758-foot) Port de
Bales and slogged up the final peak before finishing in 11 hours, 20
minutes. In the Tour proper, Alexandre Vinokourov won the stage in 5
hours, 34 minutes.”
“At one point, I screamed
out loud, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Kopinski was quoted as saying.
Amateurs are flocking to
L’Etape even as doping scandals tarnish the Tour de France and scare
away sponsors. About 8,000 riders set out on the 122-mile trek from Foix
to Loudenvielle last year, up from 1,705 for the first race in 1993.
This year’s edition on July 6 drew close to 9,000 riders.
With no prize money or
sponsorships at stake, amateurs ride L’Etape to test themselves and
don’t cheat, which has become a huge issue in professional cycling. The
amateur event simply gives enthusiasts a taste of what it’s like to ride
in the world’s premier cycling race.
Published in May, the
Bloomberg article was seen around the globe, and Kopinski said he
“fielded questions all day from every country imaginable.”
Kopinski, who works in the
New York office of American Century Investment Management and also
serves on the executive committee of Monmouth College’s board of
trustees, plans to return to L’Etape in 2009.
