Long time cyclists from the Atlanta area will remember Georgia native Curtis Gunn. Curtis started riding in the late 80's, and I remember him racing at the Dick Lane Velodrome as a junior. In fact, one of my last races at the DLV was against Curtis, when he was an aspiring match sprinter, and I was the (then) state and collegiate national champion. I still have some wicked scars from that ride and it's resulting high-speed slide into turn 3. That's all in the past, and now I'm quite happy to have him as a good friend.
As you can see from this recent photo, Curtis long ago gave up his match sprinting aspirations (my skin rejoices!), and turned to pursuiting. After quitting the sport for a while in the late 90's, he returned in 2002 to become one of the top pursuit riders in the country today. USA Cycling, however, hasn't favored Curtis with a ride at the track World Cup races, and so Curtis decided to take a shot at another dream of his - being a Pro. Curtis got his first Pro contract this year, at the age of 33. Riding for Team SeaSilver, he promptly went out an won his first race of his pro career, taking out the opening time trial and winning the overall at the Tour of Murietta in California last weekend.
He won the TT the hard way, too - note the bike he's riding. He spotted the rest of the field 19 gears, and still won by 25 seconds. Now he and the SeaSilver team are hoping for a berth in the TdG, and I'm hoping right along with them. Keep your fingers crossed for them, and for Curtis. I like to see my friends have their dreams come true.
Photo is Copyrighted and use is courtesy of Mitch Clinton Photography. Thanks, Mitch!
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