Tim Ranek has been the race director of the Gateway Cup
for as long as my history in St. Louis goes back. Sure,
alot of you might already know Tim but if you haven't
learned something new by the time you get to the bottom
of the page I've asked the wrong questions. This
interview was done just before the 2003 Gateway Cup.
Stlbiking
How did you get involved in competitive cycling? And at
what age?
Tim
In high school, I played baseball and soccer, When I
went away to college I was not good enough to play those
sports at that level, so my exercise consisted of 12 oz
curls (actually I prefer 32 oz in a brown sack) I got
fat. And I decided to got into a college sport that I
could participate in… cycling. So I founded the MU
Tigers Cycling Team and have been hooked ever since.
Stlbiking
What do you do for a living? Are you involved in the
cycling industry?
Tim
I was a housewife until my wife quit her sugar mama
job. Now I am going into my third year of teaching
second graders at Hudson Elementary in the Webster
Groves School District.
I
do not consider myself a part of the cycling industry.
I consider myself a guy who loves the sport and tries to
put on as professional of an event as possible. There
are so many people in this town who feel the same way
and will go out of their way to help. I feel industry
is a negative term. What I do is grass roots. Just ask
the 400 people that I do not pay for their time and
energy.
Stlbiking
Tim, can you give us a history of how this Gateway Cup
came into being? How long has it been going on?
Tim
It was not my idea. Back in the day (18 to 15 years
ago) it was just two separate days of racing. The
Greentree on Saturday (I do not remember the promoters
name, that is how little interaction there was between
races. Later on it was Mel Trotier) In 91 I was in
charge of the Giro on Sunday. That was it. Greg Siera,
an eager promoter, wanted to improve on his new Monday
race in Signal Hill IL. (93) At the time the Giro was
(and still is ) known nationally. Most people did not
know even know there was a race on Monday. His idea was
to tie together all three days and call it the Gateway
Cup. Boom we were off.
Stlbiking
What made you decide to take on the whole thing
yourself?
Tim
Raising money for a bike race is no easy task. And the
bottom line is people do not realize the risk involved
in putting on a big event. Greg Sieria was done with
the Signal Hill Race after 4 years of loosing thousands
of dollars. I realized the importance of having 3 days
of racing and took over the Monday race and talked
Lafayette Square into hosting the event. (96)Then Mel
got married or some excuse like that and I was literally
left holding he bag. (97) The event had grown so much
that we were even able to separate the cat 3 from the
pro 1 2 field. So now I was in charge of 3 races. In
(99) we went to the now infamous 4 race format.
Stlbiking
How have you been able to get the communities behind
these races?
Tim
Bottom line, to have a good race you have to have it
where the people are. Yeah, a race course in a rural
park is a cool challenging race. But you’re not going to
get people to go out there to watch it. We put these
races right smack-dab in the middle of the best
neighborhoods in St. Louis. These groups are each so
dedicated to their communities, they want to see
something successful and exciting happen in their
neighborhood. They come out, they volunteer, they
house racers, they just have a great time, and look
forward to the next year.
Stlbiking
About how many volunteers do you have for each race and
what are their duties?
Tim
I will use 400 different people throughout the weekend
(including all the prep work too) I will abuse a core
of 12 people who will not get sleep all weekend.
Interested call 740-9724 and you too can be a carnival
worker (aka carney),
Stlbiking
How are the 4 criterium courses different from each
other? Which would you recommend for category 5 racers?
Tim
I recommend cat 5s try out the tuesday night races at
Carondolet Park to get an easy feel for racing. But
Gateway Cup weekend, the easiest race to sit in on is
the Friday Night Lafayette Square race even though it is
with the 4s. But it is dark, and that’s a new
experience sometimes even for veteran riders. The other
three are outright hard. The climb up Adams will
shatter the cat 5’s. The Giro is always fast and
tight. Not good for inexperience. And Monday’s turns
test the best bike handlers. Did I mention the long
bumpy stretch up Washington that will tear your legs up?
Stlbiking
Have you always had the same four venues or has there
been others in the past?
Tim
There has been a merry go round, actually, over the past
13 years that I’ve been organizing labor day races.
It
all started in 1985. The Giro was with VP fair in July
(with the post dispatch race).
Not sure which year it moved to Laborday – (1987 I
think).
1989 Greentree and Giro.
1992 Greg added Monday (Signal Hill).
1993 The Gateway Cup begins.
1995 Greentree , Giro, Lafayette Square.
1997 Greentree, Giro, U-city.
1999 Laffayette Square, Greentree, Giro, U-City.
Whew!
Stlbiking
I hear you actually have to limit the field size in your
races because they are so popular that you'd have too
many racers otherwise. Was it always that way?
Tim
Yep. These short loops (under 1 mile) are not designed
for more than 125 racers. It just gets too crazy with
the tight corners. A guy that lines up at the end will
be a quarter mile behind before he gets to the first
turn. And that is just not fair to the racers. As a
spectator I love to see that many guys out there. But
(speaking from experience) when the back fourth of the
race has that gap develop, it is impossible to fill the
void.
Stlbiking
How many of the racers participate in all the races, all
weekend long? Wouldn't that be exhausting?
Tim
Most line up for all 4. Three quarters, especially in
the pro 1,2 field. And yes they are a bit tuckered out
by the last day. But they have to be on their game for
those corners.
Stlbiking
Can you tell us some of your favorite moments from races
in years past, when you saw an emerging talent really
come into their own?
Tim
Greatest moment for St. Louis at the Gateway Cup was
back in 96 or 97. There was a magazine called Cycle St.
Louis (before this online stuff). And the main editor
had been shafting the placement of St. Louis riders for
the past several years, because no one was placing.
This was hard to swallow, because going back to the 80’s
(Back in the day) St. Louis riders were nationally
noted. Livingston, and the old spirits team, Brinker,
Polok, Martel, Minitri, all had made the national squad
and dominated the midwest. But from about 93 on, no one
had stepped up from the home-town.
So
at the Giro with some 5 laps to go 3 St. Louisans broke
away from the pro 12 field. Sean Walker, Jason
Kippenberger, and Eric Martin. The whole place
erupted. The volume of cheers was like nothing I had
ever experienced before. (nor had the racers) Each lap
it got louder and louder. They stuck the break. At the
finish, before fencing, there were thousands in the
street patting them on the up hill. It was the most
exciting race I have to this day experienced.
Proudest moment - without a doubt. After starting the
Mizzou cycling team, we got good in one year I mean real
good. And we literally swept the season. Eathan Froese
won all 8 races he entered. He was at another level.
We qualified for Collegiate Nationals in Spokane,
Washington in 91. We were looking for a good show at
the road race. The feed zone was in the mountains and
it was a big loop, so the feed was critical. You can
not miss your feed. Sitting in the feed you have no idea
what is going on last 30 miles. So the stress was
amazing. Along this climb, up the valley, waiting, it
was quiet. Then you saw the lead car slowly making its
way up the mountain. And the whole feed zone springs
into life. Looking down the road wandering… There he
was Ethan with one other rider in a good looking break
(with a 2and a half minute lead on the peleton). I was
at the bottom of the feed zone, Drea (My girlfriend at
the time) was at the top of the feed zone. (with a long
line of feeders between us) I yelled out “ETHAN WATER”
And he boomed back NOOO, COKE! And I mean the whole
valley shook when he belted that out. There was no
other sound to be heard. From the top of the Valley Drea
spouted out “ETHAN HERE”, Everyone there learned quick
who MIZZOU was. That moment defined the true passion
that I feel about the sport. It was the National
Championship. And we were in control. It validated all
the work.
Stlbiking
In a typical Gateway Cup, what states do you draw from?
Do some pros who grew up here come home for these races?
Tim
The whole mid-west comes here to race. Pretty much all
racers from MO, IL, KS, OK, IN, KY, Most of North MN,
South TX, West CO, and East OH all travel here to race.
In addition, in the past we have drawn from NC, SC, CA
HI, NM, GA, WI, TN, WV, FL, AL, AR, IA, LA, MA, MD, MS,
MT, NE, NJ, NY, PA, OR, SD, VA, VT, WA, WY. Oh yeah,
and Puerto Rico, Columbia, Guatemala, Venezuela,
England, Canada, Germany and Mexico! Does anyone know
any cyclists in Nevada? Where are those guys?
Stlbiking
Do you expect the Gateway Cup to emerge on the Pro
National circuit?
Tim
Yes. I have no doubt.
Stlbiking
What does it take to take the Gateway Cup to the next
level?
Tim
I have been a one-man band and I cannot and should not
be doing it all. Don’t get me wrong I have hundreds of
people donating hundreds of man hours and skills all
lined up. But to go to the next level It needs a
committee of at least 8 people, one pontiff, 4 logistics
people (one per day), Pr, marketing, sponsors, one HUGE
sponsor, foundation, And a REAL Budget.
Stlbiking
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Any
last parting words of wisdom?
Tim
Don’t take things for granted, And most important is
rubberside down.
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