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Sunday, July 28, 2002

By Lori Shontz, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Oh yes, winning an Olympic gold medal has changed cyclist Marty Nothstein's life.

He can't find time to golf anymore -- he has played maybe a half-dozen rounds in the past two years, and he used to play that many in a month. Last year he never managed to squeeze in his annual hunting trip out West, a vacation that was a priority even when he was "possessed," as he put it, with training to win the gold.

And because he won the match sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in such dominating fashion -- no one could remember another final in which the winner was already sitting up in his seat as he rounded the final turn -- Nothstein decided to move on from the event that has defined his career.

"I really felt like I didn't have anything else I could accomplish in the world of sprinting," said Nothstein, who has won seven world championship medals and 19 U.S. titles. "At the same time, I feel like I'm getting faster and stronger and smarter as I get older. It definitely wasn't time to retire, it was basically time for a new challenge."

He stopped lifting weights to shed the bulk that is essential for powerful sprinters but a hindrance at longer distances. He spent more hours on his bike, building his endurance. He dropped 25 pounds, and he began entering road races.

And today, Nothstein will compete here in the American Flying Mile, a prologue to the professional stage race called The International, formerly known as the Tour de 'Toona.

"It's a unique race, something I feel that's adapted to my style of cycling," he said. "And being in Pennsylvania, which is my home, makes it even sweeter."

As does the prize purse, $10,000 each for the men's and women's races. The winners will receive $2,900 apiece, and the money goes 15 places deep.

The flying mile isn't often contested; Nothstein, 31, is entering one for only the second time in his career.

The event, which will be held on the North Shore, consists of two laps around a one-mile course that starts on Art Rooney Avenue, in front of the Great Hall at Heinz Field, and loops around past PNC Park. Spectators can park for $3.

Heats of 10 riders will do the first lap paced by a motorcycle, which will gradually accelerate from 15 mph to 28 mph and then pull off before the second lap. Then it's a mixture of tactics and sprinting to the finish.

Eventually, the top 10 riders will compete in the final.

"You get the best part of a road race right there instead of waiting around four or five hours for the sprint finish," Nothstein said. "That's what a lot of people like to see."

Race promoter Rick Geist isn't sure how large the fields will be, but he knows they will be diverse. Road racers who will compete in The International, which begins Monday in Altoona, will be in town. (Although the flying mile is affiliated with the stage race, it won't count in the overall standings.) Because the event is so short, track riders also will appear.

The race is also open to any rider with a United States Cycling Federation license, and Geist expects that the "Marty factor" will increase interest. Heats will be determined by drawing lots, so theoretically anyone could wind up in Nothstein's heat.

"One guy said he'd give me 20 bucks to get him into the same heat just to have Marty knock him down at the starting line," Geist said, laughing. "He said he'd have a professional photographer there to get proof. He could be able to say, 'I stayed with him for the first mile, but he got me on the second.'"

Nothstein, who lives in Trexlertown, Lehigh County, hoped all season he would be able to compete today, but he didn't commit until Thursday because he wasn't sure whether the flying mile fit into his schedule. He actually had a commitment to race yesterday in southern New Jersey, so he doesn't know how much time he'll have between arriving here and competing.

"All I know," he said, "is that Mapquest told me it's a long drive."

He is making his training and competing plans based on a long-term goal. He fully expects to win another gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he will be competing not in the match sprint, but one of the longer track events.

Nothstein loved the feeling of winning in Sydney, and he wants to replicate it.

"When you initially cross the line, you've got that sense of triumph, you're unbeatable, your fists in the air, you give it a big yell," he said. "Literally within like a minute, I just felt a sense of relief of the sacrifices I'd made, and my family had made, to get to that point. I actually felt a sense of relief. But it was an incredible feel."