August 1, 1996

One last surge of Bauer power

By STEVE SIMMONS -- At The Olympics ATLANTA -- The end of the line for a Canadian legend comes here, on the hot pavement of Atlanta, on a day Steve Bauer was left so very far behind.
The last time he took part in the Olympic Games, he won silver, but that was 12 years and 11 Tours de France ago. Yesterday, as he slowly pedalled his bike off the Olympic course, one by one his opponents, friends and competitors paid tribute to him, not so much for his placing on this day, but for a career of such substance.
"Way to go, Steve," one said riding by.
"Good race, Steve," shouted another from his bicycle.
"Atta boy Steve," another voice came.
They didn't care that he had placed a lowly 41st in the Olympic road race. They only cared that he was Steve Bauer, and in this sport that means something.
Near the bottom of the hill, where his parents Hank and Fran Bauer of Fenwick, Ont., stood waiting for him, they held on proudly to a huge Bauer Power placard. Beside them, a neighbor from his street held up an enormous Canadian flag. "This is our guy," one of the entourage members said. "There's still nobody in Canada who can beat him."
And during the race, as thousands upon thousands of spectators lined the course to form the world's largest tailgate party, they called out his name as the pack of cyclists whooshed by on Peachtree Street. He was always better known in other places than he was at home; he was always more appreciated on the international stage than in the country he competed for.
Steve Bauer is 37 years old and finished as a world-class competitive cyclist. He stepped off his bicycle yesterday, embraced with his girlfriend, and was both pleased and unemotional about a most gruelling day.
There are few sporting events that even begin to compare to the men's road race in terms of human capacity. It is a race almost 222 kilometres in length, and yesterday in the humidity of Georgia, it was ridden at an average speed of 45 km/h.
One hundred and ninety-three men started; 116 finished.
"I was in there, fighting, riding strong, going for it," Bauer said. "I kept trying. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
"I came here to do something good."
He came here to finish the race and a career. There will still be races out there for him, "fun races," lesser races, but nothing like this. Once, he came within a few metres of winning gold when he raced at the Olympics in Los Angeles - when professionals were not allowed - but now his victory comes from four hours and 56 minutes on a bike. It comes from finishing the race. He was nowhere near the winner, Pascal Richard of Switzerland, almost three minutes behind on the clock.
"Not too many guys my age are doing this," Bauer said. "You have to be realistic. I'm still going well ... there are some races when you have shot."
And there are races like the one yesterday, impossible races, when you have none - even though he managed to work his way to ninth place at one time.
"This is pretty serious, and a very high level" he said of the race. "It's not really that much fun. It's a hard sport. It's a painful sport."
It is a sport which has kept Steve Bauer employed and well paid for the past decade or more. He will carry with pride the distinction of being the only Canadian to lead the Tour de France on two separate occasions, once wearing the yellow jersey for 11 days, another time for five.
When will that happen again in our lifetime?
The rest of the Canadians in the road-race field finished 64th, 75th, 80th and 88th: finishing, as Bauer said, is an accomplishment. In some sports that is laughable. In this sport, it is not.
And in retrospect, Bauer's silver medal of 12 years ago shines brighter today than it ever did in Los Angeles. We know more, understand more, appreciate more.
Steve Bauer isn't one to sit back and find perspective in a career few will ever match. It isn't his way. But the emotion yesterday came from those around him, those who have lived with him, watched him, loved him, learned from him.
"One of the highlights for me this year was getting to know him and race with him," said Eric Wohlberg of Sudbury, who finished 80th. "What a boost he is to our young Canadian cyclists. Just knowing him, seeing him."
"I won't miss it," said Steve Bauer, who will be missed. "It's too hard. It's too hard to do this anymore."