Freddie Rodriguez, riding for Jelly Belly Cycling presented by Kenda, fourth from right, rides with the men’s peloton as they cross the Market Street Bridge in downtown Chattanooga during the 2013 Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Men’s Road Race National Championships on May 25, 2013. Rodriguez won his fourth National Championship Monday which will allow him to wear the “Stars and Stripes” jersey once again for 2013.
Athena Hortis is coming back to Chattanooga, and she won’t be alone next time.
Hortis was sitting on her bicycle Monday morning and watching the women’s road race at the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships.
She spent the weekend watching the competition, exploring the city and riding her bike up Lookout Mountain.
Her perspective of Chattanooga’s debut as the host city is unique, because Hortis is from Greenville, S.C., which hosted the pro cycling’s national championships for seven years before the event moved to Chattanooga this year as part of a three-year commitment.
She said she and her friends back home enjoyed the event when it was there, but they weren’t sure it was worth traveling to Tennessee on a holiday weekend.