A Cool Reception

Wheelchair division

Although the sun was hiding Sunday, the spirit of Bloomsday was out all morning.

Typically, it was best expressed by a wheelchair athlete.

A few minutes after finishing fifth in the men’s open division, Canadian Jeff Adams was wheeling for the modest cover of a small tent pitched on Monroe Street that served as the media area.

As Adams was trying to get under cover, one side of the tent buckled under the weight of backed-up water and Adams was doused.

The cold-water shower wasn’t pleasant, but Adams stayed cool.

“We’re used to any conditions you can throw at us,” he said. “This is what we do for a living.”

Fellow Canadian Kelly Smith agreed.

“I couldn’t see anything, there was so much water spray going up,” said Smith. “The only way I was going to catch Jacob (Heilveil, who finished fourth) was to let it ride all the way (down the hills, risking a spill). I just put my head down and caught them at the bottom.

“Then, it was just a matter of trying to stick with them to the finish. These guys are tough. They hurt me. I’m very happy with third place.”

Too slick for him

One wheeler did take the conservative approach to the danger of racing a chair over the oil and water mixed on the streets.

Steve Ellefson of Calgary was among the favorites in the master’s wheelchair division, won for the fourth time by Jerry Martin of Cheney.

But when Ellefson got a feel for the slick pavement, he called it a day.

“He said he was slippin’ too much and just dropped out,” said Martin. “He was my biggest competition. After that, I pretty well had it made.”

Driscoll does it again

Jean Driscoll’s mastery of the streets of Spokane continued when the 32-year-old from Champaign, Ill., won her 11th straight title in the women’s open wheelchair competition.

“Last year was beautiful,” Driscoll said. “This year was challenging. We were all slipping.”

Driscoll and 16-year-old Amie Stanton broke away from the pack early, but Driscoll came out of the first downhill with a lead that she would build on throughout the race.

“I was braking a little less than Amy,” said Driscoll, who said winning Bloomsday is a thrill renewed every year.

“I don’t win every race I do,” she said. “There’s a lot of young talent. Amy Stanton. Leann Shannon. Leann went to the Olympics at 13. I feel fortunate that I’m still getting up the hills pretty good.”

Pretty good?

Driscoll conducted a couple of interviews, gulped a cup of water and was ready to leave for the hotel before Shannon finished in second place, more than 10 minutes behind her.

Repeat winner

Saul Mendoza of Mexico City was another overwhelming winner in the men’s open wheelchair division.

“It got to the point where he was so far ahead, you quit worrying about that and started thinking about what was left,” said Smith, of Vancouver, British Columbia, the third-place finisher.

Mendoza, a powerful uphill wheeler, came in 2:22 ahead of Krige Schabort. Although he crushed the competition to win his second straight Bloomsday, Mendoza hasn’t intimidated the field, particularly Adams.

Second last year, Adams, who hails from Toronto, hoped to do better than the fifth-place finish he settled for.

“The weather was tough on everybody,” he said. “I never got loose the whole race. He (Mendoza) has it really dialed in now. He’s living with the guy who makes his chair. His equipment is top-notch and he’s doing two-a-days every day, with no distractions.

`I trained with him last week. He has nothing to do but train. I think the key is, you’ve got to clear your plate of everything and put your head down and train like he does.”

“He’s beatable,” Adams said. How?

Well, by being like Saul.

“I train full-time, but I do volunteer stuff - a lot of speaking engagements,” said Adams, whose colorful look is set off by long red hair and splashy tatoos on both bulging shoulders. “It’s going to be tough to say no because I love talking to kids, but I’ve got to beat this guy.”