WHEELS OF FORTUNE? OLYMPIC CYCLING HOPEFULS MAKE PILGRIMAGE TO CAPE TO DEFINE GOALS, PLOT STRATEGY

At left, the cyclists ride to the starting point of an eight-mile course. Above, Jim Schneider, left, cycling coach for the St. Louis Spirits, synchronizes watches with Bill Logan.

Brian Glaspell pedaled trance-like on a stationary bicycle while an array of wires and tubes fed information about his cardiovascular efficiency into high-tech equipment.

Perhaps conjuring up an imaginary finish line, Glaspell lifted his head slightly, then stiffened his forearms and leaned forward as if preparing for a final sprint down the home stretch.

He began to breathe harder, and his intensified effort caused dials and numbers on the equipment to jump dramatically.

Sensing his cycling teammate was closing in on a rare feat, Chris Yenkey began to exhort Glaspell.

"C'mon, Brian, you can do it. Keep it up, Brian," said Yenkey. "Just 45 seconds to go," reminded a technician at the Human Performance Center, where Glaspell was being tested.

"Fifteen seconds, Brian," said Yenkey, the tone in his voice sounding more urgent and supportive.

Glaspell and Yenkey share little in common outside the sport of cycling. Their home towns are as far apart as the number of miles they would amass during a month of arduous training sessions.

Glaspell hails from River Eagle, Alaska; Yenkey grew up in Salina, Kan. Yet these 17-year-olds behave as if they've known each other for some time.

Their common bond is that they are both gifted and intensely competitive racing cyclists who could one day distinguish both country and bank account under the proper circumstances.

That these teen-agers appear mature beyond their 17 years of age comes as no surprise to St. Louis Spirits cycling coach Jim Schneider.

"They should seem a little more mature than the average 17-year-old," said Schneider, who, on occasion coaches both Glaspell and Yenkey. "They've literally been around the world," said Schneider.

Both Glaspell and Yenkey are highly regarded members of the U.S. national junior cycling team who are scheduled to begin a tour through Denmark in March.

The tests performed on them at the Human Performance Center here measured oxygen consumption and usage to determine cardiovascular efficiency.

When the last tests were recorded, Bill Logan, who is a respiratory therapist at St. Francis Medical Center and Schneider's former coach, could barely contain his excitement.

Said Logan: "Brian topped out at 84, which is world-class. The highest number that I've ever seen in here was 95, and that was by a cross-country skier."

Yenkey later recorded 90 in the same test.

What Logan found most intriguing is the fact that Glaspell and Yenkey aren't even at the peak of their training season.

Schneider puts the information from these tests to good use. "This information helps us determine how hard a rider can go in workouts and what part of the race he's best suited to help the team," explained Schneider.

Schneider, one of the few serious cycling coaches in the country who doesn't command a salary, used the test results to organize demanding workouts for Yenkey and Glaspell.

The workouts, which also involved several St. Louis Spirits cylcling members, took place throughout Southeast Missouri over the weekend.

"We go through what we affectionately call an eight-mile death march through this area," said Logan. The cyclists run through "five or six legs" of the eight-mile course.

Schneider also works closely with U.S. national cycling coach Renee Wenzel. Together they pool their coaching techniques and resources to produce the next Olympic hopefuls.

The season begins for Schneider with an annual pilgrimage to Cape Girardeau to conduct tests, break bread and launch ambitious goals with Logan, who was Schneider's best man in his wedding.

"We like to come to this area because the hills work well for our training, and also it gives us a chance to have these tests," said Schneider. "We really don't have the funds to pay for expensive tests like these, but with people like Bill we're able to get them in," he said. "It's information that is very valuable and can become the difference in a close race."

When Logan speaks of Schneider's coaching ability, he applies a tone of reverence.

"Jim didn't really have a great deal of talent, but he was a tremendous competitor who went at it 110 percent," said Logan, who is a member of the St. Louis Spirits and an avid senior cycling competitor.

"Jim does so much to further the sport of cycling," said Logan. "It's not uncommon for him to have a $300 phone bill in one month from all the calls he makes coordinating races and workouts."

Competitive cycling has been in Logan's blood for over three decades, starting with the Little 500 race in Indiana. He has been competing in national races ever since.

The Cape Girardeau resident indicated he enjoys helping further the career of promising junior racers who aspire to compete in the Olympics or turn professional one day.

There are no guarantees that the dedication a cyclist adheres to will be rewarded. "It's pretty much a lottery," said Glaspell, who recently spent two weeks at the Olympics training site in Colorado Springs undergoing similar tests. "There are 20 U.S. junior cyclists and 20 more seniors," he explained. "From those only three will be picked for the next Olympics."

The steep odds haven't deterred these cyclists, however. "It's just something I decided to dedicate myself to about three years ago," said Yenkey, who indicated serious cycling in the U.S. is "pretty much still in its infancy."

Glaspell is considered one of the top junior prospects in the country.

"There are about 75 members in our St. Louis Spirits Club and about 60 are serious racers," said Schneider. "I'd say right now I'm working with three who have the potential to make the next Olympics trials."

Asked how tough it is to make the Olympics, Yenkey allowed a mere fraction of an inch of air between his thumb and forefinger. "You have to realize that your chances are about this slim that you'll ever make it," he said. "There are some famous professional riders who were never in the Olympics. Greg LeMond was never in it, and look what he's done for the sport as a professional."

Added Yenkey, "I'm not going to make the Olympics an end-all, be-all kind of mission or anything. But I'll go after it as hard as I can and see what happens."

Said Glaspell, "As long as it's an experience I feel I'm getting something from, I'll keep going."

That's all that Jim Schneider and Bill Logan can hope for.