Blaine Benson (MSU) and Scott Rosenfield (NU) narrowly held off the field Saturday by David Villegas

With collegiate nationals a mere two weeks away, the MWCCC gathered for the last weekend of regular season racing at Notre Dame, which was hosting regional championships for the first time. Several conference titles were on the line – including the male individual omnium ranking and the unofficial yet fiercely prized title of “top non-varsity team,” which was contested by Purdue and Notre Dame.

Alder Martz was a force in the road race until his seat detached by David Villegas

The road race course was the epitome of a Midwestern race, with little in the way of elevation gain and sections of exposed crosswinds. While the profile looked flat, though, there were countless small rises that – in quick succession – provided an opportunity for riders to dole out pain, if not make big splits in the pack.

Sinead Miller chases Lapeta up a climb Saturday by David Villegas

The first lap of the Men’s A race started off quickly, with countless attacks that pushed the average speed of the first lap upwards of 26mph – quick indeed for a course with abundant wind and little risers to slow the pace down. Unofficial reports are that the first lap of the 15 mile course was a full three minutes faster than the quickest weekly Notre Dame training race on the same course. Near the end of the lap, a group of three riders established a tenuous gap. With the a section of risers with a tailwind, followed by flat and exposed crosswind, it was perfect territory to consolidate an advantage.

The break of Devon, Alex and Novak in the Men's A RR stuck by David Villegas

This is exactly what the group of Alex Weisler (Marian), David Novak (Lindsey Wilson), and Devin Clark (Lindenwood) set about doing. Despite a sustained chase by Purdue’s Naveen John and several other individual attempts at bridging, the gap was established by the end of the second lap and the riders would not be seen again. In the finish, Weisler would use his formidable sprint to win ahead of Novak and Clark.

The Men's B pack with Joe Hooker (Northwestern) and teammate Tommy Peng center by David Villegas

Behind the trio, however, the battle for the remainder of the top ten placings was fierce. UW-Madison’s Jonathan Heile set out on a solo effort on the third lap and was joined near the end of the penultimate lap by Purdue’s Joey Iuliano, who casually slid off the front of the chasing pack after a sustained series of attacks.

Katie and Axie lead the pack Saturday by David Villegas

Inside the final four miles, on a narrow and twisty section of road, CCN Editorial Director and Northwestern rider Scott Rosenfield attacked on a steep rise and gained separation along with Michigan State’s Blaine Benson. Shouts of “Let Scotty go!” were heard in the pack and the chase hesitated for a moment, giving the formidable time trial specialist a deadly gap to play with. Despite a solo bridge effort by Notre Dame’s Douglas Ansel and a chase by the dueling Marian and Lindenwood leadout trains (only one of which imploded 500m before the line), the duo narrowly held off the sprinting pack by a mere bike length.

The Men's B field sprints to the finish in the road race by David Villegas

In the Women’s A race, the usual script of Marian riders going up the road played out again, this time with Katie Antonneau winning ahead of Sinead Miller and Coryn Rivera. Meghan Lapeta (U Illinois – Chicago) and Axie Navas (Northwestern) managed to break the usual Marian stranglehold on the top five positions by finishing fourth and fifth respectively after breaking free of the chasing pack.

Jonathan Heile snuck away to earn fourth by David Villegas

The remainder of the races were ridden at slower paces once an initial flurry of failed attacks signaled no breakaway was going to stick. No doubt the bulk of the head/cross winds coming on the most exposed roads detracted from individuals’ aggression throughout the day. In the Men’s B race, Will Gleason (DePauw) finished mere inches ahead of Brian Hurley (Notre Dame) and Alex Corrion (Michigan State). Michael Dutczak (UIC) and Adam Messina (Miami University) won the Men’s C and D races respectively while Tina Row (Lindsey Wilson) won the Women’s B/C race.

In the downtown criterium on Sunday, every rider on site thanked the weather gods it was only 45 degrees when racing started, compared to 25 the year before. But as the weather gods give, they taketh away by sending 20mph crosswinds that gust and swirl around buildings, leaving almost no life-sustaining draft.

Joey (Purdue) leads the field out of the gate after finishing fifth in the road race by ysi_Mike

And while the consensus was that no breakaway was likely to stay away on a wide-open course, despite its six corners, the weather had different ideas. Hostilities started in the Men’s D race, where a late break attempt with a lap and a half to go shocked spectators. While the move never gained much separation and was caught on the backstretch of the last lap, Notre Dame rider August Kunkel – one of the five escapees – was near enough to the finish to keep the accelerator floored and prevent anyone from overtaking him in the final 400m. In similar fashion, Purdue’s Julian Toumey – who spent more time off the front of the field than all the other riders combined – won the Men’s B crit despite his role as a leadout man. Toumey lost his charge in the final 500m but had enough horsepower to lead into the final two turns and power uncontested down the finishing stretch.

Tim Norris majestically leads the pack through a turn by ysi_Mike

In the Men’s A race, hostilities started considerably sooner. Within a lap of the start, the field was strung out single file, as it would stay for the first twenty minutes. Eventually, a group of ten riders – Alder Martz, Alex Weisler, Weston Luzadder (all Marian), Justin Lowe, David Novak, Johnathan Freter (all Lindsey Wilson), Brandon Feehery, Devin Clark (both Lindenwood), Joe Magro (Notre Dame), and Will Kinsey (Purdue) – gained separation, stretching their gap out to 40 seconds over the next twenty minutes.

Rachel made the initial selection but was soon attacked out of the break by Marian by David Villegas

The break’s success was hardly surprising, since it was a close approximation of the ten strongest riders in the conference. While Martz and Kinsey ended up returning to the field, the remaining eight riders worked together well until the final two laps where Lowe jumped away. With no immediate response behind, he was able to solo across the finish line with several seconds in hand. Behind, Wiesler won yet another sprint to easily secure the overall conference title. Feehery was third.

"Monk" Brandon had a breakout collegiate season and finished third in the criterium by David Villegas

In the remainder of the categories, bunch sprints were the name of the game despite the attempts of numerous riders to fly to freedom. Michael Fioretti (UW-Madison) won the Men’s C race ahead of Branden Sowers (Purdue) and Josh Corcoran (Notre Dame) while Stephanie Torres (Marian) unsurprisingly won her fourth criterium of the year in the Women’s B/C field with a gap of several bike lengths.

John Naveen was on the front for nearly the entire criterium by David Villegas

Little changed in the conference standings after the weekend, especially with Alex Meyer (UW-Madison) not on hand to threaten Marian’s dual threats for the conference overall in Weisler and Luzadder. Katie Antonneau took home the women’s title ahead of teammates Sinead Miller and Coryn Rivera while Joe Magro (Notre Dame) won the Division II individual title with more than twice the point title of runner up and teammate John Pratt.

Meghan Lapeta tries to help chase down the break Sunday by David Villegas

Marian won yet another conference team overall title, though they were challenged much more by fellow varsity programs Lindsey Wilson and Lindenwood this year than in 2011. Notre Dame failed to upseat Purdue from the coveted “first club team” title and fourth in the conference but finished as leaders in the Division II team title.

J-Lo (Lindsey Wilson) attacked the break and took the win Sunday by ysi_Mike

Ryan Short (Western Washington) leads Dillon Caldwell (Oregon) at the 2012 NWCCC Championship Criterium. Photo by James Ramey.

by Rachel Geiter and James Ramey

The final weekend of the NWCCC has come to a close, and the racers will have a persistent reminder of the weekend in the form of sunburns. The Cougars of Washington State put on the road race in Palouse, WA, while University of Idaho’s Vandals hosted the team time trial in Genesee, Idaho and the criterium on their campus in Moscow, ID.

The 23-mile loop packed quite a punch with 1,500 feet of climbing per lap spread out over three climbs. The winds were relatively low, and only a slight tail-wind was present through the first eight miles of the course.

The Women’s A field raced 46 miles. The peloton was fairly relaxed the first lap, but in the second lap the pace increased dramatically. Aleah Davis (Oregon) broke away on the first hill in the second lap, even with the University of Washington attempting to block her. Carla Schubiger (Washington State) and Marissa Carr (Washington) formed the chase group. Davis kept her lead for nearly 20 miles to take the win, closing the gap in the points race between her and Kelly Plese (Washington) to just 19 points.

The Men’s A field raced 69 miles. Ryan Short (Western Washington) was in second place in the points race going into the weekend trailing leader, Jake MacArthur (Washington State), by a mere 63 points. With MacArthur racing the Tour of Walla Walla, Short had his work cut out for him. The field stayed together through the first two laps, but an attack on the most difficult climb of the day brought three riders out of the pack: Short, and two Oregon riders, Dillon Caldwell and David Kuhns. The attack stayed away for the remainder of the race, with Short taking the win over Caldwell and Kuhns placing third.

The B Women raced 23 miles, and the pace started off fast. Allison Linnell  (Washington) immediately broke away from the pack, holding her lead to eventually win the road race. The race went on with attacks from Rebecca Johnson (Idaho) and Liz Cartwright (Gonzaga) attacking on the hills and the four Whitman riders holding a steady pace. On the final hill, Rachel Geiter (Whitman) attacked and put some distance between herself and the pack, claiming second. Cartwright followed in third.

Ryan Short (Western Washington) closes out his final collegiate season with a win and an overall title. Photo by James Ramey.

In the Men’s B race, the field was content to stay together. The hills proved to be the main factor in culling the pack, with the pace ramping up severely over the three climbs. Nick Maslen (Oregon State) took the field sprint over Sean Mathew (Western Washington) and Christian Buesch (Oregon State).

In the evening team time trial, the men and women of Washington blazed the 12 mile out and back course to win the A fields.

The warm weather and blistering sun continued through to the Vandal Criterium, with temperatures spiking the mid-70s. The hilly, technical course broke up the fields creating interesting races for all categories.

The A Women kept the pace high. Davis trailed Plese by 19 points, needing to win most of the primes to gain the lead in the omnium. The peloton consisted of five Washington riders and one Oregon rider, but Davis was able to win almost all of the primes, cutting down Plese’s lead to 9 points—if Davis were to win the race, she would win the omnium. But in the end, Davis sprinted for third—and second in the overall—with Marissa Carr (Washington) sprinting for second. Plese demonstrated her sprinting prowess winning the criterium as well as the omnium.

With Short’s road race victory, he donned the Leader’s Jersey. The difficult, technical criterium course lay before him on his way to a monumental accomplishment in his final season in the NWCCC. In the Men’s A race, the field stayed together until 10 laps to go, when Short initiated his attack, bringing three other riders with him. Caldwell sought a rematch from the previous days finish, jumping on the attack immediately, with Brian Morra (Idaho) and Will Niemann-Ross (Washington). The small but strong group rode away from the field, increasing their gap with each passing lap. Morra dropped with two to go, leaving a group of three to duke out the sprint. Short sealed his victory with an incredible sprint finish, barely beating out Caldwell for first. Short’s back-to-back wins earned him the overall victory in the A field. His tenacity and determination brought him to the front over a talent-filled field. There couldn’t be a better ending for Short, who graduates in June.

Once again, B Woman Linnell showed her extreme fitness by splintering the group within the first lap. Geiter and Rachel Dana (Oregon State) hung on to Linnell until nine laps to go, at which point the two Rachels were left to battle out the omnium standings. Linnell once again won with a large lead, and Geiter sprinted for second with Dana taking third.

The Men’s B field saw early aggression, but it didn’t amount to anything lasting. With three to go, Buesch launched an impressive solo attack, and the field couldn’t get organized fast enough to bring him back in time. Buesch took the win, with Michael Simecek (Western Washington) coming in second, and Stephen Kocher (Oregon) placing third.

While the NWCCC races are over, a small group of the strongest riders will be heading to Ogden, Utah for National Championships. Will we see another NWCCC rider get a podium finish?

Contestants create a jort pyramid

With one weekend to go before the ECCC Championships, a smaller but dedicated field of riders headed to Dartmouth for L’Enfer du Nord.

Beautiful warm weather greeted racers on Saturday. Beginning with a fast 2.8 mile ITT.  High schooler Brendan Rhim (Killington Mountain School) crushed the A field by 13 seconds to show up the strong collegiate men of the ECCC. Katie Quinn (MIT) won the Women’s A.

A survey of the jort-off contestants

Saturday afternoon headed to Dartmouth’s Frat Row for a challenging criterium.  The originally proposed six corner crit with the “Turn of Death” was scraped for fear of inclement stormy weather.  The elite races were some of the most memorable crit races of the season.  Sophy Lee (Harvard) attacked the women’s field early in the race building a large gap only to be reeled in by the field.  Katie Quinn (MIT) then attacked half way through the 50 minute race, putting in a ferocious effort lapping the entire women’s A/B field and then passing them.

In the Men’s A field numerous efforts of a breakaway were attempted in the early goings. Spencer Schaber (MIT) and Joseph Reis (UVM) rode away from the field and came within 10 seconds of lapping the field, with a little held from their blocking teammates. Schaber out sprinted Reis to the chagrin of UVM that remains winless in the Men’s A.

Cold temperatures followed racers over to the Green Mountain state for Sunday’s punishing Walls of Jericho road race.  The Walls of Jericho was just that, an intense 1.5 mile climb which averaged 8 percent with grades that pushed 20 percent.  The Men’s A made eight trips up that climb, adding up to over 7500 ft of climbing—shredding the field to leave Edward Grystar (Brown) alone riding in for victory.  An MIT tandem rode alone for the majority of six laps in the women’s A/B with Yuri Matsumoto and Christina Birch taking 1/2.

While the conference championship is next weekend, one champion was crowded this weekend.  UVM,UNH, Harvard, and RIT competed in this seasons “Jort Off.”  After some of the most bizarre and awkward displays of posturing for the fickle judges, Jon Cusick (UVM) took home the coveted ECCC Jort Champion Jean Jacket. UNH took home the team classification.

Blow-up doll jortage

The process of crowning a jort champion

Shane Haga in the Men's A Crit finish

By Kristen Kjellberg

This weekend, teams traveled from across Texas and Oklahoma – some for over 600 miles – to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the SCCCC Conference Championships. Once again, severe thunderstorms threatened to make the weekend terrible, but we were pleasantly surprised with possibly the most gorgeous weather the conference has seen all season. With large point gaps already separating team totals, most racers worked with their teams to gain individual podium placings.

MSU, SCCCC 2012 Road Champs

The road race was held north of Baton Rouge on a mostly flat course surrounded by lush greenery and horse pastures. Without rough winds or sinister hills, making a breakaway stick was difficult. Despite it all, in the Men’s Cs, Ryan Barnes (Tulane), Carlos Perea (LSU), Sam Tennenbaum (Rice), and Andrew Abrenica (UT) broke away a few miles into the race, leaving behind a ton of work for Texas A&M.  Barnes, Perea and Tennenbaum kept the breakaway to finish 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

The Sunday crit was held in downtown Baton Rouge and centered around the Louisiana State Capitol building. Early in the Men’s As, Evan Bybee (MSU) and Shane Haga (Texas A&M) jumped off the front and held it the entire race, switching pulls. While the other men’s A finishes have been close all season, Haga blew the spectators away with the number of bike lengths he left between him and second place.

Texas A&M, 2011-2012 SCCCC Team Omnium Champs

The 2012 SCCCC Road champion teams were MSU (Division I) and Tulane (Division II). The first ever 2011-2012 SCCCC Team Omnium award, which includes points from road, track, mountain, and cyclocross, was awarded to Texas A&M. Full results can be found here: http://www.lambra.org/results/2012/LSU_2012_r.html

Ryan Short (Western Washington) wins the crit at the 2012 Central Washington Omnium. Photo by James Ramey.

by James Ramey and Rachel Geiter

Central Washington University hosted the weekend’s races. Saturday’s road race course twisted through the farm lands outside of Ellensburg. The racers were confronted with promises of warm weather and high winds, promising for an interesting race. The 18-mile loop was preceded by a 6-mile roll-out over two punchy climbs and one descent through a heavy cross-wind. With each passing lap the winds got heavier and the pack got thinner. Wind-battered riders were scattered throughout the course in groups of twos and threes, with the unfortunate solo riders often choosing to abandon then brave the 45 mile per hour gusts alone.

The combined women’s A/B field started off fast and quickly broke apart. Kelly Plese (Washington) broke away before the last corner and ended up beating the main A field by over a minute. Aleah Davis (Oregon) won the pack sprint to come in second, followed by Kirsten Moore (Western Washington).

Shelley Dunlop (Portland State) took first in the women’s B’s, with Rachel Geiter (Whitman) sprinting for second and Rachel Dana (Oregon State) taking third.

16 A men lined up to face the winds and hills that Ellensburg had to offer. After a lap of high winds and hard work, the pack was whittled down to the six most determined riders. University of Montana’s Nate Keck took the sprint over Ryan Short (Western Washington) and David Kuhns (Oregon). Many of the usual A riders had opted to race Ronde van Palouse outside of Spokane instead of Saturday’s collegiate races in Ellensburg.

The men’s B field saw early aggression lead to a breakaway of three riders, including Cole Lalomia (Portland State). The heavy winds kept them just out of reach of the struggling peloton, but after one and a half laps the wind had taken its toll and they were caught. Lalomia took the field sprint over Stephen Kocher (Oregon) and Nick Maslen (Oregon State).

The exposed three-corner criterium course near the Ellensburg Airport saw wide open turns and low winds.

The women’s A/B field pushed the pace from the start, and continual attacks by Devon Simpson (Washington) kept the pace high. Plese increased her lead in the women’s A point race by taking 4 out of 5 primes. The Huskies went 1-2-3, with Plese continuing her winning streak, Simpson in second and Jesse Opp (Washington) finishing third. Aleah Davis (Oregon) tied Simpson for second in points, thanks to her accumulation of prime points. Plese is currently leading the points race with 743 points, and Davis is in second with 701 points.

In the women’s B’s, Geiter took every prime. Molly Blust (Whitman) broke away with a half lap to go, with Dunlop and Geiter following. Dunlop took the sprint, Geiter finished second, and Blust third. Geiter’s prime points pushed her into first in the points.

The men’s A field fought valiantly in the wind. The wind took its toll, allowing a few breaks to go but none were successful. The final five laps, Washington State put leadout man Andrew Easley on the front and he pulled until two laps to go. Then Oregon put Kuhns on the front to lead out Caldwell. On the final lap, Short launched his move on the back straightaway and it was enough of a jump to hold up Jake MacArthur (Washington State) in the sprint. Washington’s Matt Pence would come in behind MacArthur for third. Washington’s Davis Shepherd was forced to pull out of the race due to back pain.

After Saturday’s winds sapped the strength from the riders’ legs, the crosswinds were just strong enough to keep the men’s B field together. Some early aggression was matched and beat by the group. Nick Maslen (Oregon State) took the sprint over Sean Matthew (Western Washington) and Alberto Santos-Davidson (Whitman). Matthew finished first in points.

The season-long rivalries will come to an end next weekend at the Conference Championships co-hosted by the clubs of Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Plese and Davis are both scheduled to race so the title is all but decided. On the men’s side, it is Short’s championship to lose as MacArthur is opting to race next week’s Tour of Walla Walla instead of the conference championships.

The West Point Cycling Team hosted a great weekend and took home second in the team omnium - just behind MIT.

Samson McHugh (Pittsburgh) pulls out a huge breakaway win from the Men's A field in Saturday's circuit race.

No matter how exciting the race, it cannot compete with Chewie, the cutest puppy in the ECCC.

If you go off into the rocks, you're gonna have a bad time. Luckily both riders were fine and continued racing.

Once again the Killington Mountain School pulled out top performances in every category including 2nd/4th in Men's A and 5th in Men's B.

It was a stunning weekend in West Point, NY.

Taylor Smith (UNH), Joseph Halo (Penn State), and Nicholas Geiser (Yale) created a 20 second separation in the early laps of the crit and held it until the end.

The Women's A/B field fights the wind on the long backstretch of the course.

Annie Parodi (University at Buffalo) flies up the finishing stretch in Women's B.

Frantically fighting for position in the final sprint of Women's A/B.

These A riders skillfully whip around the 140 degree corner of Sunday's crit.

Nick Garcia brings home all the glory with a first place finish, in Men's A, at his home race.

The Women's A pack tackle's the day's climb at Purdue by Keith Miller

When I pulled into the parking lot where Saturday’s racing was headquartered, order reigned supreme. The weather had been dry for the morning’s team time trials and still no drops of rain had fallen by the time the Men’s C and D races as well as the Women’s B/C race started. But shortly thereafter, my conversation group was sent scuttling towards our tents, the pavilion, our cars – anything to avoid the rain which now pelted down. And then the confusion began to creep in.

The lead men struggle up the climb at Purdue by Keith Miller

Reports filtered in about crashes on course, mostly on the technical series of chicanes and a twisty descent that made up the second half of the 7-mile course. Riders limped in as well, choosing to lick their wounds rather than subject their bodies to the whims of the wet pavement yet again. Others stoically picked their steeds off the ground and continued racing with vigor.

Matthew Hohn (left) climbs with the group before attempting his winning breakaway by Keith Miller

Of those left standing, true strong men prevailed on the finishing climb. Michael Dutczak of University of Illinois – Chicago won the Men’s C race over Purdue’s own Garrett Sczechowski and Marian’s John Kelley. Purdue continued a streak of almost-wins when Stuart Mitkey came a close second to AJ Sturges of Michigan State in the Men’s D race. Kaityn Patterson of Michigan edged out a win in the Women’s B/C race as well.

Doug Ansel fights to stay in contact up the climb by Keith Miller

But as certain as the tales of results and crashes trickling in were, the information on what would happen to the next round of races was muddled at best. The parking lot and pavilion resembled triage and officials struggled to decide when the Men’s A, B, and Women’s A races should start. After much debate, riders lined up about 30 minutes behind schedule in a much lighter rain than was falling earlier. If only that would last.

John Naveen (Purdue) was all over the front Saturday by Keith Miller

In addition to the weather and technical descent, the finishing climb – approximately 300 meters at 9-10% – ate away at the groups of racers. Not a substantial climb, for sure, but as the only elevation gain of the race, this was the crux point and everyone treated it as such. The climb was followed by two miles with a howling tailwind, making closing gaps that opened up on the ascent even more difficult. And even when riders remained upright on the descent – which became more prevalent in the higher category races – tentative riders had to close gaps that opened on the plunge towards the river into a headwind, sapping their strength or sending them out the back for good.

Regan continued her solid season with a third place Saturday by Keith Miller

In the Men’s A field, the notable absence of Marian – who went off to race some silly non-collegiate race in Illinois – and Lindsey Wilson emboldened many riders. After several laps of aggressive racing, Lindenwood University’s Cody Goettl jumped away solo to pull out a three minute gap by the time the field had under 20 miles left to race. Victory seemed certain. Or, it did until Goettl’s body rebelled against the lack of food it had received in the race. The bonk monster, it takes no prisoners, though it kindly allowed Cody to limp across the line for fourth after being passed by the winning move.

Matthew Hohn was dominant in the Men's B race by Keith Miller

Behind Goettl, a group of three riders had jumped away under the impetus of Alex Meyer (UW-Wisconsin). Following him were Daniel Williams of Lindenwood and John Pratt of Notre Dame, who was racing his first weekend as an A after terrorizing the B field for the two thirds of the season. Meyer won the road races at Lindsey Wilson and Mizzou on raw power, especially on climbs, and he predictably won his third race of the year with a comfortable margin ahead of Williams and Pratt.

Tim Norris led the Lindenwood charge Saturday by directing the squad and patrolling the field by Keith Miller

The Men’s B field saw no such heroic moves, but Purdue rider Matthew Hohn’s complete domination of his opponents on the final climb was nonetheless impressive and a nice reward for being “that strong Purdue kid everyone should mark” for the majority of the season. After pulling an entire lap of the race, Hohn broke away and was joined by Joe Hooker (Northwestern). The two built an insurmountable lead on the small chasing field.

Alexy Meyer takes yet another victory Saturday by Keith Miller

In the Women’s A field, the rain and more evenly matched numbers led to one of the more aggressive races of the season. On the first time up the climb, Jackie Kurth (Marian), Rachel Byus (Lindenwood) and Regan Baum (UK) attacked and were joined over the top by Axie Navas (NU). The group looked poised for victory but was soon caught by Meghan Lapeta (UIC), Ashley Rethemeyer (Lindenwood) and Katie Antonneau. The race remained lively until the end as Meghan repeatedly attacked the field ahead of the finishing climb but was brought back by Navas. But up the climb, it was Kurth taking the win ahead of teammate Katie and Regan. In the Women’s B, Kaitlyn Patterson (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) took the win ahead of Lauren Kraft (Ohio).

Sunday: Circuit Race

The rain had been blown away by wind in the wee hours of the morning. But the very wind riders blessed as they woke up to clear skies soon drew countless curses as it picked up in strength as the morning progressed. Last year’s circuit race at Purdue – held on the same course – was definitely the windiest race of the entire season, maybe even the last three seasons. Somehow, on the same exact day a year later, the wind returned with the same legendary vigor. Sustained winds of 20mph and more were hard enough, but gusts close to 35mph rocked riders back and forth and generated some of the most intense gutter riding seen all season.

Devon, Meyer and Waylon lead the Men's A pack Sunday in pursuit of the breakaway by Keith Miller

Wind is tough, no doubt about it. But what makes the wind at Purdue especially cruel is how the finishing climb – a stout 12% climb onto the bluff overlooking the river valley – dumps riders directly into the wind with no respite. Hypoxic riders scrambled for any shelter they could find, at time engaging on jaunts through the grassy ditches on the side of the road as they tried to occupy a patch of pavement that no longer existed. To add to the difficulty, the short 4-mile laps meant riders gained virtually no recovery between the hard portions of the course.

Tommy Peng (Northwestern) leads the Men's B field before crashing out of the race by Keith Miller

Short distances made for aggressive racing and the Men’s A field was instantly at 30mph when the neutral roll-out to the beginning of laps was over. The first few of nine trips up the hill and through the hellacious crosswinds did little to split the pack, but on the second lap Marian sought to remind everyone else what they could do when they were racing by sending Isaiah Newkirk and Weston Luzadder up the road. Countless attempts to bridge were unsuccessful and by the end of the third lap, the duo had a 45 second lead.

Weston and Isaiah in the break Sunday by Keith Miller

Luzadder led the way across the line on the ninth and final lap, securing maximum points in his heated duel with Alex Meyer for the conference overall. Behind the Marian duo, a small group snuck away in the closing laps. Josh Johnson won the uphill drag for third ahead of Devon Clark.

The Marian duo celebrates their win Sunday by Keith Miller

Though the howling crosswinds seemed to offer ample fodder for people hoping to split races apart, few races saw successful breakaways. That is, except for the Men’s C race, where Jim Snitzer of Notre Dame attacked solo with four of six laps remaining. Snitzer – a former triathlete in his first season focusing on the best discipline of them all – held a tenuous 15-20 second gap for most of the race but refused to give up and go back to the pack. Instead, he did what he does best – ride a solo time trial – and on the final ascent of the finishing climb he narrowly held off a rapidly closing pack to win ahead of John Kelly  and Eric Smith.

University of Chicago was active all day with David Moyer (not pictured) attempting to organize a chase of the Marian riders by Keith Miller

Other fields saw relatively intact packs hitting the base of the final climb together, but the painful slog to the finish at the top stretched out riders and left gaps of several bike lengths between winners and runner ups. In the Men’s B field, race organizer Julian Toumey rampaged in a number of breakaway attempts before crushing all comers on the final trip up the hill. The hometown advantage seemed to work wonders for Purdue, who rounded out the podium with Samuel Runningen and Matthew Hohn. AJ Sturges  (MSU) won the Men’s D race.

Waylon made his first race appearance of the season in the Men's A Sunday by Keith Miller

Sunday saw the return of Sinead Miller (Marian) and Coryn Rivera (Marian) to the racing. Predictably, their presence changed the nature of the race from the onset. On the third time up the climb, Axie, Sinead and Katie broke away from the field and began to build their lead in the tough headwind sections. The next time up the climb, a series of attacks shelled Axie who dangled but was unable to regain contact with the Marian duo. Ahead of Sinead, Katie took the win with Jackie taking third in a group that included Coryn and Axie. In the Women’s Bs, Stephanie Torres (Marian) took the day.

The Women's A pack tackles the climb for the first time Sunday by David Villegas

TTT

All season, we’ve been asking this question: When will the Marian Women’s A team time trial squad crush the Men’s Bs. On Saturday’s hilly course, that question was answered with a flourish. Not only did they beat the fastest Men’s B team by ten seconds, they were only one, yes, one second off of the Notre Dame Men’s A team. Needless to say, Marian won the Women’s A category with University of Michigan-Ann Arbor winning the Women’s B.

Katie leads Sinead in the breakaway Sunday by David Villegas

On the Men’s A side, Lindenwood took the win in 22:23 with the University of Notre Dame winning the Men’s B. In the Men’s C, host school Purdue narrowly lost out to the University of Notre Dame. And in in the Men’s D, the Northwestern University team (called THE CHASE GROUP) took home the victory.

Axie floats between the breakaway and the first chase group Sunday by David Villegas

Liz Lurz, founder of the Abilene Christian University cycling team, fights the wind during the Women's B crit

By Kim Aeschlimann

High winds and severe storm systems raged across Oklahoma and Texas threatening to unleash on collegiate racers at MSU. A few brave souls ventured forth and were thus rewarded with high winds for both the road race and time trial.

The road race course was mostly flat with a slight incline on the back stretch. Heavy cross winds forced riders to work together to survive and made breakaways difficult in most fields. In an epic breakaway in the Men’s B, Pierce Young from A&M pulled away from the pack in the first half and held the break for the entire duration of the race finishing over four minutes in front of the main field. In the Women’s A, Claire Routledge (MSU) stayed with the Men’s B pack to win first place. Off the back of the men’s field, Danielle Bradley (Baylor) outsprinted Loren Egg (MSU) at the line for second.

The wind picked up for the time trial and blasted riders with gusts up to 45 mph, making corners treacherous and straightaways hellacious.

Tornadoes blew through Oklahoma overnight causing severe damage, but it was mostly wind and rain in Wichita Falls, TX. By Sunday morning the storm had moved on and it was blue skies for the criterium. Corners were damp in the morning but dried out quickly thanks to the hard work of volunteers.

Shane Haga pulls the Men's A field during the crit by Kim Aeschlimann

In the Men’s A race, Shane Haga (Texas A&M) and Evan Bybee (MSU) broke away and lapped the field. The field strung out behind Haga and Bybee as a few chase groups formed, with Michael Sheehan (Texas State) and Tor Berge (Houston) pulling hard. No chase group managed to lap the field, and the main pack – including Bybee and Haga – finished with a field sprint. Bybee outsprinted Haga by a few centimeters to take first.

LSU hosts the last SCCCC race of the season – Conference Championships – next weekend in Baton Rouge, Lousiana.

You probably see her at just about every race. Darting from person to person, struggling to throw her kit on at the last possible minute, Megan Kelly is a multitalented cyclist. Not only does she race Women’s A for the University of Minnesota, she is also the NCCCC’s Assistant Conference Director. CCN recently sat down with the NCCCC’s assistant fearless leader and got to know her a little bit better.

Megan Kelly poses for the camera. Photo by Eric Lemke.

1. How did you become involved with bike racing?

I had seen some YouTube videos and decided that I needed to race cyclocross. Since I have essentially no athletic background, I thought I should do some road races first to get in shape. I joined a club to ride with and they had me racing road and track in no time.

2. What was your first bike?

A little red Schwinn with swept-back handlebars and a coaster brake.

3. What is your favorite part about race weekends?

Most of the kids on the U of M team are still really new to bike racing, so it’s really fun to try to work out a plan for a race – then, if it works out the way we expect it to, the part after the race where we all gather around and are like, “Oh my gosh! That worked! That was so awesome!”

4. How do you balance being a Women’s A racer and being assistant conference director?

During the week, it’s not too big of a challenge. I send a lot of e-mail, and I keep track of the conference scoring, and those kinds of things have just gelled pretty well with the rest of my life. On race day, though, it gets tricky to try to hunt down results, be an ambassador, talk to lots of people, and still find time and space to get a decent warm-up in. And race! Both roles are at least 95% fun, though, so that makes it easy.

3. What do you do in the winter to keep in shape?

Indoor training with the U of M team. We have a bunch of Kurt Kinetic trainers, and our coach, Kevin Lennon, leads work-outs for us in the school gym.

4. If you had to ride one bike for the rest of your life, what would it be?

There are a bunch of really sweet local steel frame-builders. If I had to pick one bike for the rest of my life, it would come from one of them.

5. What are your goals for this collegiate season?

I want to get better at working for a team, and get new riders at the U of M excited about racing.

6. What is your favorite NCCCC race weekend?

My two favorite weekends last year were UND and Iowa, but the UND road race got iced out and I had a mega-mechanical during the 1st lap of the Iowa crit, so my heart’s not completely won by anyone just yet.

7. Shimano or SRAM?

I use Shimano, but I’m SRAM-curious.

8. What is your favorite pre-race food?

I’m a bad eater. I can usually choke down about a quarter cup of oatmeal and a banana or something before a race. If I had my choice all my races would be at about 3 PM so I could just eat like a normal human being on race day.

9. What is your favorite memory from collegiate racing?

Road nationals 2011. I got rocked, but it was such a cool experience.

10. If you could beat anyone in a race, who would it be?

I’m going to say my friend Emma Bast, because I know she can take it, she’s a national champion, and she’s the only woman at our track I haven’t already beaten at least once (handicap races don’t count). Beating her on the road would be fine too.

11. If you could be good at any other sport besides cycling, what would it be?

Curling, definitely.

12. Who is the funniest NCCCC rider?

Byron Lubenkov.

13. Question Negated

Megan Kelly. Photo by Eric Lemke.

14. How do you keep your hair looking as good as it does?

You should have done this interview on the phone so you could have heard the riotous laughter about this question. Mainly, I keep my hair looking good by keeping my helmet on…

15. What do you hope to do once you graduate?

I hope to be a professor of environmental science at a small liberal arts college or community college.

16. What is your favorite cycling website?

podiuminsight.com. I basically had no idea that there was women’s racing that mattered in the United States until I started reading podiuminsight. I hope it comes back soon.

17. Wouldn’t you rather be racing track then answering these stupid questions?

No, the wind chill at the track is about 26 degrees right now. I’d much rather be answering these questions in my pajamas in my warm apartment.

So, next time you see Megan frantically trying to pull her kit on at the last second or working the race course to make sure all is well before you ride, make sure to introduce yourself, thank her for all of the hard work she puts in and tell her how riotous her hair is looking.

West Point race weekend 2012

By Garrett Lynch

There is a good reason why West Point is located where it is.  The hilly terrain of the Hudson River valley 50 miles north of New York City was thought of as perfect base location, far from any possible foreign attacks.  This part of the country in early spring is breathtaking.  The roads that wind along the mountains while hugging the Hudson are the type of terrain that makes you happy to be a cyclist.  The United States Military Academy put together an impressive schedule of races to utilize the best of their back yard.

Saturday, MIT continued their stranglehold on the team time trial winning the Men’s and Women’s A race through a rural, rolling 15 mile course.  Camp Buckner provided not only more port-o-johns than one large conference could need, but USMA also supplied water from a military issue trailer, had a mobile shower station and Humvee’s as pace cars for the race.

Many of the ECCC larger teams staked their own claims of land for some serious “Broing.”  UVM were out in full force along the course, in Jorts (jean shorts to the rest of you) waving more American flags than even the West Point guys. UNH, not to be outdone by their neighbors, was equal to the task. The events will culminate in a “Jort Off” to highlight next weekend’s events.

West Point race weekend 2012

Later in the day, a short 2.2 mile challenging circuit race took place through West Point’s military training facility Camp Buckner. This course was mean.  There were nuumerous flats and crashes, leaving many riders with road rash and a few unlucky broken bones.  Thankfully, the Humvee’s swept the course for fallen racers to bring them back to staging.  Samson McHugh (Pitt) won the Men’s A while Christian Birch (MIT) won the women’s A/B.

West Point race weekend 2012

Sunday’s beautiful weather coupled with the amazing scenery of the USMA campus helped create a festive atmosphere for the on campus action.  To begin the schedule, racers tackled a demanding 2.5 mile Hill Climb ITT up from along the Hudson River to the top of West Point with multiple pitches of 10+% grades.  Katie Quinn (MIT) blew away the Women’s A putting a minute between her and second place, as Daniel Holmdahl (Dartmouth) edged out a strong field in the Wen’s A.

West Point race weekend 2012

As the day moved on the temperatures began to flirt with 80 degrees, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm nor the pace of the afternoon’s action as large crowds created a great finale for the weekend.  The 1k three corner crit was fast and furious, with a short uphill sprint finish to keep things interesting.

West Point race weekend 2012

Even the ECCC’s own Assistant Conference Director Ian Sullivan (UVM Law) was able to mix it up in the Men’s A, get pulled, and then grab the mic to call the rest of the race, chapeau Sully.  As we have seen a few times this season the home team was able to pull out a thrilling bunch sprint victory.  Gabriella Allong (USMA) and Nick Garcia (USMA) won the Women’s and Men’s A races to the delight of their fellow cadets and the West Point community.