Cyclists ready for women's Little 500

After competing in the biathlon, street sprints, qualifications, Individual Time Trials, Miss-N-Out and Team Pursuit, it's time for the women's teams to take to the track for the event that matters -- the women's Little 500. \nThe women's teams jumped onto their bikes for the first time competitively in the fall with the biathlon. Next was the street sprints. The series took a mid-semester break until January. Since then, bikes have been making continuous circles around Bill Armstrong Stadium's track in practice and series events.\nNow, after the practice and anticipation, it's time to go, as 30 women's teams grind the cinders for 100 laps to determine the victor of the 14th running of the race at 4 p.m. today at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nDefending champion Kappa Alpha Theta is the favorite to repeat after taking home the Little 500 series crown from Delta Gamma. The Thetas are led by four strong and consistent returning riders form last year's championship squad. Even though the Thetas will be starting in eighth position -- farther back then they wanted -- it's still three spots higher then last years team. \nNot only is Theta returning four riders, it is also returning another member of last year's squad. Ann Holterhoff led the Thetas to victory in the 2000 edition of the race, and this year she is looking to do just that off that track as the team's coach. \nIn last year's, race a large wreck took out a lot of good riders. Holterhoff said she is trying to get across to her riders the same type of mindset that she kept when trouble occurred and she crossed the finish line first. \n"We have to stay calm and confident," Holterhoff said. "I'm not going to panic, and I don't want them to panic."\nAs long as the team stays calm and out of trouble, the Thetas are going to be a tough team to beat. Holterhoff said that the teams depth will help them to the winners circle.\n"We have four strong riders," Holterhoff said. "Some teams just have two or three strong riders, but since we have four strong ones, we'll have a rested rider on the bike in the final laps."\nUnlike the Thetas, last year's runners-up, Kappa Kappa Gamma is returning no riders from its successful showing in the 2000 event. Despite that, the Gamma's have had an impressive showing this season, qualifying fifth for the race and finishing eighth in the series points. \nAnother team trying to take the title away from the Thetas is the independent team Roadrunners. The Roadrunners set the pace in qualifications and took the pole for today's race. \nRoadrunners coach Susan Gasowski also sees the main strength of her team as its depth. \n"On any given day, the one who puts the fastest times in could change," Gasowski said. "Every rider has worked so hard, and each rider has pushed one another to make improvements and reach new levels on the bike."\nGasowski also expects her team to eat up the competition and add to the excitement that comes with Little 500.\n"I expect for our team to put in the best effort that they can possible do on race day, and that is the most I can ask of them," she said.\nOne rider that is expected to bring some excitement to the track is Alpha Delta Pi senior Emily Derkasch. Derkasch is a constant threat on the track, bringing a package that contains speed and endurance. \nDerkasch lead her team to the 11th-fastest time qualifications day, the same position last year's winners started. She was also a Miss-N-Out semi-finalist and captured the Individual Time Trials crown this year. Derkasch is just looking to finish better than last year's ninth place showing.\n"I think we're always trying to better than last year," Derkasch said. "We're just going to try and stay with lead pack."\nWith all of the events and practices, all of the riders can agree on one thing -- no one knows what's going to happen when the green flag falls.\n"There are so many variables that can happen in the race," Holterhoff said. "It does take luck to win this race"