Ready to ride

The time has arrived.\nLittle 500 teams will hit the track for the first time of the 2004 season Saturday for qualifications. \nStarting at 8 a.m., teams will attempt to qualify for the field of 33 for the 53rd running of the men's race and 17th running of the women's race. \nEven though qualifications isn't the start to the Little 500 series events, it is the first time riders will have the opportunity to ride on the track in a race situation. \n"I'm real excited," junior Meredith Horner of Kappa Kappa Gamma said. "It's really exciting, just getting the season under way. It's a really good starting point for teams to see where they stand." \nEven though the field for this year's qualifications is smaller than last year's, both the men's and women's riders agree it is balanced.\n"It's good; it's strong" Teter rider senior Bri Kovac said. "There is not one clear, dominate team."\nOn the men's side, senior Jeff Haller of Sigma Chi said there are only a couple of teams that really stand out from the bunch, but otherwise it is a solid field.\n"I think it's similar to last year," he said. "There are about 10 or so strong teams, and one or two of those stand out."\nWith the women's race getting older and more exposure year by year, Horner thinks this year could be one of the best ever.\n"It is probably the strongest field in years," she said.\nOn both sides of the track, the perennial powerhouses await their chance to sprint in the first row. \nLast year's men's pole sitter, Fiji, will start off the 2004 qualifications as the first team to circle the track at 8 a.m. Fiji finished ninth in last year's race. \nGafombi, the 2003 men's champions, did not field a team for this year's race.\nReigning women's champions Kappa Alpha Theta makes its first attempt at 2:45 p.m. Last year's pole sitter, Phi Mu, gets its chance to repeat at 12:40 p.m. Quals begins Theta's quest for their its Little 500 title -- they won their fourth last year.\nA new addition to this year's field is IU Men's Soccer, comprised of members of the 2003 NCAA champions.\nQualifying times were chosen by the teams.\nQualifications features four laps, one cycled by each member of the respective team. The team with the fastest combined four-lap time holds the pole position. The rest of the field is then filled in by fastest times. \nTeams are given two chances during their assigned times to qualify.\nIf they fault on their first assigned attempt, they are given a time shortly after for their second attempt. If the teams then fail again, they are sent home and asked to return with an assigned time after all assigned times have gone.\nHaller said the key to qualifying is exchanges.\n"I think the biggest thing is practicing exchanges and accelerating after exchanges," he said. "So much of quals relies on good exchanges."\nThe winner of the TIAA-CREF MVP award -- to be named after the men's Little 500 race on April 24 -- will train with former professional cyclist Jonathan Vaughters on one of the nation's top developmental teams for riders under the age of 23. \n-- Contact sports editor Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.