Trials highlight riders' improvement

Beginning today, Little 500 riders will be one step closer to the big day. \nThe second installment of the Little 500 Cycling Series -- Individual Time Trials -- will take place at 4 p.m. today at Bill Armstrong Stadium. \nThe event is the only Little 500 series event that separates riders from their teams to test individual strengths. ITTs consist of 72 heats of four riders, who begin four-lap sprints at a corner of the track. Each rider starts from a stationary position and races against the clock. The top three riders from both the men's and women's brackets are awarded a plaque and points that determine the Cycling Series Champion after the four series events are completed.\nFor many riders, the event is regarded as more than a series event -- it is an individual measure of how far they have come in a year. Last year's women's ITT winner, senior Alpha Gamma Delta rider Corey Bitzer, said she is confident her training and preparation in the past year will help her beat her time of 2:44.56 from 2003. \n"The three (riders) I'm going against this year are my top competitors," Bitzer said. "I'm a real competitive person, and my main goal is going to be to beat everyone and beat my own time from last year."\nBitzer will race in heat 50 against Teter rider and senior Bri Kovac, Kappa Alpha Theta rider and junior Nicole Vincent and Kappa Kappa Gamma rider and junior Meredith Horner. On the men's side, heat 31 will feature veteran riders including Dodds House rider and senior Craig Luekens, Team Major Taylor rider and junior Simeon Commissiong, senior David Jordan from ACR Cycling and senior Charlie Crouse from Phi Gamma Delta. \nSenior Ryan Brown from Acacia agrees with Bitzer's ideas of personal progress. Brown said the event can be a personal test but the outcome doesn't effect rider's thoughts of their final test on race day.\n"Personally, ITTs are just a personal test each year," Brown said. "For Little 500, it's just another event. It doesn't play a whole lot into the grand scheme of things. It's good as a competitive nature and to build up for the Little 500, but overall, it's for fun and to get personal marks."\nThe event can also give riders a chance to see which riders and, in turn, which teams, are strong. Senior Sincere Cycling rider Ryan McCall, who placed 12th in 2003 as a rider for Pi Kappa Phi, said ITTs can be a measure of how the race will shape up in the end.\n"The teams that have won in the past have had guys in the top 25 or 30 spots," McCall said. "For me, it's a chance to see who the strong riders are and a way of getting a hardcore list of who's good."\nBut for other riders, the event is just another series event that adds to the fun and excitement associated with Little 500. Junior Phi Gamma Delta rider and Riders' Council Member Matt Davis said the event is a stepping stone to the bigger picture. Davis, who placed second in 2003's ITTs, said a good or bad performance will not effect the race.\n"It helps out to build confidence, but it's still for fun," Davis said. "ITTs doesn't reflect how the race will end up overall. It's just nice to go out and compete but still focus on what's at hand."\n-- Contact staff writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.