Champions

As predicted by many riders, the 57th Little 500 came down to a final-lap sprint. \nA pack of five teams were in contention for first place going into the final 10 laps. In the end, Cutters rider Alex Bishop out-sprinted Phi Kappa Psi rider Erik Styacich to the finish line for a record eighth championship for the Cutters. \nDodds House, Black Key Bulls and Team Major Taylor rounded out the top five.\nBishop, who earlier this season out-sprinted Dodds House rider Chris Chartier for the Miss-n-Out championship, showed again why he is considered the best sprinter in the field. Bishop said he felt Styacich making a push toward the end, but did what he could to get across the line first.\n“I could sense it,” Bishop said. “I was starting to cramp up really badly, but I had the desire to get it.”\nStyacich said he tried to make his final move, but he could not catch Bishop.\n“I was thinking that I had to get in front on turn three,” Styacich said. “I thought I was going to be able to get around Chartier, (but) I wasn’t able to. Bishop just had that kick at the end. I thought I could get him, but he was just faster today.”\nWith Bishop in the mix on the final lap, his teammates were confident he would take the checkered flag.\n“We had it won right there,” senior David Caughlin said. “Once we got Bishop to the final lap, that was it.”\nWhile Bishop won the race with his final sprint, he credited his teammates for putting him in the position to win the championship for the Cutters.\n“They raced awesome today,” he said. “Our rookie (Paul Sigfusson) raced amazing, (junior) Sasha (Land) had an awesome set at the end, and Dave rode awesome. They make the job a lot easier for me.”\nThe top five teams were in contention for all 200 laps of Saturday’s race. The teams kept each other in check, often making exchanges at the same time, and never allowing a team to break away from the pack for too long.\nCaughlin said his team made sure no team got too far ahead. Last year, the Cutters were a race favorite before Alpha Tau Omega rider Hans Arnesen lapped the field en route to victory.\n“We were playing it one lap at a time,” Caughlin said. “No one was getting away from us today. We’ve made that mistake in the past.”\nAn extra year of training and gathering race knowledge helped this year’s team Caughlin said.\n“This year we had a lot more experience,” he said. “We had three veteran riders and one rookie, but the rookie rode amazingly.”\nMost people who follow the race expected Bishop, Caughlin and Land to all have excellent performances. The three teammates are considered top riders, and all performed well in the Cutters victory in the spring series. The surprise of the team was Sigfusson, the Cutters’ rookie rider.\nSigfusson just started riding two months ago, after completing his senior season on the IU swim team. Sigfusson said he did not have any trouble with the transition from the pool to the track. \n“I owe it all to those guys,” Sigfusson said. “They taught me everything I know about this track. I had all the resources I needed coming out here to achieve what we did today. They set it up for me.”\nThe victory completed a dominating season for the Cutters. The team swept all three spring series events, capturing a second consecutive white jersey. \nBishop, who rode in his last race Saturday, said his sprint to the finish was the perfect end to his Little 500 career.\n“It’s three years coming,” Bishop said. “It’s so sweet. I finally got it in my last year. It’s the best way to go out. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”