Riders get an early start on training

The IU Student Foundation Fall Cycling Series kicked off with the first of three events Oct. 7 with the men’s and women’s Cyclocross at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Katie Haft and Pam Loebig – who competed on different teams in last year’s Little 500 – won the women’s race, while Tyler George and Andy Haas of Delta Sigma Pi rode away with the men’s title.

“This was a goal of ours since last year,” George said. “It’s just Cyclocross, but it means a lot to our guys and a lot to the fraternity.”

Cyclocross is run each year as a part of the fall series, sponsored by IUSF, in attempt to pique people’s interest for Little 500 in the spring.

Riders compete on two-person teams, each completing a lap before handing the bike back over to their teammate. The men complete 12 laps, while the women complete 10. Cyclocross involves taking on a demanding obstacle course for the riders beyond the standard track racing of the Little 500. The event calls for riders to dismount and remount their bikes at least six times to complete just one lap.

Heading into each turn and coming out of each turn, riders are greeted with bales of hay that they must jump over while carrying their bikes. On the backstretch of the track, riders must dismount their bikes and carry them up and down the stairs of the north-end bleachers. This event is thought to be the most dangerous of all the events put on during the fall.

“It’s hard to train for this,” George said. “Certainly, cross-training helps a little, but this is something you just show up and try to do.”

While the Fall Cycling Series events have no bearing on Little 500 standings, some teams like to take advantage of these events to get their training started and to boost confidence heading into winter and spring training.

“This is just for fun in the fall,” Loebig said. “Right now, we are just putting in base miles, but it’s nice to do stuff like this to get the legs going.”

Haft – who competed with a different partner last year – and Delta Sigma Pi both finished third in Cyclocross last year.

Both winning teams dominated their respective races Sunday. George and Haas got out to an early lead and led the entire race, winning with a time of 23 minutes, 49 seconds. Loebig and Haft also led most of the women’s race, notching a winning time of 22 minutes even.

Eighteen teams competed in the men’s race and 10 teams competed in the women’s. Teter riders Sarah Rieke and Jackie Moeller placed second in the women’s competition with a time of 22 minutes, 40 seconds. The men’s second-place finishers were Matt Niebler and Greg Maves, who completed the course with a time of 24 minutes, two seconds.

It may not have been coincidence that Haas and George took the men’s crown. They were the first male riders at the track Sunday, and the first male riders on the track during the practice session as well.