Riders ready for final tune-up

Individual Time Trials showed which rider is the fastest after four laps. Miss-N-Out showed which rider can out-race the competition. Thus far, the Little 500 series events have only determined the top individuals. Until now.\nTeam Pursuit, the final spring series event, showcases the best four-person squad, will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday in Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nIn the race, each heat of the competition will have two teams of four riders. They will start at opposite sides of the track and will ride in a pace line for the designated amount of laps; men must complete 15, while women must finish 12.\nOf the four riders on each team, only the top three times will count toward their overall finish. Teams are given the option to have their fourth rider drop out of the race at any point.\nOverall times are based on when the back wheel of the third rider crosses the finish line. The two fastest men’s and women’s teams race again after their initial run in a head-to-head final to determine the Team Pursuit champion.\n“We are really excited about it,” Ride DMC senior Tom Askey said. “Throughout the whole year you work on road rides, and it is your first chance to show what you have been doing on the road and translate it onto the track.”\nTeam Pursuit is a good evaluator for teams to see where they stand in the overall competition and it also enables riders to make any necessary changes before race day.\n“I think it is bigger than both ITTs and Miss-N-Out,” Delta Sigma Pi rider Paul Todorow said. “This pretty much places how you will do in Little 500.”\nAskey said having an effective pre-race strategy plays a large role in how successful a team will be.\n“I think the hardest part is going into it with a strategy and actually knowing what you are going to do,” Askey said. “The key is having a strategy and executing it.”\nOne major tactic that teams must consider is deciding whether or not to drop their fourth rider during the course of the Team Pursuit race. By doing so, teams will be able to get rid of their weakest rider in hopes of earning the fastest time possible. \nCutters coach Jim Kirkham said having a rider drop out proves that you can be a top team on race day.\n“It is a slower run if you finish with four guys because that means that you are not going fast enough to drop the weakest rider,” Kirkham said. “Last year we won it with four people finishing, but this year I am trying to get the guys to go a little quicker and drop somebody. To win the event, you have to go that hard.”\nPi Betta Phi junior Haley Bakker said there is no reason to get rid of a teammate if they are not holding the group up. \n“If you have four strong riders with about the same skill level then that is what you want to do,” Bakker said. “If you have riders of a different skill level, it is important that you communicate and work as a team to reach the goal that you set beforehand.”\nDoing well as a team for the final series event will help provide confidence for teams going into the Little 500 race. \n“You can carry a lot of momentum going into the race from it,” Cutters senior Paul Sigfusson said. “Having four strong riders on that track makes the difference between who wins and loses. There are probably 10 teams that could win this event so it’s up in the air.”