CRU Cycling team seeks deeper meaning beyond Little 500

On a cold and snowy Saturday morning, the CRU Cycling team hunkered down inside the Bill Armstrong Stadium press box and training room as it prepared for the upcoming Little 500 race.

While performing well in the race is one reason the riders put in hours of practice, this team operates with a far different mission statement.

The fact that the cyclists meet every Wednesday evening for Bible study is evidence of their true mission.

CRU Cycling, representing the Christian student ministry Campus Crusade for Christ, is returning for its second season as an entrant in the men’s Little 500. The team brings back only one rider from last year, junior Kaleb Naegeli, while it welcomes four new members to its team.

Despite the roster turnover, the CRU Cycling team goals have remained constant.
“We’re just a group of Christian guys out here together riding bikes because we enjoy doing that,” Naegeli said. “And hopefully our intent is to be good representatives of Christ as well as being able to go out there and place well in the Little 5. That’s our purpose for being together.”

Senior Chris Hill dismissed the paradox of a Christian team entered in a race known for its week-long party atmosphere. He said the race sets itself apart from the rampant parties, and he thinks riders for most teams keep their focus on the track.

“There’s the party Little 500 and the racing Little 500,” Hill said. “And from what I gather, the riders don’t party a lot before the race.”

In spite of the race’s stereotypes, two members of the Campus Crusade organization were inspired after watching the 2007 race. After announcing their idea at the organization’s large group meeting, a team quickly came together.

Campus Crusade staff member Mark Nuzum coached the team in its inaugural season and returns to that role this year.

“It is kind of a ‘hosh-posh’ team,” Nuzum said. “It wasn’t like a call to arms. It was just different guys with different interests that were jumping on board.”

The team lost its best rider from last year’s race who decided not to participate for various reasons. He had the team’s fastest individual time trial and was “definitely the strongest rider,” Naegeli said.

With the loss, this year’s squad now features Naegeli, senior Chris Hill, junior Jim Costello, sophomore Robert Granger and freshman Kristopher Zee. Nuzum not only operates as the team coach, but he is also the team’s spiritual mentor.

His best advice for the riders is to make sure their religion comes before the race.
“This relationship with Jesus is much more important for us,” he said.

With his enthusiasm, the team began meeting every Wednesday night, developing a tight-knit camaraderie as the men studied the Bible together.

“I think we’ve grown together as a group of guys,” Naegeli said. “As it says in Proverbs, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’ I think we sort of have that. We’ve developed from guys who just show up on the road together into a pretty good group of friends.”

Nuzum said he hopes the team will be a positive influence for anyone with which it interacts. He said it is easy to become a “holy huddle,” a reputation he said he doesn’t want the team to have.

“We really want to be a part of this campus in what it is doing and encouraging others in that,” Nuzum said.

Zee said he appreciated that aspect of the team most.

“I’ve been really blessed to be on this team because we share the same Christian outlook on life,” he said. “We share similar goals in that sense. As a freshman, I really feel like I’ve been dialing into what IU offers here, and the Little 500 has been a great way to do that.”

On the back of every CRU T-shirt and jersey, the team quotes a verse from 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

“That’s our mantra,” Naegeli said.