No kidding: Brothers lead Gray Goat Cycling

As brothers, Matt and Ryan Kiel agree they have a lot in common.

They share genetics. They share memories. And they share a passion for cycling, especially in the Little 500.

That passion was one of the main reasons Matt Kiel came to IU. His brother followed suit. Together, they formed Gray Goat Cycling, named for a bike shop in Indianapolis where the brothers work. They placed 12th in last year’s Little 500.

Matt Kiel, a junior, rode for Kappa Sigma his freshman year and said that it wasn’t for him. When his brother came to IU, he said they were determined to ride together.

“We had done a lot of racing together, so we were definitely looking to be on the same team,” Matt Kiel said. “We looked around at a few options and didn’t wind up liking what we saw, so we decided the next best thing was to make our own team.”

As brothers, the Kiels said they have shared a love for cycling as long as they can remember.

“It’s a passion – almost an obsession, really,” Matt Kiel said.

Both brothers say they are team captain, even if the paperwork doesn’t show it.

“We definitely share responsibilities,” Matt Kiel said. “He has his strong points and I have mine, but when we work together, we work together really well.”

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Ryan Kiel added. “He’s the perfect training partner. Even though we get into it just like brothers do, when it comes to cycling, we take it pretty seriously.”

The brothers said they constantly push each other to do better and work harder.

“If he’s going out riding, he’s always encouraging me to go, and it works the other way as well,” Matt Kiel said.

Last year, Gray Goat was a team with no experience that still finished in the top 15. This year, along with Brian Holthouse, Chad Ranney, Zachary Trogdon and Nick Puaca, they hope to finish at the top.

Holthouse, a sophomore, said he believes the team has experienced a shift in its mind-set going into race day.

“Last year, we were young,” he said. “We were a new team and didn’t really know what it was all about. We hadn’t had that race day experience. Now that we have that experience and all want it a little bit more, there’s definitely been a mentality change.”

The additions of rookie Miss ’N Out champion and 19th place Individual Time Trial rider Trogdon and coach Kim Gerbers have helped the team in this goal tremendously, members of Gray Goat Cycling said. The Kiels called Trogdon the “top rider on the team.”

“I’ve worked hard for it, and the times say it, so I’m not going to disagree with them,” Trogdon said. “It puts a little pressure on me to perform, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Gerbers rode in the Little 500 for four years and is a two-time All-Star Rider, according to the IU Student Foundation Web site. The team said she brings experience and organizational help to the team, which has been integral to its growth this year. She has provided the team with nutritional and workout programs and provided structure to a team that had none a year ago.

“These guys are great,” Gerbers said. “They make my job easy. They have their heads in it. They just eat, sleep and breathe cycling. ... Their hearts live on the bike.”

The team has faced some challenges, battling sickness and Matt Kiel’s ankle injury during the year.

“That set me back about a week or so,” Matt Kiel said. “Luckily, I think I’m pretty much over that now. We just have to get everyone healthy for race day.”

The other riders have benefitted from the Kiels’ work ethic and intensity.

“It’s been great,” said Ranney, a senior who was on last year’s team but did not ride on race day. “They’re a real enjoyable group of guys. The Kiels push you a lot.”

Off the track, this team remains a tight, family-like unit, Trogdon said.

“It’s a damn good time,” he said.

On race day, Gray Goat will start in the seventh position, putting them on the inside of the track, two rows from the pole positions.

“We’re not in the best spot,” Ryan Kiel said. “At the start of the race, we’re not going to have a whole lot of room to work with.”

The team will rely on its speed and track smarts to get to the front. Matt Kiel said the team trusts the wheels in front of them.

“As far as exchanges and all the stuff on the track, we’re pretty set,” he said. “I think we’re about where we want to be.”