Spring series to end with Team Pursuit

Little 500 spring series events will wrap up Saturday with Team Pursuit, an event designed to test the depth and overall strength of each team.

Team Pursuit is a race in which four members of two teams ride simultaneously. The men’s portion of the race has 15 laps, while the women’s has 12.

The goal of Team Pursuit is to complete the alotted laps in the fastest time possible by using drafting and endurance strategies.

“It’s fun,” said Liz Davis, the captain of Army Women. “I think it’s a really great way to see how your team is collectively and how you guys work together. Everything else is an individual event. Team Pursuit is a really good way to work together as a team.”

There is no specific strategy to Team Pursuit, riders said. It is all dependent on the makeup of the team.

“It’s just trade poles and go like hell,” said Charles Thayer, a rider for Wright Cycling.

Team Pursuit shows a team’s depth because riders must work as a team for the entirety of the race to do well. This is enforced by the rule that the finishing time for each team is set by the third rider to cross the finish line at the end of the race.

“I think that the teams that do successfully on Team Pursuit day are definitely teams to keep an eye out for on race day,” said Ariana Breckner, Delta Sigma Pi rider.

However, Kenny Parks of Team Major Taylor said Team Pursuit isn’t as important to his team, which finished second in last year’s Little 500.

“We don’t have any big plans for Team Pursuit,” Parks said. “Our team, from top to bottom – there’s a huge gap. We’re just going to go into it and kind of take it easy, to be honest. We’re not going to look to do very well in it.”

For rookies, Team Pursuit will be the first time they ride with their teammates on the track in a competitive setting.

“I’m definitely apprehensive about keeping up, considering this is the first series event I’ve been out there with the rest of the team, but I’m mostly just really excited,” said Chelsea Shelburne, a Delta Sigma Pi rookie. “As long as we communicate, it will be fine.”

Davis said she is looking forward to her favorite event.

“I think it shows tactical skills about your team – how you race together,” she said. “The whole idea of Team Pursuit is to put together the fastest twelve laps. ... I think it just really comes down to tactics.”