Little 500 riders get feel for track at Fall Cyclocross

It could have been mistaken for Little 500 weekend. Riders in helmets and the obligatory spandex whizzed around the track Sunday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, skidding across the cinder surface at every turn.

But absent were the mobs of screaming fans, the pageantry and the tension that accompanies race day each April. Instead, bales of hay stood in the riders’ way, as well as sharp turns, stairs and an off-track detour.

This year’s Cyclocross – an event at the IU Student Foundation’s “A Day at the Track,” – drew more teams than ever before, pitting teams of two against each other in an exhausting relay.

Brothers Ryan and Matt Kiel of Grey Goat Cycling won the event.

“This is totally different from Little 5,” said third-place finisher Jordan Bailey, a rider for Black Key Bulls. “You have to get off at turn three, deal with the hay bales and everything. It’s a challenge.”

The Cyclocross was just the first of several events, including individual time trials and a faculty race.

“We took a poll of riders, and this was one of the events people seemed really excited about,” said Kristin Carroll, a Fall Cycling member of the IUSF steering committee.
“We have fall series events every year, but there are a lot more people out this year.”
Participation was not limited to established Little 500 teams, though many riders had trained for or ridden the big race before.

Freshman Danny Fisher, who said he hopes to represent Zeta Beta Tau in the spring, used the event to familiarize himself with the cinder track – a different riding surface from the hilly Indiana roads that most riders train on.

“It’s nice to get out here and get on the track–we’ll be on the road all winter,” he said. “But this is a real event. There’s a lot more strategy than people realize. Cyclocross is tough.”

The fall series events also represent an opportunity for riders to “hang out,” Bailey said, because the open season for track practice only goes from February to April.

“It’s nice to be able to see some of these guys,” he said. “Sometimes during the year we spend our time out on the road and don’t spend a lot of time with the other teams.”

As riders emptied out of the stadium, IUSF workers loaded the hay bales onto a pickup truck, getting ready for the day’s later races.

“We really like having the fall series events,” Carroll said. “Why limit it to the spring events?”