Cutters eye historic 4th-straight title

The Cutters aren’t reloading from last year’s third-consecutive Little 500 title — they don’t need to.

With every member of the 2009 title-winning team returning to compete this year, the Cutters will seek an unprecedented fourth-consecutive title as the outright favorite in Saturday’s race.

The scariest part about the Cutters for the rest of the field is that they are convinced they’re a better team than last year.

With arguably the fastest cyclist in the race in junior Eric Young, along with senior Clayton Feldman and two younger but experienced riders sophomore Michael Schroeder and junior Zach Lusk, the Cutters have few weaknesses.

“Every single guy on the team has learned a lot,” Young said about their improvement since last April. “Not many teams get the chance to grow together for two years.”

If that improvement leads to another title, it will be the Cutters’ fourth in a row and 11th in 26 years of existence. And if the Cutters win, the 2010 IU graduating class will have seen the same team win every men’s race of its undergraduate career.

Phi Kappa Psi (1958 to 1960) and Delta Chi (1979 to 1981) are the only other teams with a three-year winning streak.

But for the team, the focus is less on making history and more on winning this year’s race.

“We’re not really looking at it with a four-in-a-row perspective,” Lusk said. “The race changes from year to year. The field is pretty deep this year. We’re just looking at it as this year’s race. We might look at it with that four-in-a-row perspective once it’s all said and done.”

The current Cutters also aren’t satisfied with the previous race titles. For many sports teams, from the professional ranks down, the challenge is to stay motivated following a title.

Feldman sounded philosophical when he explained the Cutters’ motivation from year to year.

“If the only thing you think about is winning and getting congratulated after the race, then you probably won’t do well and you won’t stay motivated,” Feldman said. “For us, it’s not the win we’re seeking. It just verifies the hard work you’ve done. It’s more about the path than the place you’re going.”

Winning also draws another crowd — plenty of people want to see the Cutters lose. Lusk mentioned message boards and blog comments about the race often feature animosity toward the Cutters.

For Feldman, the hostility is a paradox.

“They try to tear down what we do, and at the same time, emulate what we’re doing,” Feldman said.

Lusk said the focus is often 32 teams versus Cutters.

“There are teams capable of beating any team on any given day,” Lusk said. “But they are so concerned about beating us.”

While the Cutters have confidence, Young tempered that attitude in the same breath.

“We definitely are the team to beat,” Young said. “But then again, there are really good teams that have proven themselves, too. Most of the good riders know that we are not the only team to watch out for, but we’re definitely on that list.”