Riders set for Team Pursuit

Despite dominating the first two Spring Series events, the Cutters still haven’t put away Beta Theta Pi for possession of the white jersey.

With Team Pursuit signaling the end of the IU Student Foundation’s Spring Series on Saturday, Cutters has 33 points to pace the pack and Beta sits in second with 41. Cutters can clinch the title regardless of Beta’s finish if it places in the top 3.

Beta has to finish two places higher than Cutters to take the white jersey, given to the team who wins the Spring Series.

With that in mind, Cutters senior Kevin Depasse knows Beta will be coming after them.

“Just because we happen to have done well in the first two events, I guarantee you the Betas are foaming at the mouth trying to beat us,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I would be disappointed if they were doing anything less.”

Starting Saturday at noon, two teams will take the track at once, racing against each other. All four riders on each team are on the track, as the teams pursue each other.

The two top men’s teams will square off with each other in the finals at 8:36 p.m.

“We’re just going to go out there and throw down as hard as we possibly can,” Beta senior Eric Anderson said. “Of all the series events, this is the one we want the most far and away.”

While Depasse knows his team enters Team Pursuit with a lead, that doesn’t affect his mindset. He is focused on one task at hand Saturday.

“You want to win,” he said. “That’s just how it is. No bike racer enters a race thinking they can’t win. We trained so hard; this is a venue where if you do something, you want to win it.”

On the women’s side, a recent streak of dominance will be put to the test once again.
Teter, last year’s Team Pursuit champion, will be aiming for its fourth consecutive title, though defending that honor will be no small task.

Reigning women’s Little 500 champion Delta Gamma is a serious threat to knock Teter from the Team Pursuit throne.

“We think this is an event our team is prepared for,” Delta Gamma rider Emily Loebig said. “After Individual Time Trials, we weren’t exactly pleased with our performance. We’ve kind of used that as motivation, and we’re looking forward to working together.”

With the previous Spring Series events — ITTs and Miss-N-Out — being individual competitions, Loebig said her team will be a threat because of their chemistry.

“It’s exciting to finally all be working together out there,” Loebig said. “It makes us remember we’re doing this for each other.”