Cycling club gears up for championships
By Tim Esterdahl
testerda@mscd.edu

   The Metro cycling club will be wrapping up its inaugural season this weekend at the conference championships in Laramie, Wyo.

   The event, hosted by the University of Wyoming cycling team, will feature the entire Rocky Mountain Collegiate Conference.

   The RMCC has been considered the top conference in the country with perennial powerhouses University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University. Metro has several top 20 finishes against these powerhouses, even though they have consistently fielded a much smaller team.

   The championships, which start on Saturday, will include a road race, team time trial and a criterium.

   Ian Stanford is scheduled to compete in the Men’s A road race on Saturday, which is 101 kilometers and will ascend 3,660 feet. Club President Ben Stein will compete in the 65 km. Men’s B, along with Antonio Molina. Five other Metro riders will compete in the Men’s C road race.

   The 20 km Vedauwoo team time trial will be a display of teamwork and dedication, following the road race. Team members will ride in single file, to block the wind for their fellow riders to follow. Using this drafting technique, these riders will save their energy for their turn at the front. The front of the team will be in constant rotation as the teammates take turns keeping up the momentum. The trial ends when the last team member crosses the line. The strongest and most dedicated riders, who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their team, will win.

   The last event on Sunday will be the criterium. An easy way to understand a ‘crit’ is to think of a NASCAR race on bikes. Riders will try to outmuscle their opponents by riding faster and pushing up the pace until the determined number of laps is reached.