Ryan's Collegiate All Stars

For a second year in a row, a University of Arizona rider has qualified for the Ryan's Collegiate All-Star Team. The selections for the Ryan's team occur at Collegiate Road Nationals where the top riders in the women's individual omniums are invited to race the Nature Valley Grand Prix fully supported. This year, Erica Zaveta made the trip along with the nation's best collegiate racers. Here's what she has to say about the experience:

"After collegiate road nationals I was contacted by John Barron to race with a composite team of collegiate women racers. I was so excited when I read this email; I couldn’t believe that anyone would seek me out to ride for them! I raced the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia, packed my bike up on the sidewalk in Philly after the race, grabbed my bag, and got on a plane to Minnesota! The Nature Valley stage race had 6 stages over 5 days. There were 2 road races, 1 time trail, and 3 criterums. My favorite stage was the 91 mile road race. This road race was relatively flat up until the end circuit, which was four laps containing a super steep climb. I felt great coming into the circuit and was climbing well. This stage was my best finish with 42^nd. The criteriums were so fast. Kristin Armstrong rode on the front driving the pace, she didn’t even look tired!

The team was great; it was a lot of fun hanging out with the girls on the team. We drove to the stages together in the team van, cooked dinner together, and worked through each stage together. All the girls on the team were amazing cyclists; everyone seemed to have different cycling strengths. It was so cool that we all came from different schools from all over the country and so quickly became good friends and teammates."

Collegiate Road Nationals – Fort Collins, CO

Overall – The UA Cycling Club had 6 podium appearances during the 2009 Collegiate Road Nationals and finished an astounding 4^th place overall competing against cycling’s top schools. The omnium points separating the top four teams in the overall (1^st – UC-Davis, 2^nd – Lees McRae, 3^rd – CSU, 4^th U of A) were so close (and the finishing times so tight), that two seconds in the team time trial ultimately made the difference between a fourth and third place finish for the U of A. The women’s team was comprised of Erica Zaveta, Judy Jenkins, Melanie Meyers, and Chloe Forsman. The UA’s men’s team consisted of Kyle Colavito, Jon Scholnick, Jason Karew, David Glick, Matt Jones, and Kevin Clegg.

Day 1: Road Race – The women had a successful day, with two riders finishing on the podium and everyone collecting points for the team overall. Both Melanie and Chloe made the race-winning selection on the opening climb with 7 other riders. The group worked together most of the day and gradually lengthened their lead on the climbs. With only two short climbs remaining, Melanie rode away from the group, initiating some attacks. Carla Swart (Lees McRae) went on the claim the road race win with Melanie finishing fourth, and Chloe sprinted for the line in fifth.

During the men’s race, Kyle finished in 10^th place, and David finished in 17^th both collecting some valuable points for the team overall. All six men’s starters finished the race against some of the top bike racers in the country. The University of Vermont standout, Jamey Driscoll, took the win. The University of Arizona finished the day in third place in the D1 Team Omnium.

Day 2: Criterium – Both the men and women made huge improvements over their 2008 performance during the hour-long criterium in downtown Ft. Collins. The course was a flat, figure-eight that did not favor breakaways and both races finished in a pack sprint. Chloe, Melanie, and Erica all placed in the top-ten with a fourth, seventh, and a ninth place finish. Chloe collected bonus sprint points throughout the race, finishing second in three out of five sprints. The bonus points aided the team omnium and put Chloe on the podium in the Individual Omnium. Kevin Clegg also finished in the points during a bonus sprint in the men’s race. The UA Cycling Team finished Day 2 in second place in the D1 Team Omnium.

Day 3: Team Time Trial – The women’s and men’s teams finished 4^th and 13^th, respectively. The Arizona riders were greeted with pouring rains, strong winds, and relatively frigid weather. Despite the weather, the teams pulled through with some decent rides. UC-Davis took the spotlight for the day winning both D1 team time trials.

Thank You - The UA Cycling Club owes many thanks to the individuals, businesses, and organizations that support us. Special recognition for our Road Nationals trip goes out to Neil Stewart for the unparalleled race support and logistical help. Also, huge thanks go to Barbara and Nigel Renton for the use of their beautiful home.