Mountain bike Regionals

The UA shoe-stringed together a race weekend in the face of a government shutdown. The weekend featured a cross country as well as the conference's only short track and team relay events.

Saturday:
The cross country race started off with cool temperatures and calm wind. However, as racers were on course the wind picked up and knocked down several course markings. Sadly a few riders were lead astray after the second check point, making it back to the finish area a little later than expected. The race was called at the second check point for the Men's A because of these issues. David Carlson (UA) extended his winning streak and took over the teal leader's jersey from Alex Winkler (NAU) who finished third. Douglas Torres (UNM) finished 2nd. The women's A was a tie between Amy Chandos and Lindsey Dye (both NAU), with Amy just edging out Lindsey. The Men's B and C categories were dominated by NAU with Scott Marshall and Nathan Franklin winning their categories respectively.

Sunday:
A little further down the trail the UA club had marked a challenging 1 mile STXC race (which would also be used for the relay loop). The Men's A went first and after a flurry of attacks a lead group of 2: David Carlson and Douglas Torres established themselves out front. By the 3rd lap of 6, Douglas and pulled away slightly from Carlson. Over the laps Torres grew his lead to over a minute by the finish. Behind Carlson, Quinn Keogh (UA) was working to bridge up to his teammate, while further back Andrew Keller (UA) was regretting his early attacks and attempted to hold off Winkler (NAU). In the end, Torres won the day, followed by Carlson, Keogh, Winkler, and Keller.

In the Women's A/B race, Amy Chandos was given a big gap over her teammate as Dye experience a small mechanical. However, Dye was able to rejoin her teammate and once again celebrate hand in hand for another podium sweep. Liz Schmitt (UA) was the sole Women's B rider.

The Men's B/C field has 2 Men's B and 1 C rider, both events were won by NAU with Braden Flannery taking the win in the B's and Chris Leffler in the C's.

The team relay took place on the same course with each rider completing one lap. NAU consisted of Alex, Amy, Lindsey, and Braden and UA had David, Quinn, Liz, and Florian. After the first lap, with Florian and Amy, the race was neck and neck. However, David gave UA a massive lead going into the 3rd lap. Liz took over for UA and 40 seconds later Lindsey was on the course for NAU. Lindsey put the hammer down and gave Alex a large gap to work with for the final lap. UA's Quinn Keogh had his work cut out for him and came in 30 seconds behind Alex.

At the end of the day, NAU extended their lead in the Team competition over UA by 1,300 points. However, David Carlson overtook Alex for the men's A individual competition. One race remains in the season: NAU Super D. Will Alex retake his lead? Can David defend it with a race not suited for him? Or will Douglas Torres, the dark horse in 3rd, claim a surprise upset? We'll know after next Saturday!

Victory Again!

3 UA members made the trek up to Gallup, NM for a XC and TT. David Carlson, yet again, crushed the competition in the Men's A XC and TT. In fact, he beat former pro Levi Leipheimer in the TT! Fellow A rider Andrew Keller and a weekend of mechanical issues but managed to bring home 5th both days. Hopefully the bad joo-joo has been worked out!

In the Women's B field, Leslie Sullivan raced to 2nd place in the XC event and sat out the TT.

Great job Wildcats!

UA Cycling Sweeps Podiums at Horny Toad Hustle!

David Carlson (Men's A), continues his domination of the XC events with ANOTHER victory in Las Cruces! Hot on his heels was newly upgraded A Andrew Keller! In the Women's B, new riders Katie Emory and Leslie Sullivan went 1-2! Quinn Keogh dusted off the mountain bike and took the win in the Men's B over NAU's Kyle Gandy. And finally in the Men's C, new rider Andrew Wudtke took 2nd!

The team looks to regroup and continue their campaign to capture the men's individual and team omnium next weekend in Gallup!

Great job Wildcats!

UNM Recap

3 riders headed over to Angel Fire, NM for the Back to School Special hosted by UNM.

David Carlson dominated the Men's A XC with a commanding victory over Douglas Torres of UNM. In the B's Andrew Keller raced competitively and took home 3rd.

Initially no one was signed up for the down hill on Sunday...but after some peer pressure from UNM, Andrew changed his mind and signed up for the Men's C. After a few runs to build confidence, Andrew posted a good time for his first DH race and came in 5th.

Next up is the Horny Toad Hustle in Las Cruces, NM. UA will be sending over a big squad to wrestle back some points from NAU in the team omnium.

First Meeting!

The UA Cycling Club's first meeting is tonight @6pm in the Kiva Room of the Student Union. Where the heck is the Kiva room you ask? Find Einstein Bagels (north east side) and look to the right- you'll see a room with Union Kiva above it- and that is it! Tonight we'll be discussing the club (who we are and what we do), how to join, the perks of joining, and to stay in the loop with what we are up to. You'll have an opportunity to pay dues and sign off on the forms needed to become a club member. Following the meeting we'll get dinner as a group, location TBD.Dues are $35 for the year and race reimbursement (we'll cover that in the meeting) is $50 per semester. 

Callout Info!

Our first meeting of the semester will take place the first week of school!

Info:
Thursday, August 29, 2013.
6pm
Kiva Room (located next to Einstein Bagels in the Union)

Come find out about who we are, what we do, and why you should join! Dinner at the Union to follow the meeting!

Looking to Join the Club?!

Come find out more about your favorite collegiate cycling team this weekend and next week!

We'll be at the following fairs:
-Convocation Celebration (outside McKale Center)
-Meet Me at the Rec (Cherry Field)
-Student Involvement Fair (UA Mall)

-Call Out: TBA

Wanna go for a ride with us? We got something for everyone!

Ride Leaders:

Monday: Joey

Tuesday (am): Joey

Tuesday PM: Allison A.

Wed (am): Calvin and Ben

Wed- Crit (PM): TBA

Thur: Ben

Fri: Liz

Sat: Race or the shootout (or other posted ride)

Sun: Long ride (will be posted by Saturday evening)

Day	Ride	Duration	Distance	Meet Time
Monday Mosey	Easy ride	1.0-1.5 hr	Max 20 mi	6:30 am*
Tuesday (AM)	Hard Ride	2-3 hrs	60 mi	6 am**
Tuesday Tempo	Foothills/A mnt	1-2 hrs	20-30	5pm
Wednesday Worlds	Hard Ride	2-3 hrs	40-60 mi	6:30 am*
Wednesday	Crit Practice	1-2 hrs	tba	5:00 PM
Thursday Thrill	Easy ride	1.0-1.5 hr	Max 20 mi	6:30 am
Friday Freewheel	Moderate ride	2 hrs	30-40 mi	6:30 am*
Saturday	Hard Ride	3-4 hrs	60-80 mi	6:30am**
Saturday	Long ride	3-4 hrs	60-80 mi	When Posted
Sunday	Long ride	3-4 hrs	60-80 mi	When Posted

*moves with day light, latest start is 7:30am       

**Fairwheel group rides, follows its ride time

As always, feel free to e-mail us or join our Facebook group!

Gearing up for the Fall

Lots of big changes going around with the club!
-New website in development
-New kits (yay!)
-New sponsors (Lemond, Aerocat,...)
-New ride schedule... more on that as school gets closer

and most importantly:
NEW RIDERS!
 Yes! We are excited for the incoming freshmen class!  We cannot wait to meet you at the activities fair during the first week of class and to take you out for a spin in wonderful Tucson! If you are interested in joining the club and have questions- like were to store your bike, what kind of riding we do, ANYTHING- fill out the contact form on the Contact page and we'll get back to ya!

Keep the rubber side down and get pumped for the best cycling of your life!

Nationals!

This past weekend, the UA Cycling Team sent 6 riders (Shelby Hoglund, Allison Alterman, Joey Iuliano, Andrew Keller, David Carlson, and Jake McLaughlin) to collegiate road nationals in Ogden, Utah.

The team left for Utah on Thursday taking the scenic route around the eastern Grand Canyon and through Southern Utah- quite the views up north for sure! We took ample stops to stretch the legs and take in the scenery since it was a 13 hour drive.

On Friday the team had the team time trials and the new individual time trials on Antelope Island. The men's team didn't have too much time to practice since the final roster wasn't decided until a day before the trip, so 20 minutes prior to start time was our first and only practice. Given 3 of the 4 members were new to the event, we were somewhat pleased with out time of 46:49 good for 17th. It served as a good motivator for next year's TTT since we will be able to practice together during the off-season. The ITT's were a little more eventful. Shelby and Allison finished 18th and 19th while on the men's side yours truly finished 14, David Carlson 20th, and Jake in 30th.

Saturday's criterium proved to be a challenging and fast course: T-shape with a slight uphill, smooth pavement and wide streets for the most part. Shelby took part in the very fast women's DI crit, finishing 62nd. For the guys, David had an untimely crash mid race (thankfully he was ok), and myself and Jake had a tough time dealing with starting last row coming in 110 and 108. Our lone survivor of the race was Andrew who did an excellent job avoiding the two to go carnage and finished  78th after losing a few spots.

Sunday's road race was held in one of the most scenic locations we've ever raced in. Shelby and Allison took part in the women's race. Both hung tough through the initial laps and up through the start of the steep climb- which featured a blistering headwind on top of 8% grades. Shelby finished 67th and Allison had to withdraw due to equipment difficulties. The men's D1 race had over 160 starters and rolled through the early laps at a brisk pace (well over 25 mph). David was the team's best finisher at 52, Jake in at 119 and Andrew at 145.

All in all, it was a very good experience for the team- especially since many members on the team started racing this spring. Everyone is excited and motivated for nationals next year which is in Richmond, VA.

Adoption Exchange Classic

Last weekend the UA team headed up to Albuquerque, NM for the Adoption Exchange Classic- the final full weekend of collegiate racing! To say we had success is an understatement!

TT: The weekend started off with a very lumpy (or hilly) time trial along the north I-40 frontage road. The Men's A swept the podium with Joey leading the charge followed by Max Rich and David Carlson.

In the women's A, Allison Alterman took 3rd and Shelby Hoglund came in 4th. Liz Schmitt took 1st place in the women's B. It was a great start to a day of racing!

Photo: Joey rocking out in the SWCCC leader's jersey.

With team spirits high, the crew headed a few miles down the road to the crit course held at a small auto race track. Fast, flowing and with banked turns, it was sure to be fast. Toss in a small hill and some solid winds and it was going to huuuurt!


Liz had the first race and again took 1st in the women's B. Next up were the ladies in the A's who also raced with the Women 1/2/3. Allison and Shelby worked well together during the race and came in 3rd and 4th again behind ASU. The final race of the day had the 5 Men's A riders line up in the P/1/2/3 Men's field- a daunting race for a few of them since it was their first A crit! Max was clearly showing good legs and as the field splinted over time, he stuck with the lead group. He played the conservative card on the last lap and pulled out a 6th place sprint! Good for 1st in the Men's A too!

After a tough day of racing, the team refueled at a local favorite: Sadie's of New Mexico. The stuffed sopapillas are aaaaaamazing.

Sunday's road race took the event to the east side of Sadie Peak...and up to 7,000 ft. The elevation wasn't bad on Sunday at 5,300...but toss in a couple extra thousand and it was definitely felt on Sunday. The course was challenging and stunningly beautiful. 33 miles long with lots of rolling terrain and one big 18% .25 climb in the middle, lovingly named "Heart Break Hill". It lived up to its name, especially the 2nd time up. Not to mention a howling head wind for 10+ miles.  All races ran concurrently so it was impossible to know how the others did until the end. Liz Schmitt hung tough with the Women 4's and took 1st again in the Women's B. The women's A faced the difficult task of racing with the 1/2/3's, but the riders put up a good fight with Allison and Shelby going 3 and 4th again. In the Men's A the field was decimated the first time up Heart Break Hill, with David Carlson making it in the lead group. Max and Joey eventually bridged in the headwind section as the field slowed. The attacks started flying on the rollers and Joey fell off the pace due to a bad day in the saddle. Andrew Keller brought a small chase group up to him and the two riders settled in for a long 2nd lap. Max and David hung tough, with Max again taking the collegiate win and David taking 3rd. Andrew and Joey came in 4th and 5th with Jake in 6th a few minutes in arrears.


The team extended their lead in the team and individual omniums and with one weekend left, it seems assured the team will win it's first conference title in a number of years!