If you are planning on racing in Depauw this weekend for one or two days, please email Chris
back by Wednesday at noon. List if you would like to race one or both days and we will
try to make it work. Also, let him know the earliest you can leave on Friday
afternoon/evening. Here is the link to the page where you can find the race schedule
http://mwccc.org/sp09/ . We will be racing a road race on Saturday, a team time trial and
a criterium on Sunday.

Racing at Murray State Kentucky ended up being quite an epic pursuit after spending a
week in the warmer mountains of northern Georgia. Mid thirties weather mixed with rain
and eventual flurries of hail made the Tour of California’s string of bad weather pale in
comparison.

It was nice to see the new guys and girl dominate the races. Steve Hickner (a veteran)
did especially well in the Men’s C race, sprinting for second place. In Men’s A, a flat
tire threw Jon Marymor out of the race and Brendan soon followed when a crazy Marian
rider attempted to run over a poor soul who crossed his front wheel in the middle of the
pack. Particles of plastic flew across the road as the riders computer broke. After a
small break away eventually stuck, Cory led out a sprint, gaping the entire field by 10
meters while Chris swung down the left side for 3rd in the chase group. We’re looking at top
ten to top fifteen for placement.

On Sunday, honorable mention goes to Sarah  for crashing out of the parking lot criterium
and then jumping back into the race, finishing without being pulled; very nice! Zachariah
Swetky sprinted for 5th on Sunday in the Men’s C race pulling some magic from his dreads.

And last but not least, congratulations to the new riders who raced this weekend!

Keep up the good work and get ready for Depauw.

Saturday’s XC race was held in Kickapoo State Park. The technical course, made slick by the remnants of hurricane Gustav, challenged even the most experienced riders. Twisted ankles and broken hands were not uncommon. At the end of the day Michigan prevailed and got some nice results. Notables include a 1,2,3 finish in the Men’s C/D race by Al (annihilating the field), Alex, and Zachariah. Lizzie rode a fantastic race to take 3rd in the women’s race. Nick and Brendan both had solid races finishing 4th and 7th respectively in the Men’s A race.

Sunday was the short track race, a muddy affair. With only 5 riders racing Michigan was still able to put together a solid showing. Notables include a 2,5,7 finish by myself, Mike Kent (his first time racing MTB), and Zachariah. Matt Kramer had a great ride and took 3rd in the Men’s B race.

Congratulations to Julie Bellerose for winning the 2008 Women’s D1 Collegiate Nationals Criterium.

Congratulations to the rest of the team, who also did well out in Fort Collins, CO.

If you are interested in racing this season, please contact Kyle at kylelake at umich dot edu.

You can find the schedule for the season at  http://mwccc.org/sp08/.

Racing dues are $150 (unless you raced MTB season, then it is only $100).

If you are planning on racing more than two races this spring, you must buy a USA Cycling license (If you are only going to race two races, it is more economical to buy one-days).

To buy your license, go to usacycling.org. If you want to race higher than Cat. D, you will also have to submit an upgrade request, so you should do this soon.

If you have any questions, contact Kyle Lake at kylelake at umich(dot)edu

Last weekend, a team of 6 men and 1 woman from the club traveled to Banner Elk, NC for Collegiate MTB Nationals.

The whole race weekend turned out being some of the muddiest conditions any of us had ridden in, as it had rained for a week straight before the races.

Our team did well as Mike Bartlett, the 2007 Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference Champion, posted the best results for the team with 25th in the Cross Country and 13th in the Short Track.

Other finishers of the cross country were Mattison Brady in  52nd and Brendan Benson and Nick Boswell rode in together in 55th and 56th.  Lizzie Yarina finished 41st in the Women’s race.  In Short Track, Brendan Benson finished 34th, Sean Murphy finished 43rd, Nick Boswell finished 48th, and Lizzie finished 41st.

For gravity, Al Ogdon finished 51st in the downhill Event and 30th in the Dual Slalom event.

Overall, the team placed 15th out of 38 teams and Mike Bartlett 19th out of 127 men.

Congratulations to all and great job to the whole team for a great MTB season!

Collegiate cyclists from all over the Midwest competed in the University of Michigan mountain bike race on September 29th and 30th. Mike Bartlett of the University of Michigan won the Men’s overall for the weekend while Lisa Spreitzer of Michigan Tech took the Women’s field.

Saturday XC Results

Sunday Short Track Results

Sunday Time Trial Results