Spring Break
Cycling club to host criterium this weekend on campus oval
Scott Johnson
Issue date: 5/1/98 Section: Undefined Section
In an effort to build exposure and gain momentum for next year's season, Colorado State University's cycling team is hosting the club's first road criterium this weekend on campus.
A criterium is a closed-circuit loop for road bikes. Participants race around the Oval, past the administration building, around the National Seed Storage Lab and then back around the Oval.
Tara Troxel, who has been with the team a little more than a year and helped organize the race, said CSU has never hosted a race previously because of the all preparation that goes into organizing such events.
"Races in general are very difficult to organize," she said. "Tons of volunteers are needed for all kinds things."
The CSU cycling team, which has more than 60 members of varying skills, according to Troxel, is hoping to continue an already strong season. The Rams have been consistently ranked No. 1 by USA Cycling in the Rocky Mountain Cycling Conference.
The Rams have enjoyed plenty of success in recent years. CSU has placed in the top 10 in the Collegiate National Championships the past three years. The Rams finished 10th overall last fall at the mountain bike nationals in Madison, Wis.
The club is also expected to do well at the 1998 road nationals in Greenville, S.C., May 15 to 17. At last year's road nationals in Durango, the team finish third overall.
This year's team also features former professional rider Nate Reiss as coach. Reiss was a former member of the U.S. Postal Service- sponsored team.
The race will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday with the men's C riders, followed by the men's B at 8:50.
The women's A and B riders will kick off at 9:55 a.m. and 10:45 respectively, while the men's A cyclists will close out the collegiate level competition at 11:50 a.m.
