Week 5 Army Cycling Weekend

Note: Due to the high number of racers (20+), only first names will be used.  Last names can be found in the full race results linked below.

Saturday
A chilly calm morning at West Point.  It was not to last.  As the team drove up the canyon the bikes on the roof rack started to shake.  As we stepped out of our cars, the strong 35 mph winds chilled us to the bones.
Water bottles, helmets, and Wes Kline were all being blown across the parking lot:

Team Time Trial - 7 miles on a hilly course, exposed to the furious winds.

Men's D:
The windy day kept the racers in the car for too long, to their best efforts, the men's team missed their start.  They regrouped and prepared for the road race.  Connor joined in with the Men's B TTT start 10 minutes later.

Men's C:
While the D's missed their start, the C's were able to get to the line right before their name was called.  Nolan, Sam and Zach set out with no warmup and pushed through the winds to end in 6th place.

Women's C:
Sarah and Kasinee set out strong and took first!  Granted they were the only ones in their field, a win is a win!

Men's B:
As Connor (Men's D) missed his race, he joined in with Drew, James and Cody to lead them out.  Connor sprinted off the line and everyone tried to get on his wheel.  Just as they settled into the pace Connor pulled off, spent.  The rest of the team rode hard and picked up second place, setting a pace 15 seconds faster than the Men's A team.

Men's A:
Joe, Wes and Kevin scrambled up a team at the last minute, these three racers set out and pulled a sub 20 minute pace, only able to settle in for 8th place on the day.

Full Results: http://velocityresults.com/results/555/eccc-week-4-army-ttt-harriman-ny

A flurry of fall leaves fly around the Mens B racers as they take off from the start line.

Road Race - The 14 mile course tipped down a steep downhill where racers hit 50 miles per hour.  At the base a hairpin turn sent the racers climbing.  The climb averaged 4% but hid multiple kicks that made the legs scream.  Once at to the top, a tailwind section with another climb meant there was nowhere to hide.  Very few races had a pack bigger than 5 people cross the line.

Men's D (2 laps):
What a day, the initial descent was filled with chaos.  Ryan, Matt and Jose got caught in a crash at the bottom of the hill on the first lap.  All three were unable to continue but survived with very minor abrasions.  Billy and Kevin both were caught behind the crash but stayed upright and rode the full course fighting the wind all day.  Connor stayed near the front and rode in solo to an 8th place finish.

Men's C (3 laps):
The Men's D crash repeated itself in the C's field.  Fortunately our Nittany Lions all stayed upright.  However, Sam and Nolan got caught behind the pile up and found the chase ahead too daunting.  One of the bigger fields to stay together, Mitch, Zach and Lucas all stayed in with the field sprint, winning 3rd, 6th and 7th.

Women's A (4 laps):
Penn State Lehigh racer Monica finished in second place.

The Men's B field enters the feed zone of the Road Race.

Men's B (4 laps):
Cody, James and Drew all set out from the line together.  The pace up the climb made it so that Drew would find himself sprinting alone.  James and Cody were unable to match the pace up the climb and so didn't finish.  Drew stayed with the field as he watched breaks go and get caught.   He was set up to sprint but his rear wheel flatted with 2 miles to go.  He rode it out for a 13th place finish.

Men's A (5 laps):
The pace started high up the climb and stayed high.  The course was made for Brett today.  After Wes was almost dropped he went on the offensive and pulled Brett into the winning break.  From there, Brett outsmarted his five-man breakaway and won the race!  Wes's efforts found him off the back later with Kevin and Joe.  Kevin and Wes finished a lap down while joe pulled out early.

Brett Wachtendorf sprints to the finish line.

Full results: http://velocityresults.com/results/556/eccc-week-4-army-rr-harriman-ny

Sunday: Criterium
The threat of rain loomed in the sky.  As the races went on the clouds became gray.  By the time the Men's A started a few drops fell, but the weather held off and the course stayed dry.  The course was comprised of three turns over 1km.  The racers were joined by the occasional freight train passing on their side.  A 120 degree corner meant the racers had to lean their bikes hard today.

The Penn State Cycling team soaks in the midday sunshine while watching the criterium races atop a hill.

Men's D (30 minutes):
A smaller team than the road race, but Kevin, Ryan, Billy, Connor and Matt all put on their game face, only to be robbed of their race.  Kevin and Ryan found the pace just a bit too high.  Connor and Billy ended up in bad positions during the race and worked too hard, both fell off the pace towards the end.  Matt was set up strong at the end of the race, but with two laps to go a crash in front of him took him out of the race.

Men's C (40 minutes):
The field got whittled down from 49 to 31 finishers.  Nolan was one of those, but finished 33rd, one of the last to fall off the pace.  Lucas, Zach and Sam all finished within the field sprint.  Lucas sprinted his way into 6th on the day, an incredible finish!

The Men's D and C riders had a fun time cheering on the Bs from 3 stories up on top of the Shea Stadium.

Women's C (40 minutes):
Sarah held onto the ripping pace laid down by the women today for almost the entire race.  However, she found herself getting gapped and eventually pulled soon before the finish.

Women's A (50 minutes):
Penn State Lehigh racer Monica snatched up another second place finish.

Drew David takes advantage of the passing freight train blocking the harsh winds from the Hudson River.

 Men's B (50 minutes):
Having destroyed his legs in the road race, Drew was unable to match the pace on the day.  Cody and James found their fast legs today, making multiple attempts to get away, however they would be unsuccessful.  Cody slotted into 7th and James in the field.

Men's A (60 minutes):
A lesson in what not to do.  Kevin clipped a pedal on the uphill turn and slid out infront of Wes.  Wes was able to avoid the crash but found himself disconnected.  Kevin and Wes walked to the pit but Wes was told to chase. Both got back in safely.  When Wes won the field sprint, he was informed that he was actually a lap down and was moved to the back of the pack in the results.  Kevin slotted into 14th with a bleeding leg and Brett finished safely in the field.

Wes Kline takes the inside line around the Army Criterium's third corner toward the finish line.

Kevin Bernstein flies around the Army Criterium's second corner pushing to stay with the field despite his bleeding wound from his crash.

Full Results: http://velocityresults.com/results/557/eccc-week-4-army-crit-wet-point-ny

Written by: Kevin Bernstein

Photos and video: Ginny Tory

Week 4 Boston Beanpot Race Report

Race Report

Saturday

Friday the team (all three riders and single cheerleader) left for Boston. After a 7 hour drive the team arrived at the red roof in to find 3 foot snow piles between the parking lot and doors to our room. With fear of snow the next day this was not a great sign. Waking up at 5:30 the team loaded bikes on cars while the first snow flakes of the day began to fell. 

Time Trial

The time trial was staged in a middle school parking lot. Men's C were the first to go off at 8:00 AM. By now snow was falling pretty heavily. The time trial course was an 8.27 mile loop. It was not flat with grades reaching 10%. 

Men's C

Charlie represented our men's C team this weekend. The cold air and snow took a toll on Charlie's lungs. He finished with a time of 28:15.25. 

Men's A

After driving 7 hours Joe decided to sleep in the car avoid the snow and save his legs for the road race. This left winning the TT up to Brett. With  snow still falling Brett finished the TT with a time of 22:05.69 placing 10th grabbing 26 points for Penn State. 

Road Race

Unfortunately the snow did not stop falling. It actually began to fall harder. With the continual snow fall the road race course had to be altered to keep the racers on roads not covered in snow. From what I understand (no one really knew what course we were doing while on the start line) we were racing the TT course. 

Men's C

Charlie started the Men's C race at 11:00 after a half an hour snow delay. He was able to stick in the first lap. Unfortunately a mechanical prevented him from shifting to the big ring causing him to fall off the back and get pulled from the race. 

Men's A

For Joe and Brett the sun actually peaked through for a very brief second as they got to the start line but immediately got taken back over by more heavy snow as the race began.  From the gun attacks were trying to get off the front knowing the conditions would blow the field up. Joe attempted to  bridge up to an early attack but got swallowed up by the pack. Brett managed to bridge up to the front group and spent the rest of the race in the front  of the race. He finished 9th pulling in another 30 points for Penn State. After a hard attack up a hill Joe was dropped off the back. He worked with other fallen riders finishing 18th in a group of two. 

Sunday

Criterium

The crit was held on Tuft's campus. Today the sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky. The crit was a 6 corner criterium representative of the frat row crit shape. Turn 1 turned to a down hill for a very fast smooth turn two. Turn 3 and 4 made up the chicane with a slight up hill leading to turn 5 which put the riders in to a pace slowing bumpy punchy climb. The finishing straight was in to a head wind with 3 cobble stone cross walks which add for bunny hopping fun throughout the race. 

Men's C

With 67 starts the Men's C field was massive. As soon as the race began the down hill and quick second turn strung out the field to a very long line.  Two Dartmouth riders sat on the front and pushed the pace stretching it out much more. Before the race was half over the front of the peloton had caught the back of the peloton. This resulted in most of the field being pulled and placed. With bad officiating and confusion in the field all but 4 riders were pulled and placed. Charlie again had a mechanical with his front derailer and was not able to finish the race. 

Men's A

Brett and Joe both started the Crit. Joe was dropped from the front group fairly quickly but worked and stayed in till his group was pulled and placed.  Two queens riders were on a two man break away for almost the entire race. They were together perfectly and lapped the entire field. Brett finished in the chase group. He placed 7th pulling in 36 points for penn state. 

Written by: Joe Halo

Week 3 (But actually 2) Philly Phlyer

Philly Phlyer 3/21-22 Race Report

A cold snowstorm on Friday threatened the races, but we at Penn State pushed on despite the accumulating snow. Saturday morning was welcomed with sunshine and warmth, melting the snow and made for a wet Team Time Trial.  The teams showed arrived in high spirits and put everything out on the road.  The course had a couple of fast descents and short punchy climbs finishing at the Smith Memorial Arch in Philly.  Staging was hectic as the nearby Please Touch Museum was having an event, leaving racers dodging cars in their warm up laps.

Saturday Time Trial: 13 mile TTT

Men’s D: Matt Mckenzie, Jose Aguilar, Ryan Dahl and Paul Girgis

The D team raced in one of their first team events, while they were not the fastest on the day, they learned a lot about racing and pacing as a team.

Men’s C: Sam Carroll, Zach Newcome, and Connor McManus

The group showed up at the start line down one teammate.  They soldered on and finished strong getting 6^th out of 12 teams racing.

Men's B: James Read, Drew David, and Mitch Ernst

Mitch put his all into the TTT but was dropped six miles into the race.  James and Drew drove on and finished third.  However, their pace was so strong they were accidentally scored in the Men's A's field at fourth.

Men’s A: Joe Halo, Brett Wachtendorf, Greg Ratzell, and Matt Waller

Penn State took 3^rd, just four seconds off of second place.  The team worked well together, although Joe found himself disconnected towards the end of the race.

Full results: http://velocityresults.com/results/549/eccc-week-2-philly-phlyer-tt-philadelphia-pa

Saturday Road Race: The Schuykill Scramble

The road race added on a mild climb into the circuit used in the TTT.  The climb was preceded by a 180 degree bend that forced the pack to almost come to a halt and sprint up the climb.

Men’s D: Matt Mckenzie, Jose Aguilar, Connor McManus and Paul Girgis
Distance: 20 miles

Jose, Matt, Connor and Paul lined up together. A mix of abilities left little of what could be called a peloton today.  Paul finished 9^th after a very hard effort fighting the wind.  Connor and Matt each made a few friends on the road and worked together to fight to the line.  Jose came over the line with a smile on his face as he is just getting the taste of what makes racing so much fun.

Women’s C: Sarah Rutledge
Distance: 20 miles

These women are fast!  A number of strong girls showed up to drive the pace.  Sarah maintained contact for most of the race but finished just shy a couple of minutes of the main field.  She still finished 18^th out of 28 riders.

Men’s C: Zach Newcome, Mitch Ernst, Sam Carroll and Charlie Li
Distance: 26 miles

A massive field, 63 starters on the day.  Short and fast, Charlie and Sam both fell off the pace but finished closely behind the pack.  Mitch had a great day, Winning 4^th in the sprint.  Zach was right in the sprint as well but was taken out by a crash that happened ahead of him.  Fortunately, he and his new Specialized bike (Thank you to our sponsors, The Bicycle Shop and Specialized) survived the crash.

Men’s B: Drew David and James Read
Distance: 32 miles

Drew and James found themselves in a similar position to last week, unable to get away, they stayed strong in the field and sprinted for 9^th and 13^th in a very fast field.

Penn State-Lehigh Valley Mention Women’s A: Monica Volk
Distance: 32 miles

Monica Volk of Penn State Lehigh Valley will be joining the University Park Campus next year.  She won the collegiate race, finishing second behind a non-collegiate rider.

Men’s A: Sean McIntyre, Wes Kline, Greg Ratzell, Kevin Bernstein, Joe Halo, Brett Wachtendorf and Matt Waller
Distance: 46 miles

A Penn State team of 7 riders was determined to get in the breakaway.  Attacks started from the gun.  By the second lap in Kevin was in a break with 3 other riders chasing down a solo man up the road.  They had about 30 seconds on the field but Kevin went down in the 180 degree bend, getting back up with just enough time to rejoin the field.  The break was caught soon after.  The pace stayed high until Brett got off the front solo with more than 3 laps to go.  Sean, Wes, Greg, Kevin, Joe, and Matt followed attacks and blocked to keep Brett far away from the field.  Brett stayed away and won the day.  Joe and Matt flatted and did not make it to the finish.  Back behind, Kevin set a high pace into the finish to keep the pack together.  Wes, Greg, and Sean picked up 8^th, 9^th and 11^th, respectively, for Penn State in the field sprint.

Full results : http://velocityresults.com/results/550/eccc-week-2-philly-phlyer-tt-philadelphia-rr

Sunday Criterium: Temple University Criterium

The mild warmth of Saturday turned into a biting cold wind on Sunday.  The buildings of Temple University’s campus blocked some wind but cast shadows all day, keeping everyone shivering.  The course turned into a wind tunnel with strong headwinds and tailwinds that caused large fluctuations in speed that burned up everyone’s legs.  A mile long course with two sets of train tracks, potholes and the occasional glass on the road.  This day was not going to be easy.  Pedestrians meandered on the course throughout the day as Temple University was having a visiting day for prospective student.

Men’s D: Matt Mckenzie, Jose Aguilar and Connor McManus
Distance: 30 mins

The coldest race, as it was the earliest on the day.  Jose and Connor rode their limit today, while fast, it wasn’t fast enough to stay with the field.  Jose was pulled but Connor made teammates with other teams to get to the line before the field did.  Matt is showing good form and finished in contact with the lead breakaway.

Women’s C: Sarah Rutledge
Distance: 40 mins

The field was small today, only 12 riders.  Not a whole lot of opportunity to hide from the howling wind.  Sarah fell off the pace but worked with a fellow rider to keep the pack from closing down, finishing her race on the same lap as the leaders.

Men’s C: Zach Newcome, Mitch Ernst, Sam Carroll and Charlie Li
Distance: 40 mins

The pace ramped up quickly and Sam and Charlie lost touch, unfortunately tour groups crossing the road held up Sam and cut his chase short.  Mitch was sitting strong and ready to go in the final sprint, but a rider in front of him decided to lie down.  Mitch swerved to avoid it but was unable to.  Zach avoided the crash, pedaled hard and found a slot in the top 10.

Penn State-Lehigh Valley Mention Women’s A: Monica Volk
Distance: 50 mins

A shout out again to Monica, as she sweeped every prime sprint, was involved in breakaways and won the finishing sprint to the finish.

Men’s A: Sean McIntyre, Wes Kline, Greg Ratzell, Kevin Bernstein, Joe Halo, Brett Wachtendorf and Matt Waller
Distance: 60 mins

The pace started off quick from the gun.  Monica of Lehigh Valley decided to race with the Men’s A after winning her race, but the effort was so quick that she was only able to stay in contact for two laps.  Wes, Greg, Brett, Sean and Matt all were able to stay near the front of the pack.  Kevin was near the back all day, but held on.  Joe did his best but was off the back halfway through the race.  Greg found his legs today and flew off the front near the end of the race, quickly dispatching his breakaway buddy to chase down the lone leader solo.  He was unable to bridge but casually snagged second place.  Wes was involved in a crash in the finishing sprint.  The remaining 5 finished in the pack.

Full Results: http://velocityresults.com/results/551/eccc-week-2-philly-phlyer-crit-philadelphia-pa

Penn State moves up the standings!  The team showed up strong this week and got a very convincing win in the Men’s A road race.  Now 7^th overall, and 5^th in D1.

Next week is a further drive, out to Boston.  Despite this we hope that as many of you that can will represent the Nittany Lions and show our pride.  We are hopeful for some warmer weather in Boston.  See you out at the races!

Race report by Kevin Bernstein

Photography by Ginny Tory

Week one was snowed out and week two was a weathery mess!

Race report
March 14th 2015 :

Saturday at Columbia:  A day in Belgium.  A choppy, pothole lined road overshadowed by cold rain tested the resolve of the racers.  A four mile circuit with slight elevation change made for a fast race.  Races went for 40 minutes (Men’s D) to 90 minutes (Men’s A), any longer and the racers would have gone hypothermic.  Dirt covered every racer’s face as they came home over the finish line.  The Penn State team stood strong, made efforts at getting away from the pack but the lions were ultimately destined to finish with the field.

Men’s A: Brett, Joe and Kevin all finished with the field.

Men’s B: Drew and James finished at the top of the field with a 6^th and 8^th place respectively.

Men’s C: Nolan finished at the front of the field with 7^th place.

Men’s D: While not in the field, Connor was not far behind.  15^th out of 30 finishers is a testament to how hard the day was.

Full Results: http://velocityresults.com/results/546/eccc-week-1-columbia-rr-nyack-ny


March 15th 2015:

Sunday at Rutgers: The conditions eased slightly on Sunday.  The cold rain was replaced with a cold wind.  The uphill was a wind tunnel, where the strong riders had a chance to prove their abilities. The Criterium course had three turns, two of which were high speed corners over rough road.   The day was characterized by breakaways and packs unwilling to chase.  Many fields found themselves lapped.

Men’s A: Joe won an early mid-race sprint, however the effort proved too much and found himself off the back.  Kevin and Brett finished together in the field after the breakaway lapped the field.

Men’s B: James and Drew were unable to turn on the afterburners as they found their path impeded by other racers.  They finished safely in the pack.

Men’s C: The Men’s C field stayed together for the entire race, no breakaways today.  Nolan finished in the pack and Charlie Li lost touch with the field but chased hard.

Women’s C/D: Sarah put up a strong showing in a field with some very strong women.  Sarah worked with a group of 3 other riders to finish just a lap behind the breakaway.

Men’s D:  Bad luck for Connor.  He got to the start line and the row ahead of him fell over when the race started.  The lead row jumped away while Connor waited for the people ahead of him to get up.  Connor chased hard for 25 minutes and almost caught the pack, but the race was over before he could get back in touch with the group.

Full Results: http://velocityresults.com/results/547/eccc-week-1-rutgers-criterium-piscataway-nj

Coming up:

Philly Phlyer March 21^st-22^nd.  The Pennsylvania State University Cycling team hopes to show up with even more numbers and turn the pack finishes into wins.  We will be riding throughout the week to put some speed into our legs.  See you at the races!


Written by Kevin Bernstein,