MIT cycling team on top after first race weekend
Berlin and Wymbs win their individual time trial races at the Rutgers Season Opener
Courtesy of Peter VOllers
This past weekend, MIT Cycling opened its Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) season in New Jersey at the Rutgers Frozen-Toed Season Opener. In just two days of racing, the team has already shown great promise for the season to come. 21 MIT cyclists competed in an individual time trial (ITT), a criterium, and a circuit race over the weekend and drove MIT to the top of the Team Omnium standing with 206 points.
In the Rutgers time trial, riders raced individually in an attempt to score the fastest time over a two-mile course. Shaena R. Berlin ’13 (a Tech meteorologist) won the women’s A ITT with a time of 5:08.06, beating out 15 other competitors. Katherine A. Wymbs ’14 also won her field, competing against 23 other riders in the women’s C race.
On the men’s side, Zachary Ward Ulissi G earned sixth place and Joseph Paul Near G finished eighth in the men’s A race. Benjamin M. Woolston G was second in the men’s B race, finishing in a time of 4:49.57, and Matthew R. Redmond ’13 was second in the men’s D race.
The criterium requires speed, strategy, and expert bike-handling skills. Riders must be good at cornering, as the race requires them to go around a short course as many times as they can in a certain period of time. Some highlights of this race for MIT were Scott A. Burdick G finishing in third place in the men’s C race, and Katie F. Maass G finishing fourth in the women’s Intro field.
Sunday was another exciting day for the MIT cycling team, with riders competing in seven categories throughout the day. David Neal Pira Koppstein G finished first in the 13.5-mile men’s C race. In the women’s C race, Georgia K. Lagoudas G finished fourth after riding for 11.7 miles against 18 competitors.
Overall, it was a promising first weekend for the MIT cycling team. The team will travel to New York this weekend for a criterium and circuit race hosted by Columbia University and Stevens Institute of Technology.