Big teams tune up at Georgia Southern University weekend

By Curtis Grace

Southeast Collegiate Cycling Conference racing continued in Statesboro, Georgia, this weekend as Georgia Southern University hosted its second annual “Battle in the Boro.” Intensity in the Southeast ratcheted up dramatically as the top teams and riders made their debut in conference competition. Powerhouses Lees McRae and Cumberland University made their collegiate season debut, as did recent BMC Racing Team recruit Chris Butler of Furman.

Georgia Southern drew a much larger selection of teams than last year, in part due to new conference rules changing the format of scoring and the inclusion of the team time trial. Conference points are calculate based on a “50% + Conference” formula, and with two of six regular season races already completed, it was time for the big teams to show up to start competing for nationals qualification.

Team Time Trial

Action heated up Saturday morning with a 12.46 mile team time trial contested on a rolling out-and-back course.

Furman ran away with the Men’s A race in a blazing time of 26:45. Lees McRae placed its top two teams in second and third, followed by a valiant effort by the Florida team in fourth.

For the Women’s A, Lees McRae took an easy win over Mars Hill, winning with a time of 32:16.

Lees McRae also won the Men’s B TTT with a time of 35:39, while Mercer had a solid ride to win the Men’s C race with a 33:02

Criterium

The crit course was a dizzying eight-corner loop around the tailgating fields of the Georgia Southern football stadium, featuring a tight S-curve and two sharp hairpins.

The technical course and stiff winds spelled immediate destruction for the large Men’s C field. The field was strung out by the S-curve and breaking up as the leaders finished their first lap. What ensued over the next 30 minutes was more akin to a mountain bike race than a criterium, with most groups two or three riders at best. The winning break, led by William Bostick and Brian Arne, both of College of Charleston, soon found itself entrenched in lapped riders, leaving the main field puzzled as to whom exactly they were chasing. Brent Baker of King College took the field sprint and third place in a chaotic race that still has most riders scratching their heads.

Action in the Men’s B race was a bit more procedural, and the wise move by the officials to pull all riders more than a lap down simplified both the spectating and the scoring significantly. Jimmy Mitchell of Furman would launch a solid attack in the waning laps of the race, holding on to take the win 6 seconds ahead of Travis Turner (Georgia Southern).

The Women’s race was again dominated by Lees McRae. The Women’s A and B categories raced together, but much like the Men’s C race, wind and tactics ended up breaking the field to pieces. Rachel Warner of Lees McRae would take it for the Women’s A, while Patricia Black of Clemson took a win for the B’s.

The stage was set for a showdown in the Men’s A race. BMC rider and 2008 collegiate road race champion Chris Butler was present, representing Furman. More professional and elite talent was present in Thomas Brown (Emory/Mountain Khakis) and Oscar Clarke (Georgia State/Mountain Khakis). With Cumberland and Lees McRae also ready with a cadre of riders, expectations were that the A field would also be blown to pieces. It did not take long for those expectations to be met, and only thirty minutes into the hour-long criterium the field had been cut from close to forty to less than twenty.

With fifteen minutes remaining, it was Butler, Zach Felpel (Lees McRae), Nathan Larson (Lees McRae) and Alejandro Padilla (Cumberland) off the front. With Lees McRae controlling the fragmented field of eight, the break was destined to take it, while Emory’s Brown seemed poised to take the field sprint. A miscommunication led the break and the field to believe they were on their last lap, as Butler took the bell lap for the presumed win and Brown did the same for the field sprint. Both riders were greeted with “one to go,” and both lost their sprints the second time around. Felpel would take the win past a tired and frustrated Butler, followed by Larson and Padilla. Clarke would take the field sprint to round out the top-5.

Road Race

A very brisk and windy morning met the riders as they set out for the road race.

The Men’s C race was again met with disaster as they caught the Men’s B field in the first eight miles of their 22 mile race. The lead vehicle then missed a key left hand turn, leading the C /B leaders a few minutes in the wrong direction. C riders in key position were left chasing back onto the race. William Bostick would take another win on the weekend for College of Charleston.

The B race played out with much less drama once the C field left its ranks. Apparently content to wait for a group sprint, the B’s stayed together the entire race, with Travis Turner (Georgia Southern) taking the win.

The women again ran as a combined A/B field, with Rachel Warner and Carla Swart coming in 1-2 for Lees McRae for the A’s. Jacquie Spoon and Becca Viner would finish 1-2 for Clemson in the B’s.

The Men’s A race was more tactical, as many attempts were made to form a solid breakaway. It was again Chris Butler who would make the winning break, rolling off with four other riders. With no confusion about when he was finishing, Butler took the win over Bradford Perley (Lees McRae) and Paul Webb (Mars Hill).

Curtis Grace is a Communications major at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is a Category 3/A racer and also the president of the UAH cycling team.