William and Mary hosts Atlantic conference

By Reid Beloni

The Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia for the fifth annual Tidewater Winter Classic hosted by the College of William and Mary. Saturday opened with a 12.5-mile time trial along the banks of the York River. The otherwise flat course opens and closes with two large rollers. The main obstacle of the day was a strong cross wind blowing off the water which was felt over the entire course.

Time Trial

Peggy LeGrand of Navy won the Women’s A race, posting a time of 30:48; one of the fastest times of the day for any category. Kristen Fee of Pfeiffer finished in 34:48 and Samantha Rynas of George Washington in 35:02 rounded out the podium in second and third respectively.

The Men’s A time trial was won in a course-record of 26:44 by Michael Githens of Georgetown. He was followed by Zach McIntyre of Navy at 27:19 and Cory Scott of William and Mary at 27:24.

In the Men’s B, Duke University nearly swept the podium with Gael Hagen and Robert Ferris in first and third. Zachary Huff of Navy finished second.

Road Race

Sunday’s road race was full of crashes. The majority of the road race course is flat to rolling, however each lap and the finish presented the riders with a steep, stair stepping, 400-meter long climb dubbed the “KOA hill.” The Men’s C race was a bloody one. There were a number of crashes on the last lap that took out nearly half of the 45-rider field. The largest crash was at the base of the final climb and left a number of riders walking mangled bikes and broken wheels up the hill and across the finish line. The Women’s A and Men’s D field also had a few riders go down.

In the Women’s A race, LeGrand and Fee got away and spent most of the day in a break. Over the KOA hill at the end of the first lap, they took off and were never seen again. LeGrand won followed by Fee. The race behind for third was won by Carolyn Horiye also of Navy. The conference overall is still led by LeGrand, followed by Fee in second, with Cheryl Lefever of Navy in third.

The Men’s A race was also dominated by an early break. It began with Gregory Leach of American taking off solo. Eventually a group of four riders joined him. That group stayed clear to the line despite chasing from the field. The finish saw Kyle Englund-Krieger of Navy win, Michaen Niemi of Duke in second and Walker Owen of NC State in third. The Men’s A overall remains unchanged with John Crow of NC State leading, followed by McIntyre in second and Scott in third.

Calendar Update

The conference will have a rest weekend coming up as the races hosted by the University of Maryland have been canceled. Next for the conference is a weekend hosted by both the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Reid Beloni is a senior at Virginia Tech