Navy snags Div. 1 Atlantic conference title as VT weekend wraps up season

By Reid Beloni

Ronde Van Rice Road Race

Saturday morning the rainy sky cleared, but in place were cool temperatures and gusting winds. The wind really became a factor in the afternoon time trials, but also made the road racing tough as well. The course for all categories was a rolling course of 15 miles through Maggie Valley, Virginia. While its remoteness meant it lacked cell phone coverage, the venue was beautifully surrounded by cow and horse farms.

The first race to start was the Men’s A race. Immediately after passing the start finish on the first lap Justin Crawford of Virginia Tech and Callum Ingram of the University of Virginia took off in a break that would stay clear the whole race. Two chasing groups of three riders formed. One of those groups was caught a few laps later, but Thomas Dominic of Duke, Travis Hagner of App. State and Richard Distad of the University of Maryland stayed between the lead group and the field all race. Crawford rode clear for the win over Ingram who was eventually caught by the case of three. Dominic finished second and Hagner was third.

The Women’s A race started at the same time as the Men’s B race. The Men’s B race was fast from the beginning and broke up into multiple groups. Peggy LeGrand of Navy was able to get separated from the rest of the Women’s A field in a group of Men’s B riders. Behind Cora Olson of Virginia Tech and Katherine Klausing of American were in a chase group, but never caught back up to LeGrand. LeGrand rode to the win while Klausing finished second by out sprinting Olson who finished third.

In Men’s B race Matthew Rinehart of Duke won with an impressive ride that saw him attack a break, catch and ride through the Men’s A field. Behind, James Schulte and Brad Dodson both of West Virginia finished second and third respectively.

The Women’s B was won by Stephanie Bunnett of Pfeiffer. She was followed by Corinne Landis and Elizabeth Schlagheck both of Navy finishing in second and third.

Despite a crash early in her race, Paige Beard of Pfeiffer recovered and went on to win the Women’s C race. The Men’s C race was won by Alex Hess of Navy. Kyle Ondy of Virginia Tech won the Men’s D race.

Tik Tok Challenge Team Time Trial

The afternoon brought even more winds to the team time trial, which was a reversal of the morning’s road race course. Gusts of wind over 30 mph made handling bikes as big a challenge as working together as a team.

Duke Men’s A set the fastest time of the day at 37:31. They were followed only a second behind by Virginia Tech. Navy won the Women’s A race in 45:12 over Pfeiffer. Navy women also won the Women’s B race. In Men’s B, West Virginia won by another slim margin of five second over Duke. The Men’s C team time trial was won by App. State. The University of Maryland won the Men’s D team time trial.

Sunday on-campus Criterium

The University of Maryland went one-two in the Men’s D criterium with Matthew Black and Eric Link. Kyle Ondy of Virginia Tech finished third. Maryland also won the Women’s C race with Kristina Gaff who out sprinted Paige Beard of Pfeiffer; Francesca Blume of Maryland finished in third.

In Women’s B the top two podium spots were repeats from Saturday. Stephanie Bunnett of Pfeiffer again won followed by Corinne Landis of Navy; Kat Dransfield of Navy was third.

The Men’s C race was won by Nicholas Sachanda of George Washington followed by Navy teammates John Bishop and Patrick Slack.

Brian Kalsbeek Men’s B of NC State won the Men’s B race followed by Samuel Hilgartner of Virginia Commonwealth in second and Daniel Schwartz of George Washington in third.

In atypical fashion, the Women’s A didn’t break apart and finished in a field sprint. Kirsten Fee of Pfeiffer who was competitive all day racing for primes also won the final sprint for the win. Klausing followed in second with LeGrand in third.

The Men’s A was a race of points, with everyone watching each other and trying to advance their overall standings. There were a few breaks throughout the race, none but a few solo moves seemed to last longer than a lap. A late race move did see Cory Scott of William and Mary and John Crow of NC State get a few seconds over the field. Scott won the two up sprint, while Crow was content with winning the individual conference title. Justin Beard of Pfeiffer won the field sprint.

The Division 1 team title was won by Navy followed by Virginia Tech and NC State. The Division 2 team title was won by Pfeiffer followed by Duke and Appalachian State. The Women’s A individual title was won by LeGrand of Navy, second was Fee of Pfeiffer, and in third was Cheryl Lefever of Navy. The Men’s A individual title was won by Crow of NC State, followed by Scott of William and Mary in second, and in third was Beard of Pfeiffer.

This brings the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference’s 2010 road season to an end. Next, select riders will travel to Collegiate Nationals.

Reid Beloni is a Senior at Virginia Tech

FILED UNDER: Collegiate / News / Race Report / Road