Race Notes (Rated G)

Twelve members of the cycling team traveled to Columbus, OH this weekend for a
race weekend at Ohio State University. There was supposed to be a criterium on
OSU’s campus on Saturday, but a salt deficiency and snowstorm led to its
cancellation. The team ended up leaving for Columbus on Saturday afternoon for
the road race the following day. Poor weather and sub-25 degree conditions,
made for a brutal day of racing. The first races of the day were men’s C’s,
women’s A’s, and women’s B’s, which were 22, 27, and 22 miles, respectively.
Mike Taylor and Nate Farley represented the Irish in the men’s C race in their
first appearance in collegiate cycling. The pack stayed together for the
duration of the race, which came down to a field sprint. Mike finished an
outstanding 6th in his first race, and Nate finished with the pack, another
admirable first performance.
The women’s team has doubled in size since last year, and returnees Meghan
Johnson and Jenn Perricone lined up with the elite A’s field. The women’s A
field set a blistering pace, dropping people off the back leaving Meghan in the
first chase pack. Jenn stayed with the pack but eventually dropped off with two
other girls. Jenn did not contest the sprint and placed 7th. Meghan
outsprinted the rest of the chase pack to come in slightly behind Jenn in 10th
place. The women’s B race saw the debut of freshmen Caitlin Sullivan and Laura
Simons. There was an extensive crash in the second lap of the women’s B race.
After almost avoiding it, Laura was taken out by the girl in front of her.
Fortunately neither her body nor her bike was seriously damaged, and Laura
finished with a chase group coming in 15th. Unaccustomed to the mid-western
hills, Caitlin was unable to keep the pace on the steep climbs and dropped back
with a chase pack to finish 20th. Both ladies made an excellent showing in
their first races.
The men’s D, B, and A races all started around the same time and were 22, 27,
and 39 miles, respectively. We had John Dailey and John McDonough representing
ND in the D’s race, making their race premier. John Dailey rode a strong 22
miles and sprinted to the line finishing 7th. He is expected to upgrade to C’s
sometime soon. John McDonough finished with a chase group after dropping off
the intense pace of the pack. Our only men’s B rider today was Ty Baker who
chased down breaks and stayed with the screaming pace of the pack to finish in
an impressive 12th place. Matt Prygoski, Tim Campbell, and Neil Griggs rode
for the Irish in the men’s elite A race. In an all-or-nothing breakaway
attempt, Tim and an Indiana cyclist rode off the front for the first 16 miles,
at one point having up to a 45-second gap. Sensing impending doom with the
peloton breathing down their neck, Tim sat up and rejoined the pack, while the
IU rider continued in what turned out to be the winning move. During Tim’s
breakaway, Neil popped a flat, and the pack got away while he was waiting for
the wheel truck. He continued on to get some mileage in, but was unable to
finish with the pack. Matt spent the race trying to get in a successful
breakaway, but IU chased down every move. He had a good position going into the
final lap, but unfortunately flatted and finished with a chase pack.
Several team members will be traveling to DePauw next weekend, but since it is
spring break, the rest of the Irish hope to come back in better shape in a
month for their next race at Michigan State and the University of Michigan.