The Oregon club cycling team won the Division I team omnium in the Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference and qualified for nationals in Fort Collins, Colo., from May 8-10.
Oregon won the NWCCC Division I omnium based on aggregate score throughout the season and won a number of individual and team honors, and finished third in the overall NWCCC standings to Whitman and Western Washington. Will Neimann-Ross was the individual Division I omnium champion, while David Kuhns was the runner-up.
Scoring in cycling is somewhat unique. Both the men’s and women’s “A” teams combine points over the course of the season to determine who qualifies for nationals. The combined A team of Neimann-Ross, Kuhns, Galen Mitterman, Lenny Stewart and Rachelle Hobson qualified for nationals.
The road to nationals wasn’t an easy one. The first weekend of the season the Ducks struggled and it planted a seed of doubt in their minds.
“After the first weekend, we were concerned we wouldn’t qualify for nationals. It made us step up our level of competition and dominate,” said Kuhns.
But soon after that, it became clear the Ducks were head-and-shoulders above the competition, clinching the team title with several weeks left in the season. Going into the conference championships, Oregon was only worried about individual honors.
Freshman Hobson was the only woman on the A team. She has been an integral part of their success because without her, the A team wouldn’t get any points from the women’s side of the team.
“She’s scored some big points for us this year,” said Kuhns.
Next year, the women figure to be much improved, as the “B” level team won the NWCCC omnium. The men return all national qualifiers as well, so next season should be even better.
Hobson attributes her success to hard work and previous experience. Hobson has been cycling for eight years and that experience has served her well.
“It helps me with strategy, preparation for races. I have been racing since I was 10 years old, and training since September,” Hobson said.
A common theme among the Ducks was how hard the team trained this last season, and how crucial it was to their success. Starting in the fall, the team began workouts and continued throughout the winter until the season started. Some of the Ducks also participated in an experimental program through the University’s Environment and Exercise Physiology lab to increase their stamina and endurance, which is particularly important in cycling.
“We’ve worked really, really hard. Back in January, December, we were getting up on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. in 40-degree weather while everyone else was still asleep,” Hobson said. “It took a lot of time and commitment.”
Neimann-Ross also said coach Gilad Gozlan was instrumental in helping Oregon maintain fitness levels.
On any given weekend, a cycling race will consist of three parts: road race, criterium and time trial, each taking part on a different day, and all the combined results of all those events is omnium. Criterium is a 75-minute race that consists of laps. Road race is the longest race, with a 60-100 mile track. Time trial is a strictly team event, in which each team starts a minute apart on the track and the lowest time wins.
Despite the great year, the Ducks are underdogs at nationals.
Cycling is different from other campus sports in that it isn’t sanctioned by the NCAA, but it still has varsity programs across the United States. The governing body, USA Cycling, says anyone going to school full-time is welcome to race. That includes varsity athletes who have professional contracts to race, as well. The only qualification is that one goes to school full-time. Well-known professional cyclists like Tyler Hamilton have been individual winners at nationals.
“Schools that have strong varsity programs have other infrastructure and resources we don’t have, and that makes it hard,” said Kuhns.
That is why it will be difficult for the Ducks to take home the national title.
“Realistically, (we need) a bit of good luck,” said Kuhns.
Neimann-Ross agreed.
“It’s going to be quite a challenge,” said Neimann-Ross, “You pretty much have to be on the path to a pro to win.”
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Ducks win division omnium, advance to nationals May 8-10
Daily Emerald
May 4, 2009
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