Feb 21, 2011

Final Thoughts...

Sadly your usual BVN will not be able to pontificate about Little 500 in April so as the season kicks off it's worth assessing where the teams are. Not a great deal of things have changed since the early lines last September but this is always good for some debate so....

Little 500 odds

Mens race April 16th 2011.
Cutters 2/1 fav (3/2 in september). Eric Young remains undoubtedly the class of the field but the race day experience of Schroeder will be missed. Depasse looks like a Young clone and the battle between him, Walsh, Harbison and Lusk for the remaining places will keep things internally competitive through the spring. Knowing more about preparation the team puts in, it is no wonder they are gunning for 5 in a row.
DTD- 5/1 (10/1)- Seem like a cohesive unit with new quality supplementing veteran quality. Coudright looks lean and could ride more laps than in previous years. After two years in contention they are developing a team that knows how to compete.
PDT- 5/1 (7/1)- Have at least 5 riders who are going strong which represents good internal competition. West is way stronger than last year and Sharp will find his form through the spring. Their attitude in finishing second in 2010 shows they won't be satisfied with any less than the W.
Gray Goat 6/1 (7/1)- Seem to be taking the next step in their preparation by utilizing the benefits of the moto and are hungry to reach the podium. Holthouse and Kiel seem to be riding well on the road and have the track experience to be significant players.
Sigma Chi 6/1 (13/2)- Morrow and Fish are a dangerous double act and they have a group of rookies that are clearly in pretty good shape. With the Dean at the helm then they shouldn't make the error of last year and he knows how the ride and win this race.
Beta 7/1 (11/2)- Anonymous through the winter and rumors of Green's dedication might hurt their challenge but have the talent to compete for the win.
Hoosier Climber 8/1 (14/1)- Clambered into being serious players with the acquisition of Smallman who seems to have brought good road form onto the track. As a former IU Varsity athlete he has the competitive-drive to succeed.
FiJI- 8/1 (8/1)- I got nothing, wouldn't recognize any of their riders if I bumped into them on the street.
CRU cycling 9/1 (-)- A great fall series has put this growing program on the map. Seemingly very organized with a good hunger to succeed. Might surprise some people on race day.
BKB 12/1 (12/1)- Very quiet recently but may come strong to the track after a good winter training camp.
Phi Psi 14/1 (12/1)- Once again somewhat of a mystery team and will suffer having just one rider with race day experience. Top 5 would be a great result.
The field 20/1- Difficult to see anyone else challenging for the win...prove me wrong!

Womens Little 500- April 15th 2011

Teter 3/2 fav (2/1)- With CvK, Gowdy, Laurie and competition for the final place this team is set for both 2011 and the future. Since 2004 has built a pedigree only rivaled by the Cutters. Expect big things from CvK in her final race.
DG 4/1 (6/1)- Coach Half has the girls pointed in the correct direction and by all account have rookies that are amongst the best. Kent will be one of the top ITTers but can she win the big race for the team?
Pi Phi 6/1 (8/1)- Brown is motivated and has much more support than last year. As in 2010 she will be the individual to watch and is as talented as anyone else on the track.
Wing It 7/1 (9/1)- The program seems to be developing nicely with good results in the Fall series. Unlike the Hewitt year they have strength throughout and with the resources at their disposal should come out of the winter in good form.
Theta 8/1 (12/1)/ Dickman and Metherd have got their rookies in good shape for the start of track practice. The rookie MnO winner Chelminiak looks well adapted for the track. Will be in contention for the top 5.
Army 8/1 (6/1)- Have a fun group of riders and have been putting out solid results at the Marian indoor TTs. In the 4th year as a contending team so need to make the take the next step onto the podium....good luck required....
AGD 9/1 (5/1)- Balchan might prove to be the fastest rider on the track but will she have the support she needs to compete for the win? Perhaps an alliance with Pi Phi could benefit both teams...
Kappa 10/1 (10/1)- The Fiji of the girls. Aside from RC member Sauter, BVN has no clue of their form aside from knowing they had, as ever, a good winter training trip.
The field 20/1- Overall a lesser number of teams that can compete for the win than in the Mens race but it is still always a fun time!

11 comments:

Wes said...

Good luck Bloomington and IU will be at a loss without you.

rmsmallm said...

"Scouse cycling news" already got the name for the new blog!

Anonymous said...

Geraint....

Thank you for you invaluable insight to those of us outside of Bloomington....It simply won't be the same without hearing your voice announcing races, commentating on series events, or your posts on BVN keeping us in the loop. Thank you for all you have done for the Bloomington cycling community, and best of luck in all your future endeavors...

-Cameron Stouder

Anonymous said...

Its no wonder delts have 5/1 odds now with coudright on anabolic steroids (winstroll) and stuart on some sort of e.p.o. they have shown the rookies how to succeed. Courtney Bishop is a circus freak to little 5 too. Good luck with him...I think their tires are a little greasy on the back stretch.

Overall, way too hyped. Phi Delts will pack their shit in and Cutters, well need I say more? Young and Depasse will lap the field just tossing the bike off to each other.

Lance Armstrong

The Other Hans said...

GP: Thanks for your amazing contrib to the cycling community here. Any chance of running BVN remotely???!!! Please?

Anonymous said...

Who the hell is Depasse? Isn't he a rookie for the cutters that hasn't proved himself on the track yet? I'm sure he's strong by the comments but the track isn't a direct correlation with the road not to mention the experience factor...just saying. We'll see how good he is in miss'n'out then I'll decide

Anonymous said...

Beta seems over-rated. I hear they are sinking fast.
Hoosier Climber? Under rated.
Fiji. Never count them out. Their training starts in a few weeks.

Cutters should have 1:1 odds with Young and Depasse. Give Young the Amgen Tour Sprinters Jersey when you present them with their rings.

Anonymous said...

I bet he feels like such a man...sprinting against frat boys and doing a double post...the week after little 5 he will be sprinting up against cav. Good for you young.

GTFOOL5

-Thug Life

Anonymous said...

Sigma Chi should be second in my opinion. All riders back and looking stronger than ever. Addition of a Cat 3 rookie will push the 3rd and 4th vets to not lose their spots. They are easily the deepest team in the race.
-Promise im not a sigmachi

Anonymous said...

1) Cutters - only Young matters, if they didn't have him they would be lucky to be top 10. i dont believe the hype on depasse since all the cutters play mind games and they are the only ones in a position to comment on his form

2) Phi Delt - Sharp is easily 2nd best on the track. anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Supposedly West is better this year. They should be able to find 2 respectable riders out of the remaining 34 people on their team

3) Phi Gams - we already know Ellis is a lock for 3rd in the sprint, so it only makes sense to place them here. them and pdt are the only teams that have a legitimate chance to drop the cutters, and that's only if young is off the bike for more than 10 consecutive laps

4) Sigma Chi - I'm not big on this team, but I don't think anyone else really has a chance either. When they become legitimate cyclists and not just self-described "athletes", they might crack the podium

5) Beta - Green sucks, Anderson is good. I don't know why people have it the other way. It honestly baffles me

6) Delts? - They can't ride unless there is someone ahead of them, so they'll be in it, but won't win it (Courtney seems to be just fine with that)

BKB, Phi Psi, Gray Goat will be in the latter half of the top 10 along with another giddie team

- I'm Better at Predicting Little 5 Than You, Nana Nana Boo Boo, Stick Your Head in Doo Doo

Anonymous said...

-Sigma Chi will be alright as long as they keep Tom to a minimum.
-Cutters Depass and Lusk will keep them in the race and hand it off to Young to blow it out of the water

1)Cutters
2)FIJI
3)Sigma Chi
4)Delts
5) Phi Delt