Dec 22, 2011

Coach wanted!

The Collins Women’s Cycling program is looking for a dependable, enthusiastic female or male coach for our Little 500 team. While a veteran Little 500 or cycling coach would be ideal, a person with a basic understanding of physical conditioning, bicycles, and motivation would also be acceptable. If you believe these are qualities that are critical for a team to be successful, and can invest the time, please contact us.

Our team consists of 4 riders who are new to competitive cycling but not to athletics. Our goal is to be the best team we can be and are prepared to work hard to reach that goal.

Even if your Little 500 knowledge is not that extensive, we have several Little 500 alumni who, while they do not have the time to coach our team, have agreed to assist both us and our coach navigate the path to becoming a viable Little 500 team both now and into the future.

If interested, please contact us at:
collinslittle500@gmail.com

Thank you!

Dec 20, 2011

ICX Double Weekend

The Indiana Cyclocross Cup series offered up one last double weekend of racing before a holiday break and the New Year's Eve finale. Saturday marked a return to the a slightly re-routed and much more rutted version of the previous weekend's Backyard Cross course for the Indiana State Cyclocross Championship. Sunday's race took place at the Boone County fairgrounds in Lebanon.

Saturday's state championship race saw a host of Bloomingtonians competing for medals in their respective classes. Don Galligher claimed the Elite Men's 35+ state championship, while the Rodkey household claimed a pair of bronze medals, Lindsay in the Cat 3/4 Open Women and Adam in the Elite Men. Other Bloomington top tens included Sarah Fredrickson (4th, Elite Women), Ashton Wishmeier (8th, Cat 3 Open Men), Will Sorg (7th, Cat 4 Open Men), and Chris Arvin (6th, Cat 4 35+ Men). Fred Rose spend most of Saturday's race engaged in a battle that included eventual state champion Eric Anderson and likely Masters 45-49 World Championships rival, Jonathan Card of Ohio, only to lose a derailleur hanger to the sticky mud on the last lap and fall to ninth place.



On Sunday, Liz Cobb took second in the Elite Women's race, while Fred got some redemption with a second place in the Elite Men. Andy Messer successfully competed in two back-to-back races, taking first in the Elite 35+ and third in the Elite Men's race.

Dec 18, 2011

Team Scholars Inn Bakehouse Applications Due December 31, 2011



Applications to race for the Scholars Inn Bakehouse are due Saturday, December 31st by 5 pm. Applications can be found at www.scholarsinncycling.org. Click on TEAM INVITATIONS in the header, complete the application and email to director@teamtortuga.org or sacconetom@yahoo.com. Or, mail to PO Box 8121 Bloomington, IN 47407. Dues are payable at or before the first team meeting on January 26th, 2012.

We currently have openings on the Men's Category 3,4 and 5 and Women's Category 2,3 and 4 squads.

Contact me with questions.

Tom Saccone
Director

Dec 12, 2011

Backyard Cross

The OVCX series may be over, but the cyclocross season in Indiana continues through the month of December. This weekend's racing included the second annual Backyard Cross, which took place on John Schmitz' property near Bargersville, IN. The sunny but sub-freezing weather provided a break from the past few weekends' mudfests, but still left some greasy corners by the end of the day. With the ICX series as the only remaining outlet in the region for maintain form through nationals and worlds, Backyard Cross drew several riders from Ohio and Kentucky in addition to the Indiana regulars.

Elizabeth Cobb and Sarah Fredrickson took third and fourth places in the Elite Women's field, while Lindsay Rodkey took third in the Cat 3/4 Open Women. Fred Rose and Adam Rodkey both finished in the money in the Elite Men's field, with second and sixth place respectively, and Don Galligher took second in the Elite Master's 35+ category. Will Sorg capped off the day with a fifth place in the Cat 4 Men's Open race.



The Backyard Cross course will see more action on Saturday, when it will hold the Indiana State Cyclocross Championships. The ICX double weekend will conclude with the PAX Gray Goat at the Fair Cross on Sunday.

Dec 5, 2011

Midwest Masters Championships/ OVCX Finale

The Kingswood Golf Course in Mason, OH hosted two days of sticky, clumpy cyclocross racing this weekend with the Midwest Juniors and Masters Championships on Saturday and the OVCX Finale on Sunday. Andy Messer and Fred Rose both became Midwest Masters Champion jersey winners on Saturday, with Messer taking the Elite Men's 35-39 victory and Rose taking the Elite Men's 45-49 win.

Sunday's OVCX finale saw some serious wheel-clogging conditions and several places where riders were required to run through boggy, ankle-deep mud. Bloomington swept the open women's categories with Lindsay Rodkey winning Cat 4, Sarah Fredrickson winning Cat 3, and Elizabeth Cobb winning Cat 1/2. A final OVCX Messer-Rose battle ensued in the Elite Men's wave, ending with Messer in fifth and Rose in sixth overall.



When the OVCX series awards were handed out at the end of the day, five of the coveted beer steins went home to Bloomington. Series championships went to Lindsay Rodkey in the Cat 4 Open women, Andy Messer in the Elite Men's 35+, and Fred Rose in the Elite Men's 45+. Sarah Fredrickson took second in the Women's Cat 3, and Elizabeth Cobb took third in the Women's 1/2.



All of this begs the question, are there any Little 5 ladies willing to step up and keep Bloomington's female CX dominance going in next year's Cat 4 series?

Results from the Kings CX Weekend races are up on Truesport.com, the OVCX final standings should be up soon.

There is still nearly a month of racing left for the Indiana CX Cup, which will have double race weekends for the next two weeks and conclude with a series finale party on December 31st. The next month will also be critical for our newly crowned Midwest Masters Champions as they prepare to move beyond the Midwest and take on the nation and the world in January.

Photos by Chris Jones

Dec 1, 2011

Fredrickson Named Zipp OVCX Athlete of the Week

Expect to see some Cincinnati and Louisville 'cross racers setting up tents in People's Park soon. While Bloomington may only provide about 3% of OVCX racers, it has produced 21% of this year's Zipp OVCX Athletes of the Week.

From the OVCX Facebook page:

Congratulations to BikeReg.com's Sarah Fredrickson and Lionheart's Spencer Petrov, our Zipp OVCX Athletes-of-the-Week after Lexington!! It was the toughest race of the year, and this was the hardest call out of all the weeks of racing. So congrats Sarah and Spencer, and enjoy those Zipp 303's Sunday at Kings CX!