Women's Race Analysis

It's on TV (HDNet) and the IDSnews are hopefully/apparently streaming it live but this is the place for your post-race analysis of the Womens race!

Congrats to Delta Gamma, this picture shows that Kayce Doogs was made to sprint. An already legendary final set, can't wait to see the replay!
 How the race was won, 2012 Womens Little 500 edition. From words and sounds it seemed like a great race, I'm sure the pictures made it even better. This is what I pieced together, please offer corrections below:

Laps 1-25. Teter know Theta would follow them around like a little puppy. Therefore they mixed it up with a looong opening set by Emma (Teter) that kept Kath (Theta) on the bike for way longer than she expected...which might have been critical later on. Following exchanges, Teter only had KKG, Wing-it and DSP for company (I think DG had dropped off(?) and Theta crashed their first exchange).

Laps 30-60. Should have Teter pressed their quarter-lap advantage over the other big favorite? By this time Lisa had barely ridden so maybe could have blown it all apart. I don't know if there was any coach-chat but I doubt KKG and Wing-it would have contributed to an effort to bury Theta (and DG?...they didn't get mentioned much in the radio broadcast). Some shades of what happened in 2008 but to be fair it is a big ask for Teter to take it on for 60 laps without a Rieke or CvK. Therefore Theta claw themselves back into it to leave a lead group of Teter, Theta, DG, DSP, KKG and Wing-it

  Laps 60-90. A phoney way, a few little attacks but no-one committed.

  Laps 90-96. The critical decision. DG exchanges before Teter and Theta to get Kayce on the bike. When Teter exchange (to put Lisa on) she smashes it and continues to do so when Theta swap (to put Kath on). Kayce leads for 4 laps but it's a big ask to keep the field at bay that whole time. If she had a 1/3 of a lap then I think DG would have exchanged to try and win it solo (like in 2008) but as soon as the pack regrouped then Pam/Kelsey (DG coaches) decided to keep it in the legs of their best rider.

The End- Theta seemed to lead it out for a final couple of laps. Kayce recovered fantastically as she must have been breathing out of her ears at that time. She found better position than Teter and came around Kath out of turn 4 for a remarkable win. Maybe Teter's early strategy to tire Kath served to aid DG in the end, somewhat like in 2008.

 I was surprised Coach Knapp didn't insist on 'shorts + baby oil' for all the Theta riders. I feel wearing shorts in cold weather is a statement of 'we are here to race' whereas leg warmers may say 'I'm here to keep warm'.

 Kudos to KKG and DSP for always being there at the end and especially to Collins who finished 7th with all rookies. Nice to see Chi-Omega back in the top ten for the first time in a decade! Lets hope the mens race is as exciting.

In other news...

It may be L5 week but it's worth giving a shout-out to Ryan Knapp who successfully rode one of the hardest US Pro races this past weekend. Check out his blog..... OK you can get back to thinking about L5 now...

Knapp on the front (left) next to Karl 'Ten' Menzies

The IDSnew profile is out and online here

It's the usual mix of insight and inane. Some thoughts:
-This blog has totally ignored Melanzana as a nothing-new-team but they qualify top 9 and have race winner Dana VDG on the team so deserve top 5 consideration, and they are rocking the matching PRO kit.
- Sam, it's too soon for the handed down Bissell kit
- The Delta Gamma kit looks good right now #thatisall
- Which came first: the Lambda Chi or AePhi jersey?
- Not sure I've seen liquor advertised in the IDS previously but $1.25 for Jagershot at Big Red seems like one hell of a deal!
- I hope KKG enjoy their Apple juice.
- I hope Kevin Newkirk gets a call, give him a shot ladies!
- Enjoy the weekend!

Get excited

Let hope for a '07 like sprint. That was exciting!

Little 500 2012: the odds!

It's time for the annual and increasingly less well-informed Little 500 race odds. Not much change from the long odds reflecting it takes time for teams to emerge on the scene....Although for the first time in the history of the L5 odds the Cutters are not alone at No1! Let battle commence under the lights on Friday evening.

Womens Little 500- April 20th 7pm

Teter- 3/2 fav. A certain Theta rider has halted their total domination but they are the most complete team. Will probably look to break it open to avoid a sprint finish.

Kappa Alpha Theta- 4/1. Kath Chelminiak is the fastest rider on the track and the team did a good job in TP. Will they have the depth to deal with the Teter onslaught that will surely arrive?

Wing-it- 8/1. Three good ITTs performances makes for a solid team. However have they the ability to blow it up or win a sprint?

Delta Gamma- 10/1. Another solid group with an excellent recent pedigree. Doogs is a top 3 ITTer but Philips hasn't quite ridden to her freshman potential (the Sovinski effect). The youngest Loebig must be motivated to show a winners medal to her sisters!

Kappa Kappa Gamma- 12/1. Good coaching, a top 6 ITTer and great pedigree. Always top 5 but can they really win?

Kappa Delta- 12/1. Two top 20 ITTers and the coaching experience of a recent win. Getting into the realms of a real surprise if they were to win. Top 3 as a ceiling.

Alpha Gamma Delta- 18/1. Anyways there but winning chances left with Balchan last year.

CRU cycling- 20/1. Would be delighted with a top 5 position

Army Cycling- 20/1. Top 3 last year but with a lot of experience to replace even with a strong qual. Their TP was a touch worrying.

The Field- 30/1. All other teams will be pleased with top 10, delighted with a top 5.

Mens Little 500. April 21st 2pm.

Phi Delta Theta- 4/1 co-fav. Sharp is the joint-fastest guy on the track, they lose a little without West yet showed in TP they are ready. Have been the aggressors the past two years but with arguably the best sprinter will they have a different strategy this year? Will carefully watch the laps this year.....

Delta Tau Delta- 4/1 co-fav. RJ Stuart is a best rider on or off the track but are DTD too reliant on him? As usual I would expect a wait-and-see strategy with RJ trying to break it open late in the race. DTDs have ridden above their abilities in recent years and if they can again, they could very well win.

Cutters- 4/1 co-fav. They have to still be favoured with all their experience. Not sure who make the team (info please...) but Walsh recently won a good road race. Depasse and Nixon are going well yet Schroeders results suggest he's a little off the boil. However his previous 2 rings have come from a supporting role...can he step up to lead this year?

Beta Theta Pi- 5/1. 2012 has been the year of Beta! Four good riders gave an excellent TP. Some doubts about their ability to ride in a straight line and won't win a sprint so will need to break it up to win. The question is whether they want to win or will be happy with top 3?

Black key Bulls- 8/1. A very solid squad who showed well in TP and throughout the spring. Experience behind the scenes but have been found lacking on race day in the past few years. Can they put it all together this year. Again, like Beta will they be happy with a top 3?

Sigma Chi- 12/1. Two excellent riders but the TP was a worry. Wasn't aware Tom S had left their side and whatever you think, he is an overall benefit. Will likely be able to hang with the leaders so who knows what might happen. Morrow is a fighter for sure!

Theta Chi- 14/1. Really stepped up their speed this year after just outside the top ten in 2011. Good to see that level of progression and a good top ten may put them in a position to truly compete next year. They could be there at the end and then who knows....

Sigma Phi Epsilon- 16/1. Don't know anything about these guys but Torrance did a great ITT and the TP was solid. Look good on paper but inexperience may cost them in the race.

Acacia- 16/1. Unspectacular in ITTs but returning a full team from a top 5 in 2011. Will they be happy with the same this year or can Bortz propel them higher?

FIJI- 16/1. Desperate for a win and they think they can do it. Pride comes before a fall but you have to aim high right? Top 5 would be a good result.

The Field- 20/1. The Mens field always throws up a surprise or two so don't count out Delta Chi, SNU, DSP, CSF, CRU, Kap Sig to make the top ten. No winners in that group though....

Please let me know how wrong I am. Very jealous I won't be there to see it all occur but can't wait for 2013!

Teter/Delts Win Team Pursuit

Well, the results are in and Teter once again won Team Pursuit and clinched the white jersey by a comfortable margin. After a dominating prelim performance, they encountered a gritty challenge from Theta in the finals, but pulled away in the latter part of the race. Once again, they go into the race as heavy favorites, but today also proved that they'll have to be wary of Kathleen Chelminiak's speed. On the Men's side, Phi Delts had a strong preliminary run to cruise into the finals, but in the end it was Delts who walked away with the Team Pursuit victory. Phi Delts' performance however, earned them the white jersey.

IDS story here: http://idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=86776

Interesting to note that both Teter and Theta looked strong and smooth in the finals, albeit with slower times than their prelims. On the Men's side the times got faster in the finals (Delts turned in a blistering 9:11 for the victory!) Also, it looked like RJ Stuart was doing the majority of the work for Delts, taking multiple lap pulls throughout the event. I'm sure Courtney Bishop and Ken Nowakowski have exact counts, but RJ probably did 2/3 of the pulling throughout the finals. Regardless, it was an impressive performance by the Delts (minus one of their riders rubbing wheels and almost crashing) and this surely adds fuel to the fire for race day. I can't wait to see the show-down!

Full Women's Results: http://iusf.indiana.edu/little500/TPResultsW.pdf
Full Men's Results: http://iusf.indiana.edu/little500/MTPResults.pdf
Final Spring Series Results: http://iusf.indiana.edu/little500/Spring%20Series%20Points.pdf

Crossover

This story from the IDS makes for an interesting debate about the ability of other athletes to adapt to cycling, and specifically Little 500. Brittany is clearly a very strong swimmer but is somewhat mid-pack in the L5. One reason for this is that she is trying to do both sports (until March 17th at least) but may also speak to the ability of good athletes in other sports to just pick up a bike and be good. Little 500 is filled with ex-high school runners and swimmers who needed another outlet. Is there an easy crossover between these (or any other) sports or if you dedicate yourself to riding is it independent of ability in other sports? Examples from the Cutters in recent times show Sam Gasowski/ Paul Sigfusson as excellent swimmers who took up cycling but then Eric Young wasn't a great runner in high school who did pretty well in Little 500. Of course Eric may have been more dedicated to cycling than running so it's difficult to know exactly, whereas varsity swimmers know how to train and probably gave it their all for the bike team as well. Thoughts (and please be nice).

I do think Brittany could put her saddle up a little...

TP

TP pairing are out and the anticipated matchup is ONNNN! PDT vs DTD, for the West-bowl! Cutters-BKB and Beta-Sig CHi are others of interest. Theta vs DG looks to be the big clash on the Womens side. The trend for giving 2nd teams a run-out continues with the welcome return of LiSiHi and the PDT 3rd squad! DG and Wing-it B teams share the track...could this be a prelude to an anti-Teter pact on race-day?

Teter have the White jersey all sewn up to go with their Green and Yellow. All to play for on the Mens side with PDT in the top position.

The 'official' West post..

Well as official as IDS gets...
Fifth Year Senior deemed too fast for race he loves!

My favourite line '“I know Mr. West is upset...' Ha 'Mr West', sounds like a courtroom drama!

MnO final

Nice ride by Steve Sharp who impressed by taking the front for the dangerous elimination rounds and then had an impressive turn of speed out of turn 2. PDT have been the most aggressive team in the last 2 years but now have licence to sit in and wait for the sprint. Can DTDs, Beta or Cutters be aggressive instead?

And Sven did get screwed in that first elimination after riding a perfect tactical lap, latching onto Steve's wheel. When will the MnO organisers learn that the BEST way to judge is from the press box (or the bleachers) and not from on the track. The action is way too close to the judge and riders close to the inside of the track always get the shaft. However this change will require better (and larger) numbers placement so that they can be seen from further away.