The club cycling team raced at Tufts this past Saturday, with fifth-year dual degree student Dan Allis finishing 17th out of 30 in the men's A race and sophomore Sam Dangremond finishing 15th out of 40 in the men's D race. More than 200 cyclists from the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC), which includes schools from New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, came to compete on the tough 0.6 mile criterium (crit.), which shut down parts of Latin Way, Professor's Row, and other side streets for much of the day.
"The race was considered a huge success by those who participated," Dangremond said. "A good time was had by all."
The competitive Tufts crit. is a fast and technical course, and most cyclists in the A race Saturday finished 45 laps in around an hour. The course's location was also convenient for the schools which traveled to Medford, including Boston University, the University of New Hampshire, Bates, Rutgers, Cornell, and Bucknell. Although no more races are planned to be held at Tufts this season, the team was thankful for Saturday's outcome and hopes to host another race in the near future.
"We were especially thankful that the weather was good," Dangremond said.
So far this season, the cycling team has done well with its small group of four team members. And while Allis and Dangremond are the only two who compete, sophomores Dan Blake and A.J. Schrauth continue to train and show promise for the future.
"[This year] is a rebuilding year, but I guess it's a little late for that," Allis added. "Hopefully by next spring we'll have more numbers."
Allis and Dangremond made their way down to Lancaster, PA to compete during the weekend of March 17-18 at a race put on by the University of Vermont. Allis finished 26th out of 35 racers in the A race on Saturday, before being pulled out of contention at Sunday's race midway through.
"I haven't been training enough," Allis said. "Last year I raced in the top category like I do this year, but last year I had more time to train."
The following weekend, at a race hosted by the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State, Allis finished 25th out of 35 the first day, but was pulled three quarters of the way through competition the next day. Dangremond, competing in the D race, finished 9th out of 20 on Saturday and 5th out of 20 on Sunday.
"Sam just couldn't get good positioning," Allis said. "But he really looked great."
The cycling team is coed, though not many women compete at the collegiate level and women's races often feature far fewer competitors.
"Women are always welcome, we'd like to see more come out and race," Allis added. "Usually women do well just by showing up."
Besides coach and Tufts' alum Mark Abramson, who critiques the team's technique and gives the cyclists pointers, team members essentially train independently.
"I find cycling incredibly fun and very unique, it takes a special kind of dedication and a lot of work," Dangremond said. "If you are able to make the investment it really pays off."
For now, the team looks forward this weekend's long, hilly road race at U.N.H. The following weekend, April 14, they take on the very technical crit. course at Williams College, which has six more turns than the difficult Tufts course.
