Tufts co-hosts largest collegiate cycling event in nation

To a casual observer, Professor's Row probably sounded like a huge block party on Saturday. Speakers churned out everything from Rapper's Delight to the Offspring, which was mixed with sounds of people shouting and cheering. A variety of tents were set up on Fletcher Field, and crowds of people line the street.

But if that casual observer were to have stepped into the street, he would have received a rude awakening when a pack of brightly-uniformed cyclists tore through the corner by ATO, as they competed in this weekend's third annual Boston Beanpot Classic.

The event was co-coordinated by five area schools -- Tufts, Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern, and Wentworth. It consisted of a team time trial on Saturday morning hosted by BU in Concord, the Tufts' Criterium (crit) on Saturday afternoon, (which was preceded Saturday morning by a non-collegiate crit race), and a Harvard-hosted road race at the Tufts Vet School in Grafton.

Despite cold, rainy, and at times dangerous conditions, the weekend's events went off without any major problems. The turnout was so great that a press release yesterday on the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) website called the Beanpot, "the largest collegiate cycling race in America." Three hundred nine riders participated, up from the 250 riders last year.

"The event was a huge success," said sophomore James Gronek, who co- coordinated the event with senior captain Carolyn Whitten. "There were a record number of riders who participated; [it was] the largest race since the early 90s excluding Nationals."

Gronek spent most of the Saturday's crit race riding in the lap car, and, at one point, Whitten had to run off to divert a crisis, as someone informed her over a radio that a bus was trying to enter the course. Other members from the Tufts Cycling Club were stationed around the course, keeping pedestrians out of the way.

In between organizing and policing, the Jumbos also cycled. Overall for the weekend, out of 34 teams that scored points, Tufts earned a 20th place tie with UConn, scoring 29 points altogether. This was not a bad showing for the team, considering it was faced with competition from schools where cycling is considered an official Division I sport, and therefore funded as such.

All of the races were broken into classes, four for the men and two for the women. Tufts only had racers in the B division for women and the D division for men, but the Jumbos competed well in each case. Being a smaller group, the team usually sets its goals at scoring points in a competition, rather than dominating the track.

"As a team, all we want to do is score points," sophomore Olivia Jaras said. "If we are scoring points, we are in good shape."

Jaras, as well as three others, competed in the team time trial Saturday morning, where Tufts earned a ninth place finish. The Jumbos also earned a sixth place finish by the men in the D division.

A crit race is a test of technique, as its sharp turns and quick laps require a lot of maneuvering. The Tufts' course, known to be one of the more difficult courses in New England, followed a path that began in front of health services, with a left onto Curtis and another quick left onto Sawyer, through Packard and past Hodgedon, a quick uphill climb past the campus center and back onto Professors Row to complete the loop.

A few male cyclists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH), who had competed earlier in the day, remarked at how difficult the course was, as they looked on from their vantage point at turn three.

"This is a really technical course," UNH cyclist Blake Holt said. "That second turn is really scary, and the second uphill can also get you."

This, combined with the racing conditions made for many crashes that occurred throughout the day. TEMS was kept busy tending to scrapes and burns known to cyclists as "road rash." At least five cyclists had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The most exciting race of the day was the men's A competition, which included some of the top riders in the country, a few of whom have sponsors and are paid to ride. The race became a battle between riders from Dartmouth and the University of Vermont (UVM). In an excellent display of teamwork, three riders from UVM held back the rest of the pack, while their teammate Keith Jennings managed to sneak ahead. He was in the company of Tim Clement of Dartmouth for a period of time until he managed to break away towards the end to win the race by almost a lap.

Jumbo senior Matt Dysart took tenth place in the men's D division, while freshman Abe Gissen took fourteenth. Jaras took ninth in the women's B division.

Aside from racing, Saturday provided an opportunity for Tufts' riders to have their friends see what cycling is all about.

"It was great to get support from the Tufts Community," Dysart said. "A lot of alumni were here, and it was really nice how it all came together."

At Sunday's road race in Grafton, the Jumbos failed to score points. Senior Anna Kaltenboeck placed highest (25th out of 43) for Tufts in the women's B race that was 26 miles long. In the men's D race, Dysart finished 28th, while sophomore Winston Chang finished 40th out of 75 starters.