500 college students filled an empty parking lot at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs this weekend. The Front Range Cycling Classic, which consisted of two days of mountainous racing through the foothills of Pikes Peak, was about to begin.
CRITERIUM RACING
Racing would begin Saturday morning with the criterium, a short, action packed race filled with corners, hills, and ferocious competition. The Front Range Classic course packed in as many challenges as possible for a onemile loop, with a steep and punchy climb, sharp U-turn, and 40-mile-per-hour descent leading into a 120-degree turn just 200meters before the finish. The women C’s race kicked off the weekend of events. The race began with a series of attacks from Fort Lewis and CU Boulder and eventually saw a four rider breakaway roll containing one Fort Lewis rider, one Air Force Academy rider and two Boulder riders. The four extended their gap on the main field throughout the race when a late attack from Boulder’s Megan Percy barely allowed her to slip away with the victory. Jess Ryan of Boulder and Camryn Sippy of Fort Lewis finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The men’s B and C races both saw breakaway finishes from Boulder riders. Kylen Solvik and Nikolai Lyssogor perfected the 1-2 punch by attacking from the field halfway through the men’s C race and hanging on until the finish. In the men’s B race, Spencer White followed a lead-out from his teammates and launched a flyer with eight laps to go. White’s teammates complete the podium behind him.
The women’s B race saw one of the most exciting battles of the day, with Colorado Mesa’s Kristen Kollus and CU Boulder’s Jenny Lucke separating from the field with 20 minutes of racing remaining. Lucke hit Kollus with attack after attack, lap after lap, but Kollus clawed her way back to Lucke’s wheel each time. With four laps to go, Lucke took off solo. “I saw the gap forming behind me and I took my chance. I attacked right then, and when I realized I had four laps left I thought ‘I might as well go for it.’” Said Lucke, who ended up taking home first place. Kollus finished only 10 seconds later, with Boulder’s Carly Wegren winning a close sprint over the field behind to round out the podium.
The category A races brought a mix of action and tension as the strongest racers of the day took to the course. In the men’s race, Colorado Mesa University took control from the gun. An early breakaway containing CMU sprinter Roed Torbjorn and Boulder’s Grant Ellwood rolled but was quickly caught and countered by Boulder’s Paul Hartner. Hartner was joined by two CMU riders, including the team’s strongman, Alex Marr. The trio remained off the front for the next 30 minutes and was brought back with about 10 laps left in the race. On the final climb, Torbjorn launched his move. He was followed by Ellwood and Chaz Hogenauer of CSU Fort Collins into the final corner, where Ellwood proved successful in the sprint and took home the victory for CU.
The women’s A race proved calmer, yet with calm comes tension in bike racing. Attacks were led by the Fort Lewis’ climber Emily Abraham, but covered by CMU’s Dafne Theroux Izquierdo, starting a rivalry that would lead into tomorrow’s road race. No moves escaped the field, however, and the cat and mouse seemed endless. All the while, Boulder’s Anna Christian sat in waiting. When Izquierdo launched her last attempt at victory with half a lap to go, Christian locked onto her wheel. Following her all the way into the final turn, Christian sprinted for the line and won with room to celebrate, completing CU Boulder’s sweep of every gold medal possible.
ROAD RACING
Blue skies and warm weather greeted the racers as they prepared to take on their second day of racing. Sunday’s race was the road race, a circuit that climbed a daunting 1,100-feet over the course of 12 miles. All race categories began with fiveminute separation and raced around the course at the same time. The men’s A race, which would race for five laps, would start first and be followed by the women’s A and men’s B races, that would both race for four laps. Last to start was the men’s C race and the women’s combined B/C race, which would race two and three laps respectively.
The men’s A race saw a four-man break roll early in the race containing Colorado Mesa’s Alex Marr and CU Boulder’s Jakub Valigura, both strong contenders for the win. The move gained two minutes at its largest gap. All other races stayed together for the majority of the day. Fort Lewis’ best climber, Emily Abraham, took off with CMU’s Dafne Theroux Izquierdo on the back side of the course with 1.5 laps to go. The duo stuck together until the final climb, despite a quickly chasing field. Izquierdo attacked and shelled Abraham, taking home the victory for CMU. Izquierdo’s teammates finished in second, third, and fourth places behind her.
Liam Earl of Colorado Mesa joined the men’s A break on the final lap and excelled on the finishing climb to win the race. Marr finished shortly behind him, with Boulder’s Ross Ellwood completing the podium. The women’s B and men’s C races saw the same finishes as the criterium, with Lucke and Solvik of Boulder breaking away to win their races solo. Parker Gara of CU Boulder won the men’s B race and his teammates complete the podium behind him.
TEAMS AND RECAP
The RMCCC and all of its racers could not have asked for a better weekend to begin the 2019 collegiate road season. On Saturday, CU Boulder proved their criterium racing dominance over the league by winning every collegiate event, often completing the podium behind as well. Colorado Mesa showed no lack of contenders, however, and rode aggressive and tactical races all day, spending by far the most time in the breakaway of any team.
CMU’s offensive strategy finally paid off on Sunday when the team won both category A road races in stunning fashion and swept numerous places close behind. “It was a really hard race, but we all worked together really well.” Said Dafne Theroux Izqueirdo after her women’s A win. Liam Earl, who won the men’s A race, also said that teamwork was key to his victory. “Alex was off the front the entire time. A group bridged and we worked together to attack them at the bottom of the hill, and we went 1-2.” Said Earl.
The conference looks forward to meeting again in two weeks for the Lookout Mountain Hillclimb hosted by the Colorado School of Mines.
Congratulations to all the brave racers who participated this weekend, we will see you soon!
