Cyclists gathered Sunday under the morning shadow of the Louisiana State Capitol to race for the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference Road Championships.
The criterium race, held on a short course of closed-off city streets, was the final competition in the SCCCC Road Championships. The team time trial and road race came earlier in the weekend, and they were just as grueling.
LSU Cycling finished the road races with three riders taking podium spots. Mechanical engineering junior Carlos Perea finished second in the 36-mile men’s C group road race. The women of LSU Cycling also grabbed some attention with food science senior Samantha Stein’s first-place finish in the women’s C road race, placing her in the hunt for the overall title.
The team time trials also provided an opportunity for LSU Cycling to shine Saturday. The men’s C team secured a second-place finish in the time trials before the men’s B team and women’s B/C team grabbed first place in their respective team time trials.
Sunday’s criterium was the main event. Perea said the criterium race offered a different challenge than the prior ones.
“The criterium races are a much faster pace,” Perea said. “The best way for riders to prepare for the race is to do exactly what I am doing now, riding a stationary bike. This morning I had to go with some pancakes and syrup to make sure I had some sugar in my system so I’ll have plenty of energy.”
Once clocks struck 8 a.m., a ringing bell signaled the beginning of the criterium races. It also signaled the end of any momentum the cycling Tigers hoped to carry over from Saturday. Cyclists from the University of Texas at Austin swept the men’s D podium. The growing crowd’s enthusiasm remained high, carrying LSU to a third-place finish in the men’s C category.
With no time to waste, the women’s B and C fields raced together in what was the most highly-contested race of the day. Stein took an early lead on the second lap with a chance at nabbing the overall championship.
“I’m a little worried about the final turn,” Stein said before the race. “It is a hard uphill turn.”
The turn ultimately brought Stein back into the pack for a fourth-place finish.
SCCCC co-director Matthew Reynolds was pleased with the race.
“This is one of the more organized races,” Reynolds said. “I’m pretty satisfied with the way things turned out, but [I am] also looking forward to next year’s championship at Witchita Falls.”
The championship is only the second race LSU Cycling has ever hosted. Last year, the club also hosted a SCCCC race, but this was the first championship ever held in Baton Rouge.
Dustin Drewes, cyclist and kinesiology senior, hopes the club will be able to host more races in the near future.
“I think we were given the championship this year because our previous race went off without a hitch,” Drewes said. “With some more hard work, we could see the championship in Baton Rouge again soon.”
Complete race results are available at the Louisiana and Mississippi Bicycle Racing Association’s website.
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Contact Joshua Bergeron at [email protected]