For the second year in a row, the team finishes ranked 3rd in the nation! This performance was capped off by another successful showing at nationals! The racing started with the team and individual time trials on Friday. The women’s squad (Mary Gordon, Cass Frost, Grace Reeder, and Emmi Gilbert) finished second, and the men’s team (Matan Sopher, Aidan Rhodes, Joe Pifel, and Caedan Aveling) finished fourth.
The road race featured two trips up Heartbreak Hill, which tops 14% for 1 KM, and a long windy slog on Frost Road. The women’s team raced hard to get Emmi 4th, Cass in 16th, and Mary in 23rd. The men’s team (Aidan, Matan, Caedan, Joe, Tommy Oldham, and Adam Katheder) worked to cover moves from the powerful Colorado State, CU Boulder, and Princeton teams. The relentless winds wore the field down, with Aidan finishing 17th, Caedan 43rd, Matan 49th, Joe 54th, Adam 56th, and Tommy 67th.
The weekend ended with a crit at the Balloon Fiesta Park. The women’s race featured many attacks and counters from Boulder and Michigan, whittling the field down to 10 riders. Emmi worked to bring back a late race moved from Boulder but couldn’t rally enough support from the remaining teams. Cass finished 7th, Emmi 10th, and Mary unfortunately crashed out (she’s ok!). In the men’s race, constant attacks from Boulder, Colorado State, and Maryland shelled over half the field within 30 minutes of racing. Caedan avoided several crashes to finish 29th, Joe 40th (with an untimely crash), Matan 41st, and Aidan 48th.
Omniums
At the end of the weekend, our team emerged with an excellent third place for the road omnium, a testament to our consistent performance across the TTTs, road races, and criteriums. This achievement underscores our ability to compete year-over-year with the best programs in the nation. With only two riders graduating this year, we will maintain an experienced team next year.
