Road Nationals 2014

The University of Arizona cycling team sent eight members—Joey Iuliano, Max Rich, David Carlson, Quinn Keogh, Andrew Keller, David Greif, Jake McLaughlin, and Allison Alterman—to Richmond, VA for the 2014 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships.

The team focused special training efforts on the Men’s Team Time Trial this year, holding weekly practices where Iuliano, Keogh, Rich and Carlson took turns pulling the team around the river path each week.  The hard work paid off in Richmond where they placed eighth—only five seconds short of a podium—compared to their seventeenth place result in 2013.The TTT Squad Greif, Keogh, Keller, Rich and Alterman participated in the technical and hilly downtown criterium the following day.  Greif, a first-year racer and freshman, showed great promise in the race, holding onto the pack for a majority of the laps.  Keogh, a former pro, held good position until a mechanical forced him to withdraw.  The Wildcats’ best crit result came from Rich who, despite a mid-race crash, finished nineteenth in a field of 110.

The road race course was a ten-mile loop featuring many sharp turns, short climbs, and two sections of cobble.  The women raced five laps, and the men raced seven.   166 men started the road race, and the pack quickly strung out.  Some crashes up the road left several UA men chasing the field, in valiant efforts that, in the end, were made in vain.  Rich’s crash the previous day prevented him from starting, and Carlson experienced a mechanical.  Keogh pulled through, however, with final sprint into 33rd.Libby HillOverall, UA Cycling is pleased with the improvements they saw in their results this season, and look forward to doing even better in Ashville, NC in 2015.