Nearly 200 cyclists from various East Coast universities competed on the challenging 1.8-mile circuit course through Princeton's town and campus yesterday during the Mercury Cycling Classic. It was the first time the Princeton University Cycling team held the annual event.
At the finish line on Ivy Lane, roughly 50 spectators lined the curb cheering and clapping as groups of cyclists whizzed by. The competition consisted of six different races, ending with the elite cyclists in the top "A" category of competitors.
"We seemed to have a pretty good turn out from the Princeton community," said Jason Houck '03, who organized the event. He said he was glad that all the races ran on time – an unusual occurrence for cycling events. Houck competed in the men's A race alongside Princeton Cycling Team captain Tyler Wren '03.
Official results were not available last night, but it seemed likely Princeton would either finish first or second overall, Houck said.
Despite being "a little disappointed" with his race's outcome, Wren, who was 5th, said he enjoyed the challenge of the course.
"The course was great," he said. "The hill didn't seem so significant the first couple times around, but after 24 times . . . it really became the decisive part of the race."
Other cyclists echoed Wren's evaluation of the course.
"The hill [on Washington Road] was killer," said Elizabeth Harrison, a freshman from the University of Connecticut, who had competed in the women's A race. "[The races] are usually flatter. This one had a gradient."
Also catching her breath from the women's A race was Harvard University junior Nikki Raspa who further commented on the race. "It's a great course," she said. "The people on the sidelines were really wonderful. Princeton did a really good job."
Organizing the event turned out to be as challenging as the race itself.
Princeton cyclist Max Shtein GS described the preparations for the event as "laborious," but said the University has been helpful in supporting the team.
"Cycling is not a mainstream sport," he said. "Sometimes it's tough to get support from the community."
Yesterday's event was particularly important because of the tough competition for the Ivy League trophy. There is an ongoing battle for the Ivy League trophy between Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities, Shtein said.
The Princeton Cycling team won the Ivy League trophy last year. This year the team is first in the Division II standings and second in the Ivy League.
Jeremy Davis-Turak '04, cooling down after the men's B race, said Harvard, the number one team in the Ivy League and Division I, is Princeton's biggest competitor this year. But he stressed his confidence in his team's ability to win.
"Today, I think we are going to win overall," he said. "The main reason is Harvard isn't strong here."
Wren said he thought Princeton's strength lay partially in its numbers — with Harvard on spring break and Princeton racing on home turf. And Princeton's dominance in numbers allowed the team to win more points.
"We were really able to blow them out of the water," he said.
The Princeton Cycling Team will compete again next weekend at the University of New Hampshire.
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