Members of the Arizona cycling club finished first in the collegiate Male A, Male B, Male C and Female A categories at the fourth annual UA Criterium on Saturday. They swept all but one collegiate category at the criterium.
With solid teamwork, plenty of endurance and the outstanding performance by senior David Glick, Arizona was able to cruise past other members of the Southwest Collegiate Cycling Conference; NAU, ASU and New Mexico.
“”It was nice to get the win, but it was a lot harder than we expected,”” said club president and optical science and engineering senior Matt Jones, who finished fifth in the Male A category. “”There were a lot of fast people. With David (Glick) breaking away early, we were able to manage the rest of the race.””
Glick, a graduate student seeking his Ph.D. in philosophy and a fifth-year member of the UA Cycling Club, broke away early in the Male A category and would not relinquish his lead. For the better part of 35 minutes, Glick cycled alone with only the wind to keep him company.
“”It felt like the wind was in my face the whole course,”” Glick said. “”Even the downhill was hard, because there was a headwind coming from the south. You can really notice (the wind), even a slight wind, when you are out there by yourself.””
The event included five collegiate races with both male and female categories. The races lasted for 35 minutes and were held conjointly but scored separately.
There was a five-second countdown and a whistle to signal the start. After the first lap of the collegiate Male A category, Glick held the lead but remained close to the pack. That would not be the case for the remainder of the race.
With 27 minutes left in the race, Glick took an eight-second lead that he would only build upon. As the minutes dwindled down, it was Glick who held the lead at every turn and after every lap. On the final lap, Glick crossed the finish line alone, but as a part of the team.
“”There were a few strong guys, so I figured I’d try to help the team out,”” Glick said. “”When you have a bunch of guys, it’s good to put someone out ahead of everyone else so if they get caught there will be another teammate to take their place. That’s what I figured I’d do. I knew I had the strength to stay ahead.””
However, it was not just Glick and the men who dominated on Saturday. UA Cycling Club members Chloe Forsman, Melanie Meyers and Judy Jenkins finished first, second and third, respectively, in the collegiate Female A category.
For the majority of the race, the trio stayed together, only switching the order in which they came around after each lap. The only time they were not seen together was around the 12-minute mark, when Forsman stopped to make sure that a couple of male riders who fell on the second turn were okay. She quickly caught up to her teammates.
“”The three of us have ridden together a lot,”” said Jenkins, a graduate student seeking a Ph.D. in chemistry and third-year club member. “”At collegiate nationals there is a team time trial, and we’ve ridden that together for a couple of years now. We were working on that. It was a really fun first race.””
Other UA Cycling Club members to finish in first place were Ben Hobson in the Male B category and Jack Andrews in the Male C category. Overall, Arizona had 14 club members place in the top five of each collegiate category.
Outside of the collegiate racing, eleven other races took place throughout the day at the fourth annual UA Criterium. Over 300 racers and over 30 individual teams took part.
“”We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the turnout,”” Jenkins said. “”It was great to see (the other teams) come out.””
Up next for the UA Cycling Club is the ASU Criterium next month and the opportunity to face the Sun Devils again.
“”We definitely enjoy it,”” Jones said. “”The last couple of years we’ve been able to beat up on them pretty good which is always nice. I enjoy having them as competition. There is a little heat (between our clubs) which makes it a bit more fun.””
