CU Cycling Wins Epic Race, Aiming for Conference
The Cumberland University Cycling Team raced over the April 14-15 weekend at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C. The weekend in the western mountains of North Carolina saw the team compete in a team time-trial, a criterium and a road race. CU Cycling once again rode away with a couple more podium finishes while Peter Fairbanks chalked up another victory.
Saturday morning saw the team compete in a 17-mile team time-trial near the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Grandfather Mountain. This challenging course featured countless twists and turns in the road as well as many undulations before reaching the finish. Making the course more difficult was the fact that there was no shoulder on the road, and the pavement was still slightly wet. While conditions weren't ideal, there were no crashes or problems out on the course.
Cumberland's four-man team started out strong but quickly lost one rider due to stomach trouble. The remaining three riders powered through the course to finish in third place with a time of 38'30". The winning time was posted by Furman University, with Lees-McRae College finishing in second place, with times of 37'58" and 38'25" respectively.
"We are now focusing more on our form and rhythm for team time-trials. To finish just five seconds off second place and 33 seconds off first lets us know we are on the right path. We have three weeks to improve upon this and peak just as we reach road nationals in May. Peaking in April doesn't win championships, so we walked away from this event knowing we are on the right path," said CU Team Director Tim Hall.
On Saturday afternoon, the team competed in a 60-minute criterium around the campus of Lees-McRae College. The short course featured a tough, short climb at the finish line that punished each rider on every lap. Early into the event, it was Peter Fairbanks of Minneapolis, MN who attacked the pack, which then began splintering apart. Fairbanks was joined by two riders from Lees-McRae and another from Furman, but after a few laps, the early hard efforts took a serious toll on Fairbanks. Unable to recover quickly, Fairbanks dropped back to the pack.
The breakaway continued up front as the main pack behind contained CU's Whitney Stanbrough of Welsh, LA. The chase group was unable to eat away at the leader's advantage due to Lees-McRae controlling the field. Stanbrough put in countless attacks, but he was unable to break free from the pack. As the race continued, the course and intense pace took a toll on all the riders with many being pulled by the officials. In criterium racing, it's common for riders to be pulled from the race by an official if they are well behind the leaders and have an established finishing spot in the field. Those pulled riders still receive a placing in the race despite not finishing the event.
Stanbrough managed to race through the conditions and sprinted for a solid eighth-place finish. Fairbanks took home 14th, while Ben Bevans of Hermitage, TN took home 20th.
"Whitney rode incredibly well and did all he could to get the best result. We were outnumbered three-to-one by Lees-McRae, and any time those are the odds, it's difficult to break free. I'm proud of Whitney though. He didn't let the circumstances get the best of him, and he certainly made it harder for everyone by attacking so much," Hall said.
On Sunday, the team competed in a 60-mile road race, which had 1,500 feet of climbing on each lap of a 10-mile loop. The riders completed six laps of the loop that featured a long, steep four-mile climb and two harrowing descents with switchbacks. "We've had this race on our radar screen since last season. This course suits Peter's abilities nicely," Hall said.
Making the day even more difficult were the weather conditions. The temperature at the start was in the low 40s, but visibility was difficult due to hard rains, thick fog and clouds at the upper elevations.
"I was on the back of our breakaway once and looked for riders up fron to try and see Peter. It was so bad at that point that I couldn't even see his helmet," Stanbrough recalled.
At the start of the race, Whitney Stanbrough got into an early breakaway which forced the other teams to work hard to chase it down. This early intensity on such a difficult course forced early exits by many riders. After the first lap was complete, it was Peter Fairbanks leading the breakaway through the feed zone with Stanbrough following closely behind. Fairbanks and Stanbrough had company -- a rider from Georgia Tech and Furman were with them as well. Several minutes behind this lead group was a hard-charging chase group with the Lees-McRae team setting the pace to catch the leaders.
Fairbanks used his climbing abilities to soon break free from his companions and proceeded to leave everyone behind. After the second lap, Fairbanks' lead grew to over three minutes to the Georgia Tech and Furman riders, but an even greater lead to the next chasers who were over five minutes behind. Lap after lap, Fairbanks continued his dominance and extended his lead far out of reach. Going into the final lap, he had over six minutes on his closest rivals, while it was another 15 minutes back to the riders going after fourth place.
"I never did accelerate," said Fairbanks. "I basically did a 60-mile time-trial."
On the last lap, Fairbanks was able to avoid taking any unnecessary risks to protect his lead and rolled across the finish line solo with both arms in the air saluting his victory. This win marked his third victory of the spring road racing season. Well behind was Chris Butler of Furman taking second and Tobias Scharzenberger of Georgia Tech taking third place. The remaining CU Cycling finisher was Ben Bevans, who took home a very impressive sixth place.
Said Hall, "Sunday's road race was epic. We knew it was going to be special because of the weather conditions and terrain, but what Peter accomplished today will be talked about for many years. I'm also incredibly proud of Ben. It was a battle of attrition out there for everyone behind Peter. Kids like Ben either had the mental toughness to complete the race, or they didn't and dropped out."
This weekend, Cumberland University and Vanderbilt University host the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC) Championships in Nashville. Saturday, they will be competing in a morning road race and afternoon team time-trial in Leipers Fork. On Sunday, there will be a criterium at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. The conference championships will determine which teams and riders qualify for Collegiate Road Nationals on May 11-13 in Lawrence, KS.
Saturday morning saw the team compete in a 17-mile team time-trial near the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Grandfather Mountain. This challenging course featured countless twists and turns in the road as well as many undulations before reaching the finish. Making the course more difficult was the fact that there was no shoulder on the road, and the pavement was still slightly wet. While conditions weren't ideal, there were no crashes or problems out on the course.
Cumberland's four-man team started out strong but quickly lost one rider due to stomach trouble. The remaining three riders powered through the course to finish in third place with a time of 38'30". The winning time was posted by Furman University, with Lees-McRae College finishing in second place, with times of 37'58" and 38'25" respectively.
"We are now focusing more on our form and rhythm for team time-trials. To finish just five seconds off second place and 33 seconds off first lets us know we are on the right path. We have three weeks to improve upon this and peak just as we reach road nationals in May. Peaking in April doesn't win championships, so we walked away from this event knowing we are on the right path," said CU Team Director Tim Hall.
On Saturday afternoon, the team competed in a 60-minute criterium around the campus of Lees-McRae College. The short course featured a tough, short climb at the finish line that punished each rider on every lap. Early into the event, it was Peter Fairbanks of Minneapolis, MN who attacked the pack, which then began splintering apart. Fairbanks was joined by two riders from Lees-McRae and another from Furman, but after a few laps, the early hard efforts took a serious toll on Fairbanks. Unable to recover quickly, Fairbanks dropped back to the pack.
The breakaway continued up front as the main pack behind contained CU's Whitney Stanbrough of Welsh, LA. The chase group was unable to eat away at the leader's advantage due to Lees-McRae controlling the field. Stanbrough put in countless attacks, but he was unable to break free from the pack. As the race continued, the course and intense pace took a toll on all the riders with many being pulled by the officials. In criterium racing, it's common for riders to be pulled from the race by an official if they are well behind the leaders and have an established finishing spot in the field. Those pulled riders still receive a placing in the race despite not finishing the event.
Stanbrough managed to race through the conditions and sprinted for a solid eighth-place finish. Fairbanks took home 14th, while Ben Bevans of Hermitage, TN took home 20th.
"Whitney rode incredibly well and did all he could to get the best result. We were outnumbered three-to-one by Lees-McRae, and any time those are the odds, it's difficult to break free. I'm proud of Whitney though. He didn't let the circumstances get the best of him, and he certainly made it harder for everyone by attacking so much," Hall said.
On Sunday, the team competed in a 60-mile road race, which had 1,500 feet of climbing on each lap of a 10-mile loop. The riders completed six laps of the loop that featured a long, steep four-mile climb and two harrowing descents with switchbacks. "We've had this race on our radar screen since last season. This course suits Peter's abilities nicely," Hall said.
Making the day even more difficult were the weather conditions. The temperature at the start was in the low 40s, but visibility was difficult due to hard rains, thick fog and clouds at the upper elevations.
"I was on the back of our breakaway once and looked for riders up fron to try and see Peter. It was so bad at that point that I couldn't even see his helmet," Stanbrough recalled.
At the start of the race, Whitney Stanbrough got into an early breakaway which forced the other teams to work hard to chase it down. This early intensity on such a difficult course forced early exits by many riders. After the first lap was complete, it was Peter Fairbanks leading the breakaway through the feed zone with Stanbrough following closely behind. Fairbanks and Stanbrough had company -- a rider from Georgia Tech and Furman were with them as well. Several minutes behind this lead group was a hard-charging chase group with the Lees-McRae team setting the pace to catch the leaders.
Fairbanks used his climbing abilities to soon break free from his companions and proceeded to leave everyone behind. After the second lap, Fairbanks' lead grew to over three minutes to the Georgia Tech and Furman riders, but an even greater lead to the next chasers who were over five minutes behind. Lap after lap, Fairbanks continued his dominance and extended his lead far out of reach. Going into the final lap, he had over six minutes on his closest rivals, while it was another 15 minutes back to the riders going after fourth place.
"I never did accelerate," said Fairbanks. "I basically did a 60-mile time-trial."
On the last lap, Fairbanks was able to avoid taking any unnecessary risks to protect his lead and rolled across the finish line solo with both arms in the air saluting his victory. This win marked his third victory of the spring road racing season. Well behind was Chris Butler of Furman taking second and Tobias Scharzenberger of Georgia Tech taking third place. The remaining CU Cycling finisher was Ben Bevans, who took home a very impressive sixth place.
Said Hall, "Sunday's road race was epic. We knew it was going to be special because of the weather conditions and terrain, but what Peter accomplished today will be talked about for many years. I'm also incredibly proud of Ben. It was a battle of attrition out there for everyone behind Peter. Kids like Ben either had the mental toughness to complete the race, or they didn't and dropped out."
This weekend, Cumberland University and Vanderbilt University host the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC) Championships in Nashville. Saturday, they will be competing in a morning road race and afternoon team time-trial in Leipers Fork. On Sunday, there will be a criterium at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. The conference championships will determine which teams and riders qualify for Collegiate Road Nationals on May 11-13 in Lawrence, KS.
