VIRGINIA TECH CYCLING ACCC CONFERENCES RECAP

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Issue #6

ACCC Conferences Recap

RECAPS FROM OUR COLLEGIATE ROAD SEASON RECAPS, SPONSORS, HOW TO DONATE!

Virginia Tech Cycling

Navy Conference Championship Road Race

The Naval Academy road race in Prince William County Forest Park has been a staple in the ACCC for years, and the addition of a TTT and circuit race on Sunday had us heading north in anticipation of a great weekend of racing. This would also be the final race weekend of the ACCC road season, and with a few of our riders poised to win their divisions and the team only a few points off first place overall, the stakes were high! We arrived at the staging location for the RR Saturday morning and Brian Doyle was whisked off to the start of his race. The loop this year was a lollipop, with the laps containing 2 climbs, sweeping turns and a fast back section. The finish was back up the stick of the lollipop and contained a quick downhill leading into an uphill finish. After completing 4 laps of the course, Brian came th in 14 place! Next up was the Mens C category. TJ Kenney and Dylan Keightly worked together th in an extremely fast paced race to finish 18 rd and 23 , respectively. The combined Womens B and C field also saw the addition of 6 high school racers from local teams, which made this the largest group of ladies to race this year. The field stuck together for the first half lap, until Becca Stimson found herself in a break with 3 of the high schoolers. The break stuck and gained more than 2 minutes on the field, allowing Becca to snag 2 place. In the field th sprint, Juliana Butler finished 4 in her first race as a newly upgraded Womens B! Shannon McKenzie took a hard spill in one of the corners but brushed herself off and th finished an impressive 7 in the Womens C category, while teammate Erika Joseck came th close behind in 8 place. The day was warming up as the Mens B race went off with 4 Hokies in the mix. The pack stayed together for the first 3 laps, until Gavin Kline put in attack. When he was brought back, Luke Woodard counterattacked and broke away. His teammates slowed down the field enough to allow him to ride solo to the finish, with a 3 minute gap on the field! The rest of the race came down to a sprint finish, with Kyle Johnson taking rd th 3 , Gavin 4th, and Quinn Giroux 9 . The Mens A race was all about making sure Taylor Pearman finished well enough to maintain his slight lead as conference leader. The pack stuck mostly together, with 4 riders off the front, but our Hokies worked together to keep Taylor fresh for the finishing sprint. th Their tactics worked and Taylor came in 11 a great finish which ensured he kept his rd lead. Will Massey took 23 , while Sean Gardner, Oliver Donkervoet and Jacob Aber all finished close together. There was no time to celebrate though, as the TTT was quickly approaching!
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2014 ACCC Division 1 Champions!

What an amazing way to end an amazing season! After months of racing and training our hard work paid off and the VT Cycling Team took home the ACCC Division 1 Road Championship trophy! This is just the cherry on top of a great season of racing with some of the best cyclists and teammates in the country!

VIRGINIA TECH CYCLING ACCC CONFERENCES RECAP | Issue #6

Conference Championship TTT

After cheering on our teammates at the finish of the RR, we all rolled back to the staging area for a wonderful lunch provided by the Abers and rested up before the start of the TTT. The TTT was a 6.5 mile loop around the majority of the RR course, nd finishing at the top of the 2 hill. After getting their start time confused, the Womens B TTT team (Becca Stimson and Julianna Butler) sprinted to the line just in time to start their race. Exactly 19 minutes later they rolled across the finish line with the fastest time in their category. The Mens B team (Gavin Kline, Kyle Johnson, Quinn Giroux and Luke Woodard) finished in 16:04 and grabbed 3rd place in their category. The Mens A team (Will Massey, Oliver Donkervoet, Sean Gardner, Jacob Aber) was up against some tough competition but finished in 15:37, a blazing fast time that got th them 4 place. After a successful day, it was time to head back to Taylor Pearmans house (our host housing for the weekend!) for some dinner, a game or two of pingping, and finally some sleep!

Shannon McKenzie and Sarah Chase Walsh were in the top 10 for season standings in the Womens C category. Becca Stimson finished nd 2 in the Womens B overall season standings. Gavin Kline finished up the season by winning the Mens B category, while Kyle Johnson and Luke Woodard were in the top 10. Taylor Pearman was the overall Mens A season champion! Womens B. Shannon McKenzie had recovered well from her crash the day before th and finished 9 in the Womens C category, while her teammate Sarah Chase Walsh was th right behind in 10 and Ericka Joseck finished th 12 ! The Mens B riders battled strong winds during their circuit race. The pack stayed together until the end, when our Hokies organized a lead-out train and started their nd sprint. Quinn Giroux took 2 , with th teammates Gavin Kline 4 , Kyle Johnson th th 14 , and Luke Woodard 15 . The Mens A race was an amazing example of strategy and teamwork from VT Cycling. Although Taylor Pearman was still winning the Mens A conference division he didnt have a huge lead and needed to place above the riders from NC State and VCU who were close behind him. Will Massey got in a breakaway to take all the prime points for VT (and eventually lapped the field), while the rest of the team set Taylor up to do well in the sprint. After 60 minutes of hard racing, th Will Massey sprinted to 4 and Taylor th Pearman came in 9 a good enough finish to allow him to win (by a margin of 4 points) Mens A overall! Although our races were finished, this was the conference championship weekend so there was still an awards ceremony to attend. Needless to say, our team hasnt cheered so hard in a while. Not only did we win the D1 Collegiate Team Omnium, but we also had some fantastic individual results as well, and there was a Hokie on almost every podium!

Congrats to all our teammates on their great results this season and thanks to our sponsors for making race weekends like these possible!

Circuit Race
Sunday morning the team headed to Melford, Maryland for the final race of the season! The circuit race was similar to our usual crits a 1 mile loop with sweeping corners and a fast finish. Brian Doyle finished in 8 place after his Mens D race! In the Mens C race, TJ Kenney put in so many attacks in the first 10 minutes he shattered the field which set up Dylan Keightly for the perfect finish. Unfortunately, Dylan got caught up in a crash on the last lap and performed some acrobatics in the air instead of sprinting to the win. However both he and his bike are okay and ready to conquer another season of racing next year! The Womens B/C race was exciting the strong headwinds on the back section of the course meant the field stuck together for the majority of the race. All 5 VT ladies worked together for the race and it was great to see so much teamwork happening! Becca nd finished behind a high school rider for 2 in the Womens B category, while Julianna th Butler did an impressive job, finishing 5 in
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VIRGINIA TECH CYCLING ACCC CONFERENCES RECAP | Issue #6

Reflections on the 2014 Road Season

Gavin Kline
I took the top step on the podium for Mens B, won the WVU road race, threw a few wheelies in there, finished on many podiums throughout the season, massively improved my fitness and accomplished my goals of upgrading to CAT 3 and Colligate A. One may think of these as personal accomplishments, but without the support of teammates and friends, on and off the bike, and while racing and training throughout the season all of this would have been near impossible. Shout outs to everyone that helped out: Luke for the best lead-outs, those who worked with me in the breaks, everyone that attempted to teach me how to race smarter, the co-drivers for interesting conversation and DJing all of the van rides, everybody that drove to and from, the team parents graciously letting a bunch of crazy college kids sleep and eat for free, all of those who spectated and cheered, East Coasters for fixing the machine and supplying sound advice and Jacob for loaning me race wheels during a majority of the season. Shout outs also to all of the great new and old friends from throughout the conference that made chasing guys clad in spandex around in circles so much fun every weekend, and everyone that shares this grateful and friendly attitude towards racing bikes. Coming into the season I wasnt planning on being a GC guy but thats how it turned out. Next year, Im moving up to the As and its back to being a domestique for this mountain biker. Until then, Ill be focusing on the dirtier disciplines of the sport.

TJ Kenney
So road season that happened. I came into college expecting to just race mountain bikes, but it felt like from the moment I joined the team I was destined to ride all the bikes. I went all through winter getting out of shape because I still wasnt planning on doing road season. About a week before it started I was convinced by my friends from mountain season to do road. So now I was determined to ride road (even though I was super out of shape), but I remembered that I didnt have a bike to ride. Thats when Luke came in and offered to let me ride his old bike until it sold (I liked it so much I bought it). So the first race of the season came around and I asked everyone on the team what I should do to compete in the super strong mens D field. I was told sit in and not do any work until the sprint. So what did I do? I sat on the front doing some big pulls and wearing myself out- smart racing at its best. After that I started getting into better shape and eventually upgraded to Cs about 20 minutes before the races started at the WVU crit. Now with more experience and strength how did I approach this race? By thinking I was probably going to get dropped. And I almost did. At the beginning of the race I was trying to do work and got pretty tired and fell towards the back of the field, noticed Dylan struggling a little off the back and decided that he probably had a better shot at winning so went and brought him back to the field, even though I was pretty sure it meant I was going to get dropped later in the race. Once we were back with the field I sat on his wheel for most of the race until the last lap. When the bell rang Dylan launched an attack almost immediately, which opened up a lane for me to move up along the outside of the field. nd th I attacked through the third turn and took 2 in the field sprint and 4 overall, not how expected the day to go at all. This season was full of crazy twists and turns, and I learned a lot about road biking. It also helped me to get into possibly the best shape of my life, which has me more excited than ever to go into summer training, and come back next fall for mountain season in the best shape of my life!

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Issue #6

How to Donate!
Thanks in advance for helping the VT Cycling Team out. We may only be a club sport here at Virginia Tech, but we take our training and racing seriously. Since we send every dues paying member to every race weekend, costs add up quickly, and we have to look donors like you to help us keep costs low and students racing!

So, Every Dollar Counts!

The team spends about $2000 per race weekend; this includes entry fees for our team of about 23 riders, hotels when necessary, cargo and passenger vans, and gas. WHAT DO DONATIONS COVER? A donation of $20 covers a riders entry fee, $200 puts the team in a hotel for the weekend, $350 pays for our vehicles, and $400 covers gas for the weekend. Any amount helps!

Shout-outs to the Team!

Rebecca Stimson
You all are the absolute best! You crazy bunch of collegiate cyclists started out as my teammates, turned into my friends, and now you all are basically family. I sure will miss everyone over the summer and I cant wait for next years adventures with team!

Donating money to the team is easy and only takes a few minutes.

Donation Process
Donating money to the team is easy and only takes a few minutes. Donations can be made through our VT Cycling Paypal account. 1) Click the button above to visit the Virginia Tech Cycling Club Donation Page on PayPal Enter a donation amount and other necessary information to make a secure donation to the teams account. Donations will go directly to the team and be used to fund race weekends like the one described in this newsletter!

Luke Woodard
Thanks to everyone involved in VT Cycling for such a great season!!! There are so many people that have invested so much into both the team in general and individuals. We have been so blessed with so much support from families, friends, alumni and the community. Out of all the teams we race with each weekend, I feel like it's safe to say we get the most support from you all, and that contributes to a very family feel within the team. I'm constantly blown away on how much everyone is willing to invest into a group of college kids, and it makes me both proud to be a Hokie and humbled to be part of such a great group. It's been an interesting season, full of surprises and plenty of lessons learned, both in regards to racing and more importantly life. While it may not have always been what was expected (what ever goes as expected?), I can say that I've, as I'm sure many of us have, grown in terms of racing, but also personally and spiritually. It's been great to have spent the season with great teammates, family and friends, and I look forward to spending more seasons, more races, and life with y'all.

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Any questions can be directed to our President, Oliver Donkervoet, at odonkervoet@gmail.com.

Thank you!
All the member of the Virginia Tech Cycling Team would like to thank you for your donations, any amount helps our team ride, race and have fun on bikes!

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Issue #6

Half a Decade of Collegiate Cycling Will Massey

Racing weekend after weekend throughout your college career, things start to get swirled together under one big folder labeled bikes taking some thought to remember the password to unlock the sub folders of specific years, seasons, races etc. Collegiate cycling is great in that aspect though as many times this switch from student-byweek, bike-racer-by-weekend gives your mind a much needed rest from the ever looming deadlines, hw, projects and tests that similar to a competitor on the bike, seem to get stronger and stronger as the season and years run through. Being it my fifth and final year (hopefully) in undergrad here at tech, there are always things that I remember and see changing as times goes on but again one of the beauties of collegiate is that no matter when I look back or if I see Hokies on a ride 30 years from now, they will still be teammates in my book. This weekend my teammates rode amazingly, everyone of them rode with everything they had and when the spokes stopped spinning we came away with a conference championship, conferences champions and too many top 5 results to list. Wins are always great and it feels awesome to leave my last collegiate race with a good result and seeing our conference leader successfully hold off the competition with incredible racing by the Hokies, but I thought for my final write-up I would give a brief look back at what Collegiate Cycling means in my mind. Collegiate cycling kept me at Virginia Tech during my freshman and sophomore years when I kept getting stressed about schoolwork, grades and all that other stuff you think is important during those years. I came from a high school with little school spirit and came into Tech with that same mindset, but cycling taught me how to be a Hokie and what it felt like to be part of something bigger than yourself. It has taught me to not take things too seriously, on or off the bike, and has shown me that one excited person can encourage someone to get a bike, start riding and try something they would have never imagined. I have gotten to travel the U.S., visit places few know but many cherish, and meet some of my best friends that I will always think of and stay connected with, and that's only the start. I'll not only remember the races, my favorite still being one I got completely dropped but was able to still get to the finish to see my teammate cross the line for the win, but the shenanigans of mini bike races, spandex classics, tour de funzias and more. In leaving I'll take with me many memories and skills learned from working with the team but the one thing that I hope never goes is the community that the VT Cycling team has created and holds. The one where we load in the vans each weekend together, the one where we teach each other how to fix a flat on a ride, the one where in a race your orange and maroon clad teammates are ready to do anything for one-another, and the one where a random kid on the drillfield during Gobblerfest can meet some strangers, feel accepted (even in spandex), get a bike and learn what it feels like to be a Hokie.

Will Massey isnt done with collegiate bike racing just yet though - he will be traveling to Richmond, VA this weekend to compete in the 2014 USAC Collegiate Nationals along with Taylor Pearman, Sean Gardner and Jacob Aber. Lets wish them luck as they represent our team and race against the best collegiate cyclists in the country!