Collegiate Nationals: Fort Collins, CO by Alex Jarman

Collegiate Cycling Nationals was this past weekend in Fort Collins,
Colorado. All of the best teams and individuals in the nation would be
competing for the stars and stripes jersey. Myself and Tammy
Wildgoose represented UCSD's cycling team, qualifying individually based on our rankings in the overall omnium for the West Coast Cycling Conference.
We arrived in Fort Collins on Wednesday to get acclimated
to the elevation prior to Friday's road race. Thursday morning we went for a beautiful spin through the valley in Fort Collins and then drive the tortuously hilly course. Several of the racers were at the rider meeting Thursday night. This was the real deal - full neutral support from Shimano, rolling closure, etc.
Friday morning was the first big day of racing. Tammy ventured outside
the hotel to warm-up and was greeted by a crisp-cold morning and gale
force winds. The womens Division 1 race was off first at 8am with a field
of about 80 of the nations best college women racers. The peloton stayed
together until the first major climb of the day. Tammy was able to stick
with the lead group for the first portion but by the top was not able to
hold onto the lead group. The rest of the road race was spent battling
the winds with a group of about 15 riders and attempting to chase down
the two groups in front. Tammy finished 21st in a shattered and tired
group of four riders.
The mens Division 1 race began promptly at 11 am with a field of more
than 130 of the nation's best. Although it was a "neutralized start," race was chaotic from the gun with a crash about two miles in ending the race for some. I immediately fought my way to the front, and sat two wheels back from the car leading the bunch. The peloton shattered into several groups by the time we reached the circuit in Masonville. The climbs, elevation and competitive field did me and several others in. I felt good in the third group, but being that our group was 6 minutes down at about 50 miles into the 70 mile race, I decided to end the chase and focus/recover for the crit on Saturday.
Saturday was the last day for Tammy and I to show off some sprinting
skillz. Tammy was frustrated with her performance in the road race and
was able to channel that energy into the criterium.
The women's field managed to stay together for the majority of the 60
minute race. With two laps to go their was a crash that fractured the
field. Tammy was able to avoid that crash and stick with the front group
to the finish line. It ended in a bunch sprint with Tammy able to sprint
as hard as she ever has for 3rd place! This finish also moved her up into
8th place in the omnium.
The men's race was fast and intense! The field was strung out in a long
line for most of the race. The peloton of over 130 riders stayed together
for most of the 75 minute race. I sat amongst the top 20-30 riders for most of the race. However, with five laps to go a group of about four riders managed to get away from the main group causing an enormous and chaotic chase effort by University of Vermont riders. The peloton averaged 29.5 miles per hour for the race, of which we were easily well above 30mph for the last 5 laps. The peloton caught the break with about half a lap to go and I was unable to get into good position. I finished 31st.
After a long weekend in Fort Collins and a good season of racing, Tammy and I were very pleased with an epic weekend of racing to end our collegiate careers.

- Alex