The riders of the Georgetown University Cycling Team took to the roads of Williamsburg, Va. last weekend in their first-ever team competition. The team’s maiden race was a success, as the Hoyas rode through sleet and freezing rain to finish second of 10 Division II cycling teams in the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Cycling opener.
The race included a 14-mile time trial on Saturday and a 10-mile road race on Sunday. Georgetown Medical School students Mike Githens and Chris Pickett represented Georgetown in Men’s Category A (the highest category of collegiate racing). In the Saturday time trial, the two put in respectable performances and finished in the middle of the pack. But on Sunday, in abysmal weather, Githens and Pickett found themselves at the front. Githens stayed with the break-away group and finished in fourth, as Pickett crossed the finish line just behind the lead pack.
“Mike and Chris really burned it up,” sophomore co-president AJ Sikes said. “Mike especially showed his strength in his road breakaway.”
Sikes finished in the main pack of the Category B race, along with freshman Alex Siegel and junior Jeff Trinh. Several other riders delivered solid performances to boost the team to its second place finish.
“I expect that in the future we will continue to have similar results,” Sikes said of the race. “The weather was horrible and many of the riders showed special strengths to ride through it.”
The current team is a far cry from last year’s group.
“Last year we only had one or two racers representing Georgetown at each race,” sophomore co-captain Julia Liang said. “This past weekend was amazing, there were 10 of us and two or more riders in every race.”
Although there have been racers representing Georgetown independently in the past, the team has evolved this year with support from companies such as The Corp, Tifosi Optics, Van Dessel Bikes and the Washington Institute of Dermatology.
“The cycling team is actually just a Student Activities Commission club so far,” Sikes said. “But we are trying to transition to club sport status, like most other collegiate cycling teams.”
The team consists of about 20 undergraduates, graduate students and medical students of varying skill levels. Many of the riders have their own training regimens, and some have their own cycling coaches back home. As the team grows, however, they hope to have more group practices.
“Our goals for this season were to increase awareness, membership, and funding,” Liang said. “We’ve done all of these things and now we want to try to have more consistent group practices and team solidarity.”
The team hopes to match its first showing this weekend at a race hosted by the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. After the strong race, the team has set some lofty goals for itself.
“It would be amazing to get to Nationals sometime soon,” Liang, who graduates in 2009 said. “I think it is a viable goal for my remaining time here at Georgetown.”
