Club riders Luke Ramseth, Ben Barry and Ryan Spaulding raced in the Men’s A Team Time Trial (TTT) in Paicines, Calif., on Saturday morning, the first of three bike races hosted by Stanford University’s cycling club this past weekend. Hayley Umayam, Traci Kroll and Kaydee Raths raced in the Women’s A TTT. It was the first time HSU Cycling competed in the event, where riders from the same team raced against the clock at speeds of more than 30 miles-per-hour for 12 miles. The men’s team finished in fourth place and women fifth against the larger teams of Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
Following Saturday’s trial, HSU cyclists competed in a long road race over Panoche Pass, with an elevation gain of about 2,000 feet. Freshmen Marina Marcroft finished her first-ever collegiate race, placing well in the Women’s C category 36-mile road race. Other finished of note were Umayam who got fifth in the Women’s B race and Ramseth who finished in the top ten of the Men’s A 68-mile road race.
On Sunday, the team traveled to Morgan Hill for a second impressive day racing, but this time in the criterium, which was a short loop around a few blocks next to the Specialized Bicycle headquarters. HSU’s men were a show a force in the Men’s A 60-minute race. Several teams staged attacks, but Barry closed down the gaps, bringing teammate Ramseth up toward the front in position for the final sprint. Ramseth finished 7th in one of the toughest and fastest races of the weekend.
Umayam finished seventh in the Women’s B criterium, while teammate Raths stunned the crowd with several attacks, finishing 12th. HSU’s Alvin Garlejo raced his way into the winning break and finished ninth in the Men’s D 25-minute crit, while teammate Jack Thorpe finished with the pack, getting 25th. Gianpaul Ferioli finished 20th in the Men’s C field, which had to be restarted twice after crashes took out several riders, including HSU’s Stephen Allen, who suffered cuts and bruises.
Marcroft finished 10th in her first-ever criterium, in the Women’s C category, and teammate Nancy Vargas maintained her big smile through the same race finish line in 12th place—also competing in her first-ever collegiate bike race. Traci Kroll finished 11th in the Women’s A 45-minute crit and Nate Abel had a strong race in the large Men’s B field, with an unofficial finish of 17th place.