Friday, April 28, 2017

2017 Road Series: ECCC Championships (4/22-4/23)

As it always seemed to, the ECCC road season flew by - culminating with the ECCC Championships hosted by RISD/Brown in Providence, Rhode Island. With double points on the line, Bucknell Cycling fielded eight racers each day to take on the Scituate Road Race and Ninigret Criterium.
"Last 40 minutes, boys" - Papa K to Steve and Ward before the Ninigret Crit

Results - Scituate TTT & Road Race



Men's A TTT Squad: Alex, Matt, Steve, & Eli
The team has been spoiled by good weather, especially in the latter half of the season, but Saturday made sure to remind the Bison how lucky they have been. With temperatures in the low 50’s and a near-constant stream of rain, the thermal jerseys came back out of racers’ bags. Two TTT teams represented the Herd in the morning: a Men’s A squad consisting of senior Alex Breakstone, sophomore Eli Bravo, first-year Matt McGauley, and senior Steven Robare, and a Men’s C pair of senior Ward Prescott and first-year Adam Workineh (who did a very impressive track stand before the start whistle). The Men’s A squad captured a whopping 84 points with a 7th place finish. Full race results can be found HERE.

Adam in the Crit
The road race was a rolling 16 mile loop, with two sandy stretches of road that put the racer’s nerves, and bike handling skills, to the test. Adam Workineh was first on course for the Bison in the Men’s D (33 mile) field. The grin on his face when he returned soaked to the bone said it all for how the rest of Bucknell Cycling would tackle the course. The rest of the team went off in staggered starts once Adam returned, starting with Alex Breakstone in the Men’s A (65 miles) for his last collegiate road race. Eli Bravo was next with the Men’s B (49 miles), and then the Men’s C (33 miles) squad with Matt McGauley, Steven Robare, and Ward Prescott - it also being the last collegiate road race for the latter two. The Women’s A/B (49 miles) field was the last to start, with familiar face in sophomore Evelyn Korbich, and new to the field senior Ellie Perry, who upgraded from C to B for her final collegiate weekend. Evelyn placed 10th in the Women’s A (16th overall) and earned 52 points, and Ellie placed 7th in the Women’s B (20th overall), earning 36 points. Full race results can be found HERE.

Results - Ninigret Criterium


Ward on the move!
The Championship Criterium was unusual for the ECCC: dead flat with six corners. It was also an excellent spectator venue, with the two straight sections paralleling less than 20 feet from one another. Before the headwind flipped mid-day, Adam Workineh tackled the course with the Men’s D field, and Matt McGauley, Steven Robare, and Ward Prescott took it on with the Men’s C field. Ward kept the spectators on their toes when he fell back for a few laps only to re-catch the group, while Steve lurked within the pack. Matt looked especially strong, taking wheels through the corners and finishing well in the bunch sprint.

Ellie on a solo attack in the Ninigret Crit
Later in the afternoon, Eli Bravo raced in the Men’s B field for his first criterium of the season. He was briefly caught behind a crash in the last lap, but overall performed well and finished in the massive bunch sprint. The pair of Lady Blues were next to race, with the Women’s A/B field. Both women were keen to make things happen: Evelyn Korbich threw an early attack to get the pack moving, and Ellie Perry attacked in the last lap, building a decent gap on the field until she went down in a blaze of glory for her last collegiate criterium. Evelyn finished with another 10th in the Women’s A, earning 36 points. Last to race for the day was Alex Breakstone, who was a strong presence in the field and finished within the pack at 15th to earn 14 points for Bucknell. Full race results can be found HERE.

Other News


This wraps up the ECCC road season for 2017. Congratulations to senior Alex Breakstone and sophomore Evelyn Korbich, who both qualified for Collegiate Nationals! This makes Alex is the first Bucknell cyclist to qualify for nationals all four years since the mid-2000’s!

Thanks again to all our sponsors, who made it possible for the team to have significantly more race participants each weekend this year than in previous years. Bucknell Cycling covers transportation, lodging, and race fees for all its members, in an effort to make the sport more accessible and affordable, especially to new riders - and it is our sponsors that make this possible year to year! These sponsors include: Earl’s Bicycle Store, Matty’s Sporthouse Grille, AMSEC, Giant Bicycles, Inside Track, Sun Orthopaedics, Grimes Group, Amami Kitchen & Espresso Bar, Maxxis, and Highlands Coaching Group. Thank you!
Papa K - at left - on a bike!

Always a huge thank you to Gary Kahler (aka, Papa K) for his very necessary and very loved role on the team - hauling-van driver, grill master, pre-race advisor and jacket-holder, photographer, observer, race info binder-keeper, and more. The team would be a mess and a half without him! Thank you also to our advisers/coaches, Ron Marquette, Bill Brunner and Eric Grimes.

Shout-out to our five graduating seniors: Alex Breakstone, Steven Robare, Ward Prescott, Ellie Perry, and Jorden Sneed. Three have raced all four years, one for two years, and one just for this past season - but the team will not be the same without you!

Another congratulations to Andrew Schlicht and Evelyn Korbich, new President and returning Vice President for the team, respectively. Matt McGauley will also take on various roles within the executive board, and former president Eli Bravo will remain on the board with a few roles, one of which is Race Director…. Will next year mark the long-awaited return of the Bucknell Cycling Classic? Stay tuned!

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