2017 Road Series: Shippensburg Scurry (4/8-4/9)

The Herd was back to the ECCC in full force this weekend, migrating down the Susquehanna to race the Shippensburg Scurry. As always, the mornings were chilly, but the afternoons were warm, sunny, and perfect for cultivating those illustrious tan lines. Eight of our Bucknell racers each took on Saturday’s Campus Criterium and Hill Climb, and seven braved the infamous Horsekiller Road Race on Sunday.

Evelyn about to dive into a corner on the Campus Criterium

Results - Shippensburg Campus Criterium & South Mountain Hill Climb

Jorden crushing the Crit!

A D-shaped counter-clockwise course, with a little kicker of a climb just before the finish line, the Shippensburg Campus Criterium was a unique and fun course. First up for Bucknell was the Men’s C squadron, consisting of seniors Ward Prescott and Steven Robare as well as first-years Andrew Schlicht and Matt McGauley. The pack held together all the way through to a massive bunch sprint at the finish, where Andrew placed highest of the Bucknell crew. Immediately following the Men’s C was the Women’s C race, featuring senior Ellie Perry. Halfway through the race, Ellie fell into a chase group, where she put in a fierce sprint to finish 6th, picking up 7 points plus an early prime lap point for Bucknell.

Alex with the cornering skillz

Senior Jorden Sneed was back for her second race weekend and first-ever crit this weekend, where she represented the Bison well in the Women’s D field. The Women’s A/B field saw sophomore Evelyn Korbich with an impressive chase effort and an even better sprint to beat her chase partner, scooping up 12 points for Bucknell. Last was an exciting Men’s A race, where senior Alex Breakstone had a strong showing, making a bold attack on the group halfway through the race and fighting through a bunch sprint at the finish, where he took 13th place and 12 points for the Herd.

The 7-mile Hill Climb was a beautiful climb, if one wasn’t suffering too deep to look up from the road - but for most racers, the highlight was the long and fast descent. As usual, the Men’s C squad was up first, and had descended by the time the Women’s A/B and Women’s C fields were off to test their climbing legs. Both Lady Blues took 9th place, with Evelyn picking up a hefty 30 points in the Women’s A/B and Ellie swiping 4 points in the C field.

Results - Horsekiller Road Race

Spectators: Matt, Steve, Ward, & Ellie

The Shippensburg Road Race consisted of two laps - a 12-mile short lap, and a 16-mile long lap taking the racers over a brutal climb on Horsekiller Road. The air warmed quickly, jumping from a brisk 40 degrees in the morning to a sweltering 72 by the afternoon. The first staggered-start flight had Bucknell racers in the Men’s C and Women’s C field, both taking one short lap followed by two long laps over Horsekiller for a total of 46 miles. The Men’s C field featured the same squad as the previous day, with first-years Andrew Schlicht and Matt McGauley as well as seniors Ward Prescott and Steven Robare. Senior Ellie Perry rolled across the finish line in 11th in the Women’s C field to scrape up 2 points for the Bison.

The next staggered-start flight sent off senior Alex Breakstone with the Men’s A (75 miles) field, and sophomore Evelyn Korbich with the Women’s A/B (59 miles) field. Another strong showing from Alex, who drove a chase group, had him match his 13th place finish from the Crit, this time picking up 15 points for the Bison.

Other News

Hill Burritos, with Ward and Steve filling

Thanks to Dave Bravo, Lilly the black lab was back this weekend, helping with the riders’ recovery with her relaxing presence on Sunday. The Schlichts were also back, bringing baked goods and other snacks to add to the team’s ever-present pile from Country Cupboard. Between races, some Bucknell cyclists spent time volunteering as marshals for the courses and/or becoming Hill Burritos (see at right). Papa K was as on-point as always as grill master, and showed off a new talent for drive-by "marshal feeding" (aka passing hotdogs out of the window of a albeit slowly moving minivan to Bucknell marshals).

The Herd is off to West Point next weekend, with freshly tuned bikes courtesy of long-time team adviser Ron Marquette, to climb the always beautiful Bear Mountain and hopefully see a train or two pass by the stunning Army campus crit course!

2017 Road Series: Route One Rampage/Hostetter-Wagner RR (4/1-4/2)

With this weekend’s ECCC race hosted by UVM and Dartmouth unexpectedly cancelled due to severe snowstorms, Bucknell Cycling’s guest appearance in the ACCC became a bit of a trendsetter. The Herd was joined down south by other central-PA friends from Shippensburg Cycling and Lehigh Cycling, as well as a few other ECCC teams who decided to make last-minute changes to their plan. Six racers from Bucknell came down to enjoy some fun in the sun!

Alex sprinting out of corner #4 in the Route One Rampage crit.

Results - Route One Rampage Criterium

Steve & Matt at the start

A partly-cloudy day in College Park, MD with warm sun and cool winds welcomed Bucknell Cycling to the ACCC. The Route One Rampage was a clockwise four-corner crit with a punchy hill to test the legs for about half of the 0.6 mile loop. First to tackle the course was first-year and first-time racer Andrew Hawk in the Men’s D race. In the true spirit of bike racing, Andrew was all smiles throughout the race and put in some excellent work! Next up was senior Ellie Perry racing in the combined Women’s B/C field. Two crashes in less than 15 minutes shook up the field, but Ellie narrowly avoided them both and sat firmly in the front half of the field split even after the race was stopped with 3 laps to go, where the field was recombined and the race restarted. In the end, Ellie matched last week’s crit result with a 4th place finish from a reduced field.

A pain-faced Andrew Schlicht....

In the Men’s A crit, senior Alex Breakstone became the engine of a strong chase group that also included a friend from Shippensburg Cycling. Alex finished strong in 15th place. The Herd rested for a few hours and enjoyed the local festivities before the excitement returned with a late-afternoon Men’s C race, featuring first-years Andrew Schlicht and Matt McGauley, as well as senior Steven Robare. A solo breakaway in the first few laps left the majority of the field to push a hard, but ultimately unsuccessful chase. Andrew fought toe-to-toe with the best of his field, crushing the climb and finishing in the top half. Full results for the criterium can be found HERE. (will be updated shortly when results are posted!)

Results - Hostetter-Wagner Road Race

Ellie looking out for the Men's A finish

In White Hall, MD, the road race followed a beautiful six-mile course featuring two notable climbs for a 600ft elevation change per lap. The morning air was still chilly when the Men’s C (30 miles) squad of first-years Andrew Schlicht and Matt McGauley and senior Steven Robare hit the course, followed closely by the Men’s D (24 miles) field featuring Andrew Hawk. A mechanical ended the race early for Schlicht, while Matt, Steven, and Hawk fought through the windy, rolly course. A second congratulations is in order for Andrew Hawk for competing in his first-ever road race!

Shakas from Hawk!

Once again the Men’s A race (61 miles) saw senior Alex Breakstone powering a strong chase group, fueled by no-bake cookies from Country Cupboard, the team’s favorite baked goods sponsor. Alex put in a phenomenal effort throughout the 10-lap race, finishing 10th. Just as the sun came out, senior Ellie Perry rolled on course with the combined Women’s B/C race (shortened - from 24 to 18 miles). By the end of the first lap, the podium was just about decided, with Ellie solo-chasing a solo-leader from Lehigh. Ellie finished in 2nd place, unable to chase down the leader, but a solid few minutes ahead of the group. Full results for the road race can be found HERE.

Other News

A Schlichty Burrito - "warming down"

The camaraderie was strong this weekend, both within the Herd and between Bucknell Cycling and close neighbors Shippensburg Cycling. The team would like to thank them for cheering on our racers as well as their own, even when competing together, and we hope they heard us doing the same! The team was blessed also with the therapeutic presence of Lilly Bravo this weekend, the black lab of team president Eli Bravo, as well as the support from his parents Dave and Susan. A superb baked-ziti dinner Saturday night was generously brought to the course by the Schlichts, who were also unmistakeable to find on course both days with the ringing of their cowbell! Thanks always to Papa K for being at the start line for every race and waiting with burgers and ‘dogs at the finish, and thanks to sophomore Eli Bravo and Bucknell alum Andrew Ovrom (‘15) for supporting the six racers in so many other ways.

Bucknell Cycling returns to the ECCC next weekend at the Shippensburg Scurry with legs and lungs
ready to tackle the infamous Horsekiller climb!