Yale Race Weekend (April 9-10)

Three Bucknell riders and Papa K trekked up to Connecticut for the grueling Yale Lux et Velocitas race weekend April 9-10.

Saturday began early with the East Rock ITT: 500ft of climbing over 4 miles with grades over 15% that ends at the summit right next to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. While other riders were intimidated by the supposed daunting climb, the hills of central PA made this climb look like child's play for our riders. As a result, Jeff took 6th place for Men's A and Kelly took 3rd for Women's A.
The afternoon brought both good weather and great racing. The circuit course went up the same hill as the morning ITT but also went down the curving, winding side, giving the race a challenging and technical aspect. Sporting the famous Series Leader Yellow Jersey for the first time, Jeff raced a tough 2 hrs and placed 18th. Kelly finished 3rd.
After such a long day, Harry and Papa K needed a break from all of the excitement, seeking refuge in the removable van seats.
Sunday was the 'Round the College Criterium--a notably fast course for all Divisions. Harry had an exciting race and finished 10th in Men's B. Kelly finished 5th overall (3rd in A) and Jeff placed 14th.
It was all-around good racing for this weekend. Despite the small traveling squad, it was still a strong showing. We look forward to a strong finish to the season at Penn State next weekend for the ECCC Championship (April 23-24)!

Rider Spotlight #3

This week, we will be highlighting two veteran riders on the men's and women's teams.
For the women...

Name: Kelly Desharnais AKA DaShark AKA el presidente
Age: 21
Class Year: 2011

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Hometown: Sandown, NH

Type of Bike: Orbea Lobular

Years Racing: 2

Division: Women's A

Favorite Race/Favorite Ride: RPI Tour de

Troy/Penns Creek

and for the men....

Name: Brian Tino AKA Tino AKA Carebear AKA Grundlebear

Age: 21

Class Year: 2012

Major: Civil Engineering

Hometown: Cheltenham, PA

Type of Bike: Trek 2.1

Years Racing: 3

Division: Men's B

Favorite Ride: The Highlander

Both Kelly and Tino recently upgraded to higher divisions. As two of the stronger junior riders on the team, they should be exciting to watch especially next year. The ECCC better watch its back.

Check back in next week for spotlights of a few of the people who make race weekends possible!

Grant's Tomb Criterium (March 12-13)

There's seems to be a significant lack of race recaps! So I'll try to catch everyone back up on a couple of the past races. (Hopefully those who attended the races I missed will so kind to post a quick recap......)

Following the Rutgers Scarlet Scurry, the team started off spring break by traveling to NYC for the Grant's Tomb Criterium. Even though it rained constantly the week leading up to the race, and the Stevens Duck Country road race through Delaware Water Gap was canceled on Sunday due to flooding, the weather Saturday was perfect for racing.

We had a great turn out, and enjoyed the cheering support of several Bucknell alumni. The races started off with Men's D2. After coming un-clipped in the final spring, Tugboat pulled out a second place finish.


Billy Jean raced well in his first ever collegiate race, and Gil also had an impressive top 10 finish.

The Men's C race was just as exciting, with Tino crashing inside 6 laps to go. Unable to get a free lap from the pit, 2Step smacked his handlebars back in place while Tino jumped on the bike, was shoved back into the race, and finished in 6th place.


It was also Steph's first race in the ECCC, and she finished strong in the Women's Intro race. Harry Chen competed in Men's B, and finished well after taking time off for a knee injury.

There was a strong showing in the Women A/B race with Kelly, Sinead, Bekah, and Emily working together. Kelly sprinted into 2nd place, while Sinead, Emily, and Bekah followed in 6th, 7th, and 8th.


Jeff had a great race in Men's A, working with a break away group of 3 other riders from the start of the race. With less than 3 laps to go the break was caught, but Jeff still managed to grab 6th place in the field sprint!

Although disappointed in the cancellation of the road race, the team was ready for a nice week of relaxation at home before returning to race the Philly Phlyer.