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!