Penn cycleing team at it again

With some new riders, some old pros and a new coach and training strategy, the Penn cycling team is geared up for an exciting season -- and it may ride away with the Ivy League Cup this year. The team won the first major race of the season, hosted by Penn on March 14, and has placed in the top three in several other races. While the official results from last weekend's race at Yale are not in yet, coach Chris Spaeth guesses the team will end up in the top three in that race as well. Cycling is a club sport at Penn, and the team is made up of about 80 undergraduate and graduate students of all skill levels. The only requirement for racing with the team is that competitors are full-time students. Around 25 of Penn's cyclists are competing this year. Races are typically two-day events that include individual time trials, a criterion, which is usually a mile-long loop circled multiple times, and a road race -- a longer course which can run up to 60 miles long for the highest racing level. Next weekend's race at Army includes the additional test of a team time trial. In the event, each team rides in a pack and at least four of the leading cyclists must finish together. The team time trial is "a test of the depth of a team, a specialized event where the whole team must be strong," said Spaeth. The race at Army is an important competition for the cyclists, and everyone is enthusiastic about how the team will perform. Team co-captain Michael Grubb, an Engineering and Wharton junior, expressed the team's hope for the upcoming competition. "We have a shot at winning the Ivy Cup this year if we can put in a strong performance at Army next weekend, and beat Yale, our main rival," said Grubb, who attributed his hope to the composition and coaching of this year's team. The new riders on the team are proof of the growing popularity of cycling at Penn and they are learning the rules of the road quickly beside veteran racers like Mina Pizzini, a third-year Wharton doctoral student and John Seaman, a third-year Law School student. Pizzini is one of the top five collegiate cyclists in the country. She placed second in the road race at Collegiate Nationals and raced in two professional races last year. Spaeth described Pizzini's performance on the road as "outstanding" and predicted that she will place in the top three at Nationals again this year. Seaman is new to the Penn cycling team this year and races in the highest level for collegiate men. He also races professionally with the Navigators Pro Team. Spaeth is a new and promising addition to the cycling team as well this season, and comes with a lot of experience to share with the team. Having raced at the collegiate level at Colorado State University, he now races in the second highest category in the United States Cycling Federation. Spaeth is responsible for the strategy the team has adopted this season, holding work-outs throughout the week that include weight-lifting, in addition to long rides on weekends. Penn cyclists put in "a lot of dedication, effort, and time," said past rider Stephen Szabo, a 1998 College of General Studies graduate.