OSU Cycling Club hosts 14 teams on curvy, rainy criterium course

On Sunday, 14 college cycling teams from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana turned out to compete in the Easter Criterium, an annual race hosted by the Oregon State University Cycling Club.

"We were a little worried because of the weather," said Pamela Archer, women's team coordinator for the OSU Cycling Club.

"Wet cement is not cool at all."

Especially on a course that has eight corners in every seven-tenth of a mile lap around the lower campus residence halls.

Still, there were few crashes and many smiles throughout a day marked by wind and rain.

Spectators shrugged it off, with some crowding into bus shelters along the course to watch the race.

Brett Hanshew, a graduate student in fisheries wildlife, watched the race before his while pedaling on a bike trainer under the team's tent.

"In short races, it's important to warm up for almost as long as the race," he said.

Because of the weather, Hanshew also raced with more layers on than usual.

Depending on category, the races were 30 to 50 minutes long with an additional two laps to finish. During that time racers tried to complete as many laps as possible with individual and team points on the line based on how they finished.

Bonus points, called "prime points" were also up for grabs from time to time when officials would ring a bell signaling that the next racer across the timing line could win additional points for his or her team.

The race is part of the Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference series and followed closely on the season opener, a road race and team time trial hosted by the University of Oregon on Saturday in Veneta.

The weekend of events are key fundraisers for the OSU and UO cycling teams.

"We get some money from the school, but in order to send 15 racers traveling to races takes some extra fundraising," said Brent Matteson, the current president of the OSU Cycling Club, which also has many sponsors including Accelerade, American Dream Pizza and Full Cycles.

Two past presidents of the club, Dan Watson and Dave Varoujean, were also on hand at Sunday's race.

"What you see here is all student effort," said Watson.

In the last few years the club has grown from having only three racers to having 60 members and about 20 racers, figured Watson and Matteson.

"We've really focused on getting freshman and more women," said Varoujean. "Once we established a good member base, we started to volunteer at races and we adopted a stretch of highway," he said. That stretch of highway is Decker Road, a popular bicycling route for mid-valley cyclists.

The club is as much about learning the various aspects of cycling events as it is about racing.

"First and foremost we tell them to have fun," said Matteson.

On Sunday, the OSU team worked to share that mentality with other racers.

Christopher Parrish from Western Washington University had the standout performance of the day, winning the men's A race after outsprinting his breakaway partner Adam Southerland from Washington State University.

Almost as soon as Parrish finished, he was presented with an Easter basket compliments of the OSU club.

While still relishing the victory, he hung the basket over his handle bars and popped a Cadbury egg in his mouth.

"I was feeling good," he said. "Because it was so wet, I just decided to be up front."

"This was the first race of the season, so I didn't know what to expect," he said.

Eva Woodson, an Oregon State University graduate student in radiation health physics, had one of the best finishes for the Beavers on Sunday, earning second in the women's B race.

Woodson took second to Jennifer Withers from Portland State University.

"It was fun to be beat by her," Woodson said. "Before the race, we agreed to push each other."

Woodson presented Withers her first place Easter basket complete with bike bottle and jelly beans.

Even though the women met only Saturday, when Woodson beat Withers at the Veneta race, they were already becoming good friends and looking forward to seeing each other at the upcoming spring races.

But until they meet again, they had more pressing post-race plans.

"I think everybody will just go and sleep in the vans," said Woodson.

"We'll pig out on candy and go home," said Withers.

Easter Criterium Links

Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference race results

http://users.moscow.com/wykoff/index2.htm

Oregon State University Cycling Club

http://oregonstate.edu/groups/cycling/index.php

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