WVU Cycling Home

10/11/2009 Adopt-a-highway

We finally got our adopt-a-highway signs up on our stretch of road from Sheetz to 8th St on US19 coming into town. It was noticed Saturday while coming back from the 50miler.

10/05/2009 WVU Cycling, a decade, a dynasty?.

Every weekend of this past September for the West Virginia University Cycling team has been spent traveling to other schools in the Atlantic Central Cycling Conference to race mountain bikes. What you probably did not know was that for the last nine consecutive years (since 2000), WVU Cycling has been the Division 1 Conference Mountain Bike Champions against teams like North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech. Few wins come easy, most are hard earned, but as far back as any current member of the team remembers, none of the last nine seasons have ever been this hard fought. WVU has been wheel to wheel with Virginia Tech all season, entering this weekend?s conference championships race knowing they would have to win key victories for their five home races if they wanted a tenth championship.

Saturday?s races were held at Big Bear Lake near Bruceton Mills, WV and consisted of three races in the cross-country discipline: Short Track, Time Trial, and Cross-Country. In Men?s A Short Track, WVU dominated, taking top three with Robert Loehr, Ian Beckner, and Balaji Seward, respectively. In Men?s B WVU?s Brock Dennis sprinted for first while Jacob Brown took third. Emily Moy rode away to first in Women?s A, and Anne Walker second in Women?s B. The Time Trial sent riders off individually in time splits on a short technical course taking riders 11-20 minutes to complete. WVU?s A-squad did not let up, this time placing top four with Robert Loehr, Ian Beckner, Balaji Seward, and Duncan Oliver, respectively. Men?s B was won by course designer Chet-Mun Liew, with Jacob Brown bringing in a steady fourth. New WVU member Andrew Harbert finished fourth in Men?s C. Emily Moy kept the heat on with another win in Women?s A, and Trisha Lewis and Anne Walker went 2-3 in Women?s B. With two down and the longest to go, the cross-country race would have the riders stretch the technical trails of Big Bear out to 22 miles for Men?s A, 18 miles for Men?s B and Women?s A, and 11 miles for Men?s C and Women?s B. Men?s A remained strong, placing second through fifth with Ian Beckner, Robert Loehr, Dave Light, and Balaji Seward, respectively. Another solid Men?s B finish for WVU brought in valuable points with Brock Denis first, Andrew Brautigam second, and Ryan Post fourth. Men?s C took third with Sean Lockard, second with Andrew Harbert and fifth with Chad Lowers. Emily Moy got the hat trick, winning Women?s A with Amber Smith in fourth, while Trisha Lewis placed second in Women?s B once again for the Mountaineers.

At the end of Saturday, the results were calculated and had VT winning the Short Track, and Time Trial. WVU won the XC and had a 5 point lead (1150 to 1145) over VT going into Sunday.

Sunday?s ?gravity? races took place at Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD, first pinning racers head to head in Dual Slalom through a track of dirt jumps and banked berm turns. WVU and VT had to fight for spots among the Division 2 gravity-strong team of Appalachian State University. Jon Zerbe finished seventh in Men?s A, Tyler Alokonis, Jacob Brown, and Sean Lockard finishing fifth through seventh in Men?s B. New member Michael Snyder ripped the jumps and berms for an important second place in Men?s C, once having to run across the finish after getting tangled with a teammate. Emily Moy finished second in Women?s A, with Trisha Lewis and Laura Kelley grabbing third and fourth in Women?s B. The final event is simply known as Downhill, a time trail sending riders in intervals down a fast, rocky course taking about 2-3 minutes. Once again Appalachian State was strong, but this race would end up in WVU?s favor. Jon Zerbe was the fastest Mountaineer on the mountain with a third in Men?s A, with Balaji Seward chasing him in fifth. Chet-Mun Liew and Jake Brown would bring in sixth and seventh in Men?s B, respectively. In Men?s C Chad Lowers and new member Todd Latocha would get WVU fourth and fifth, repectively. Emily Moy would get second in Women?s A. Anne Walker loved the downhill so much she rolled across the line first in Women?s B with Amber Smith in third.

The hard fought season was over just like that, and WVU came out on top of Virginia Tech, squeaking out a win by little more than 5 points. WVU Cycling President Ryan Post finally was able to breathe again; ?VT brought over 30 riders today and most of the season, and for us to win by a margin smaller than one or two places?..whew.? Overall for the season, individual mentions: Robert Loehr placed first in Omnium (Cross-Country and Gravity Combined) ahead of three of his teammates ? Balaji Seward, Ian Beckner, and Jon Zerbe rounding out the top four. Emily Moy also finished the season first in Women?s A Omnium.

West Virginia Cycling hopes to continue its dynasty into next season, remembering that counting to ?10? has never been harder.

WVU is also sending four riders to USA Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in Lake Tahoe, CA Oct. 16^th -18^th : Ian Beckner, Robbie Loehr, Duncan Oliver, and Jon Zerbe. If you would like to help fund them, email: wvucycling@gmail.com.

WVU Cycling is always looking for riders and racers, especially for the upcoming road season. Go to www.wvucycling.com for details on meeting times, upcoming events, and the team forum and blog.

09/28/2009 Conference Championships

We're hosting ACCC MTB Conference Championships this weekend at Big Bear and Wisp. We plan to dominate the weekend and take our 10 consecutive conference title. The flyer can be downloaded HERE

09/08/2009 WVU gets Wins over VT, Out Numbered 3 to 1

Article by Robbie Loehr. Results can be found Here

The WVU Cycling team racing for 10th consecutive conference championship

The WVU cycling team kicked off its season this past weekend with a strong performance at Virginia Tech, facing tough competition from Virginia Tech (VT), North Carolina State University (NCSU), Appalachian State University (ASU), University of Virginia (UVA) as well as several other schools.

WVU traveled with 16 riders spread over 5 different racing categories, including six new members.

The racing started Saturday morning with an uphill time trial covering 800 vertical feet in only 1.5 miles of technical singletrack. In the A field WVU rider Robert Loehr set the top time of 13:06, besting teammate Ian Beckner in second place by 37 seconds. WVU also placed Balaji Seward and James Schulte in 4th and 6th respectively. Emily Moy took the win in the Women's A division.

The next race was a downhill race back down the uphill course. Loehr showed that he can go fast both up and down hill, taking another victory in the Men's A division with a time of 5:14, followed Seward and Beckner close behind in 2nd and 4th place respectively. New team member Anne Walker placed 3rd in the Women's B division.

The next event was the dual slalom in which two racers go head to head on a track with large jumps and bermed turns. Seward took a strong 3rd place in the Men's A.

Saturday's racing concluded with a short track race held around VT training fields. In the 30 minute Men's A event, Loehr, Beckner, and Seward placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively in a fast and tactical race. James Braswell showed strong form with a 5th place in the Men's B event.

Sunday held the main event, a 19 mile cross country race held on challenging trails in the Jefferson National Forest outside of Blacksburg. Moy continued her strong weekend, taking the win in the Women's A race. Loehr and Beckner rode a strong race to finish 2-3 behind a hard charging Ross Bowden from ASU.

The WVU cycling team races in the Atlantic Coast Collegiate cycling conference (ACC) which includes schools in WV, NC, VA, and MD.

WVU cycling has produced multiple national champions, and professional riders and has been a dominant force in ACC mountainbiking for the past 10 years, wearing the title of conference champion every years since 2000.

The team will be traveling to William and Mary this weekend for more racing. WVU will host the conference championship races the weekend of October 3rd.

08/21/2009 New School Year Begins

Another summer has come and gone. Soon we'll be back on the trails of Collegiate Mountainbiking. First race is in September-not long. We have a lot of things planned for this season. First meeting is this Wednesday 8/26, 8PM in Bluestone room in the 'Lair. We also have group rides on Tuesdays at 5:30 leaving from the front of the 'Lair. And plan to start up Plyometrics on Mondays. Join us, for all or part of the fun!

04/22/2009 Bike Safe

A link was posted to the local forum, and it seemed like a really beneficial website, so I'm posting it here. http://bicyclesafe.com/

04/20/2009 Road Season Ends

Road season is finally over. It's a shame its almost 3x longer than our MTB season, but can't do much about that. The team finished 4th in D2 for the season, with some good placings by individuals. Our team was the largest it's been possibly ever with over 30 members going to at least 1 race. We introduced racing to a few new people this year to both mountain and road, and they act like they're going to stick with it.
At the season meeting we got our bid for the MTB conference championship weekend, and the last regular season race for road. VT got road champs, so we were pretty happy. A lot of old faces are finally graduating and leaving the team, but we'll be sure to keep them in touch.

03/24/2009 Upcoming Events

There will be a public Road Race starting near Mt Morris, PA and going up to Waynesburg, PA and back. For more info and to register click here. This is the first race of the WV Road Race Series.

WVU Adventure Sports is also putting on a couple events. There will be a Mountain Duathlon on April 18th. This will be a multisport event consisting of a 2-mile trail run followed by an 8- mile mountain bike and second 2-mile trail run on the trails at Coopers Rock.

The other event is the Get Lost! Orienteering Competition on April 26th also at Coopers Rock. This event will challenge solo competitors and teams as they race to locate as many checkpoints as possible in a 4-hour maximum time period. There is a mountain bike division for this event for those who would rather roll than hike/run.
For more information please check out the race webpage.

03/24/2009 Upcoming Clinics

WVU Lifetime Activities is holding an intro to Mountain Biking on April 11 from 9am-noon. Cost is $25/person and covers obstacles, hills, and riding on different surfaces.

WVU LA is also putting on a Basic Bike Maintenance and Repair Workshop on April 15 from 7-9:30 PM. Cost is $15/person. Changing flats, adjusting brakes and shifters, and fitting a bike are some of the topics to be covered. To register call 304 293-0859.

03/09/2009 WVU Home Race Mar 21-22

We're about set to host our annual ACCCCCCC Conference race. This year we're excited to finally get a race on campus, around the WVU Stadium. But first we're going to hurt the other teams with a time trial in Mt Morris that includes a 1.2mile climb up Kiger Hill. Sunday we'll take it easy on the classic WVU RR course out on Big and Little Shannon, with about 1300' of elevation change per lap. Race Flyer