A whir of brightly colored riders strained at their pedals as they whizzed by the corner of Colville and Alder on the first lap of the 50-minute Walla Walla criterium bike race Saturday, April 18, the third leg in the four-stage Tour of Walla Walla.
The criterium race, unlike the time-trial and road races that make up the other legs of the race and take place on multiple-mile loops around the area, is done on a 1.1-mile loop that follows Main Street, loops around Reid Campus Center, s-bends and then hooks back up to Main.
Locals and Whitman students packed the sidewalks, hoping to catch sight of the riders. Every lap the cyclists completed was greeted by a chorus of ringing bells urging them to push a little bit harder.
The Whitman men’s and women’s teams competed well at the Tour, with Ben Chaddock and Kendi Thomas each finishing third in the Pro 1-2 (the fastest group of riders including professional cyclists and talented amateurs) and Nick Littman and Roxy Pierson finishing first in the Category 3 road race and Category 4 criterium, respectively.
The Whitman cyclists use the Tour to gain racing experience and gear up for the conference championships that are held the next weekend, April 25-26.
“The Tour of Walla Walla is an awesome chance to ride a USA cycling race (as opposed to a collegiate race) against much larger fields,” said junior and Pro 1-2 racer Duncan McGovern. “It is a different race experience, the races are longer for most categories, and it gives riders a chance to test themselves against a larger group of riders.”
The race is also an opportunity for Whitman cyclists to connect with top riders from around the northwest and the Walla Walla community.
“We look forward to the Tour all year because we get to connect with the wider community and have a race on our own turf,” said first-year and Category 4 racer Rachel Hoar. “We get to help put Walla Walla on the map. We always want to increase the town’s publicity, especially because it’s mutually beneficial for Whitman and the community. Basically, the Tour’s a blast.”
Going into the conference championships, the Whitman cycling team holds a commanding lead over the next best team, rival Western Washington University, with a total of 4,451 points to Western’s 3,135. To put this in perspective, the last time Whitman won the conference championships, in 2006, the team beat Western by less than 10 points.
According to McGovern, the depth of Whitman’s team is what sets it apart from its competitors.
“The depth of a team is what leads to success in collegiate cycling,” said McGovern. Unlike other college sports, cycling offers multiple races based on category, with categories A, B, C and D for men and A through C for women. Riders start in the lowest category (C or D), and earn points for their team based on individual placement in their races…Even points scored in category D count towards the conference omnium (total score), which means the success of even beginning cyclists has a direct effect on a team’s standing.”
In qualifying for nationals, Whitman also holds a massive lead over second place, Western, with a total of 2,628 points to Western’s 2,011. Whitman has sent a team to nationals each of the last five years, winning back-to-back national titles in 2005 and 2006.
The team is hoping to put in a strong showing at nationals and regain the Div. II title that they narrowly missed in 2007 and 2008. If the team can pull it off, winning three of the last five years, it will be quite a performance.
The NCAA national championships are only divided into two divisions, Division I and II. As a member of Division II, Whitman has to compete against schools with enrollments as high as 15,000 students, where Whitman has about 1,400 students.
