Photos
Results
- Statesboro, GA -
It was a wild weekend for cyclists as representatives poured in from 17 colleges and universities around the southeast to participate in the 2010 Battle in the 'Boro. The race, held as a SECCC points race hosted by Georgia Southern, was the first collegiate race of the season for many teams, including Mercer Cycling. Starting the omnium race weekend off, Mercer's two teams of time trialist fared reasonably well given the chilly weather Saturday morning.
Taking the race trailer to Rocky Ford, a rural town 30 minutes from Statesboro, Mercer's first time trial team (Gabe Denes, Andrew Lockwood, Kevin Roberts) finished first in the 'C' category, 10th of 15th overall, with a 20km time of 33:02. The Bear's 2nd team consisting of Jason Glow, Paul Rush, and A.J. Sholly came in third in the 'C' category with a 12th place finish in the A, B, and C combined standings.
After Saturday morning's team time trial effort, the cyclists moved to Georgia Southern's campus for the afternoon's criterium races. The venue, which featured 8 hairpin turns, was quite a fast course for the riders but also whipped up winds as cyclists sped down the second straightaway. In the 'C' criterium (30 minutes + 3 laps), College of Charleston's Brooks Bostick and Brian Arne jumped out to an early advantage in front of a sizable chase group. The field of 44 quickly narrowed down to a chase group of 8-10 riders midway through the race as Mercer's Kevin Roberts attempted to bridge the gap to CoC's top riders. Briefly successful, Roberts dropped back a lap later to work with Andrew Lockwood in shuffling through the chase group.
Late in the race, lap traffic began to become a problem as Bostick and Arne would easily claim 1st and 2nd. The rest of the field became a nightmare to sort out however as the chase pack finished in the middle of the lapped peloton. Unofficially, Lockwood would finish 4th behind an ETSU rider while Roberts would hang onto 5th in a highly disputed and contested race. A.J. Sholly would hang on for a surprising mid-pack finish followed by Jason Glow, Gabe Denes, and Paul Rush.
Mercer's lone women's entry in Elizabeth Lee would take a 9th place finish out of the 13 woman field in the Collegiate 'A' category.
Sunday's road race was also highly controversial as the 22 mile course quickly morphed into a 27 mile course for the 'C' riders. Elizabeth Lee's 44 mile race also gained distance, increasing to 50+ miles by the race's end. Confusion and poor race organization by led to a combined peloton of 'B' and 'C' riders despite more than a 5 minute staggered time around the 22 mile Rocky Ford loop. In the men's 'C' action, all Mercer riders hung on with the peloton until the pace truck unexpectedly pulled over to the side of the road after missing a turn. After the confusion settled, Lockwood, Roberts, and Denes found themselves racing upfront with King College, College of Charleston, and riders from ETSU until the final sprint.
Roberts led out a tad too early in his sprint, falling back to finish 18th as Lockwood would garner 3rd place behind CoC's Bostick and Georgia Southern's Matt Gentry. Gabe Denes would rebound to take 14th while Jason Glow (24th), Paul Rush (25th) and A.J. Sholly (33rd) would round out the results. Mercer Cycling now takes a two week rest break and resumes racing at the SECCC's next official race at Georgia Tech on March 13th and 14th. Saturday's Kevin Roberts Interview
Saturday's Andrew Lockwood Interview
Collegiate 'B' Racing
