GA Tech Collegiate

Next up for the Mercer Bears is the GA Tech Collegiate Race!!! Watch out for both new and old faces!  Be sure to check back to hear how the race went!

Battle in the Boro

Several Mercer Cycling members made the debut at Georgia Southern's Battle in the Boro a few weeks ago.  Austin Sholly started the season off strong with his recent upgrade to collegiate A's.  Megan Cass and Kara Styers made their debut in the Women's B category.  While Kyle Smith and Daniel Groselle showed what they were made of in the Men's D category.  Cold temperatures and rainy cloudy sky's made for a tough weekend of racing.  But you better watch out for these guys in the upcoming races!

Megan Cass

Freshman
Columbus, GA

Megan is a member of the Chi O.

Kyle Smith

Freshman
Macon, GA
Business Major

SECCC Category D

Kyle is also on the Mercer University Football Team and in the ATO fraternity.

Kara Styers

Freshman
Dublin, OH
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology


Kara is also in Mercer University's ROTC.

Upcoming Races

Better watch out...Mercer Cycling will start off the 2013 road racing season this weekend at Georgia Southern.  Hoping to have some new faces out for their first race.  Check back for results!

24 Hour MTB Nats

Charles Weaving made the long journey out to Colorado to participate in the USA Cycling 24 Hour National Mountain Bike Championships.  Well that journey was defiantly worth it for him!  He finished an impressive 4th place!  Congrats Charles, we are all very proud of you here at Mercer!

GA Tech MTB

Austin Sholly and Charles Weaving represented at the GA Tech Mountain bike race with some awesome support by alumni Elizabeth Lee!  Charles made an early showing at the TT on the granite side placing 6th in the Men's A category!  In the short track Saturday Charles was off first with a group of very fast guys!  He placed an excellent 7th place!  Austin moved up the the Men's B this year and took off in the short track.  He was working his way up to first place when he broke a spoke (too much power I suppose) and decided to stop since he was on a borrowed bike (that was a little too small).  For Sunday's cross country it was a tough 9 mile loop including some of the granite side.  Austin finished an impressive 2nd while Charles having some mechanical issues still managed to finish in 14th place!

Cross season has started and there should be some good representing from Austin, Gabe, and Charles!  Be sure to check back often for updates!!!

New School Year!

The 2012-13 school year has already begun and so has the collegiate mountain bike season.

The first race for the bears will be the GA Tech collegiate mountain bike race on September 22-23 in Conyers, GA.

Be sure to check back here for race results, team updates, and other happenings! 

Daniel Groselle

Freshman
Macon, GA
Mechanical Engineering Major

Daniel is a brother in the ATO fraternity.

New kit design is ready!

Austin Sholly has designed our kit for 2012 and it looks great!

If you are interested in ordering one, please use the link below:


Mercer Cycling Order Sheet

Mercer Competes in Cyclocross and Weaving Conquers 24 Hours of Ga

Charles Weaving taking the cake at 24 Hours of Ga.

Last weekend, October 8-9, Bike Raising brought cyclocross to Macon, Ga. Bike Raising is an organization, headed by avid cyclist Josh Stinger, that hosts bike races in an effort to raise money for various charities. On Saturday Austin Sholly, Gabe Denes, and Kevin Roberts made the short trek to Sandy Beach Park near Lake Tobosofkee to help Stinger set up the course. On Sunday the three Mercer Bears returned to compete in their first ever cyclocross race. As Sholly, Denes, and Roberts prepared for the race, they greeted a number of familiar friends from the local group rides. Former club president, Elizabeth Lee, also came down from Conyers, Ga for some cyclocross action. With all the hometown feeling of knowing the course and the competition, nervous jitters were still unavoidable in the Bears' first cyclocross race.

In the first lap Sholly and Roberts quickly took hold of the front of the pack while Denes and another rider broke away from the group. Denes, unable to keep up with the intense pace of the lead rider, fell back to the group halfway through lap 2. At this point Roberts was garnering second position at the front of the pack. Unfortunately Austin Sholly, who had been right behind Roberts for most of the race, flatted in the third lap and fell back several positions while he changed out bikes in the pit. Midway through the third lap Kevin Roberts found himself unable to fend off the fierce competition and was passed by teammate Denes and two others. This put Roberts in 5th place overall where he would remain through the end of the race. Denes would make a gutsy move near the end of the fourth and final lap to pass the two riders in his group. After wiping out in the sand soon thereafter, Denes was still able hang on and finish 2nd place overall.

While the majority of Mercer Cycling was kicking tail in their inaugural cross race, sophomore Charles Weaving was busy doing the same at 24 Hours of Ga at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Ga. The trails at the Horse Park are no walk-in-the-park, and Weaving rode them for 24 straight hours covering almost 200 miles in that time period. Nearing the end of the race, on the 14th lap, Weaving was in the lead with his competition only two minutes behind. The second place rider would crack on that very same lap allowing the Mercer sophomore to lap the field and soundly win the race.

Bears Start New School Year Off Big

The beginning of the fall semester marks the start of a new school year and, for Mercer Cycling, it marks the beginning of collegiate mountain bike season. The Mercer team has historically resigned most of their racing to the road, but this fall, in their effort to expand the club, the entire team has participated in mountain bike season. The Bears have made showings at the Florida State and Georgia Tech races so far this season.

Austin Sholly has been sensational for the bears since his first ever mountain bike race at Florida State. Though Sholly is a newcomer to the sport, his natural off-road skill has led him to 5 first place finishes and one second place in only two weekends. With so much success, Sholly plans to move up to collegiate category B for stiffer competition before the next race.

More experienced mountain bikers, Gabe Denes and Charles Weaving, have commanded the collegiate B category reaching the podium six times in the last two weekends. Roadie Kevin Roberts got his feet wet this past weekend at the Georgia Tech race in Conyers, Ga. Using his strength from riding road as well as some successful tactics with teammate Austin Sholly, Roberts placed second in the short track and fourth in the cross country race.

Fall 2011 is Here!

Welcome to the Mercer Cycling Blogspot!
We have several updates for the Fall 2011 Cycling season.

Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 in the Bear Rock Cafe at 10am. All interested members are encouraged to join and see what it's about. Faculty are also welcome to join.

Fall races will be announced soon. We plan to race most of the SECCC MTB cycling season, with our first race in Tallahassee at FSU in nearly two weeks!

Also, We will be making orders for Hincapie team clothing and Specialized bikes and equipment on September 19, 2011. Please feel free to check out the ordering information, and if you have any questions, feel free to email any questions to gdenes@bellsouth.net. Everything you need is now kept online using Google Docs: Mercer Cycling Fall 2011 Order Sheet

Many of us have been training and racing hard this summer and have great aspirations for the upcoming seasons. We will be at Mercer's BearFair tonight, so make sure to come by our table and give us a shout!

Mercer hosts SECCC Championship in spring finale

With the highest turnout in Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference history, Mercer Cycling successfully hosted the final race of the spring road season with a time trial, criterium, and road race over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

With nearly 155 riders and 23 schools in tow, Saturday morning’s time trial was delayed by an hour due to inclement weather. As soon as the weather passed over though, the action got hot on the back roads of Twiggs County as the team time trials and individual time trials got under way. Racing as Mercer’s lone entry in the individual time trial, Andrew Lockwood would post the 6th fastest time in the Men’s B time trial that morning, averaging slightly less than 22 mph over the 17.5 mile rolling-hill course.

Moving to the confines of Tattnall Square Park for Saturday afternoon’s criterium events, the spectators came out in droves to watch the five races of six categories zoom around the 0.7 mile loop with average speeds hovering between 25-28 mph for most of the afternoon. Sophomore Austin Sholly made the most of his showing in Men’s C criterium, controlling the race at points in route to sprinting to a 12th place finish.

Lockwood and teammate Gabe Denes would enter the Men’s B criterium with a competitive field that included stacked teams from Brevard College, Lees-McRae College, and Florida State. After fighting for position in the mid-pack in the opening laps, Lockwood would get stuck behind two riders that touched wheels, crashing and losing some skin in the process.

Taking the free lap that comes with a crash, the wheel pit mechanics worked on Lockwood’s bike, getting him back in the race at the tail end of the peloton. Denes worked up front in the top positions halfway through the 45 minute ordeal as Lockwood would zoom by at the 30 minute mark to take 2nd in a points premium, but in terms of a final result, the Mercer boys were outmatched by the likes of the schools with larger teams. Denes would take 14th while Lockwood came in at 20th in the 33 man field.

Elizabeth Lee, looking for a strong ride before her second consecutive nationals appearance in Madison, Wisconsin sat in the field for a majority of the Women’s A criterium finishing 7th at the field sprint.

Sunday’s road race would prove to be the most challenging event of the weekend as the riders circled a 15.5 mile course with several steep hills around the kaolin mines five miles from the city limits of Gordon for several laps depending on the length of their race. Austin Sholly rode another strong race, garnering a 5th place in the Men’s B group while Elizabeth Lee would take 9th in the Women’s A race. Lockwood and Denes would round out the main field in the Men’s B race with 23rd place and 21st place finish respectively.

With the SECCC Championship complete, Mercer Cycling turns their sights to three final events in the spring before their summer hiatus in which they’ll race individually. Athens Twilight (April 30), Historic Roswell Criterium (May 1), and the Macon State Championships (May 7) round out the team’s calendar for the spring season with the final race taking place around Tattnall Square Park.

Hosted by the Georgia Neurological Institute Cycling team (also known as the ‘Spine Team’), the ProGold Georgia State Criterium Championship will bring another elite group of cyclists to Macon to compete for a state championship including Mercer Cycling’s best riders. For more details of the race, visit the team’s webpage at http://mercercycling.blogspot.com.