Final lap

The collegiate cycling season may only be seven weeks long, but it proves to be a busy one for the Portland State Cycling Club.

For the past six weeks, the members of the PSU Cycling Club have found themselves racing every weekend in locations throughout the Pacific Northwest. As the season draws to a close, however, it seems to have been well worth it.

The club ranks fifth out of 12 teams in total points which, according to Danny Felts, the team’s vice president of finance, is “doing pretty well as far as Division-I schools go.”

“I think we did a little bit better last year, but it’s hard with our team because we have people coming in from everywhere. It’s not like Western [Washington University] or Whitman [University] where the [racers] live there in Bellingham or Walla Walla,” Felts said.

The team is winning in other ways, too. Miles Crumley, vice president of racing, feels that the team is winning the battle of cohesion. 

“The team’s biggest accomplishment so far is its ability to work together to achieve a common goal. This group of riders has shown that they can work together and serve as representatives of PSU at competitions,” Crumley said.

Another strong point for the team has been the men’s C time trial team. Felts, who is a part of the men’s C team, is particularly proud of his team’s work. They have consistently placed second, third, or fourth every weekend of competition. 

“Gonzaga is the only one who has been able to be consistently better than us,” Felt said.

On the personal achievement front there has also been success. Stephen Bedford placed third in an A race criterium. Adrian Richardson, who has been consistently competing in the A race, recorded a best finish of sixth place in a criterium race.

“I’d anticipate him probably going to nationals,” Felts said of Richardson, who is also the club’s president.

On the women’s team, Suzy Nelson finished second place in the women’s C criterium at Willamette University. 

The club also organized their own race again this year, something Felts and Crumley are quick to describe as a large amount of work. It was held at Hagg Lake, a hilly 11-mile course outside of Hillsboro. 

Even with racing commitments, the team has still found time to continue their work in the Portland racing community. They are working with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance stuffing envelopes, and some members of the team helped clean up after an Oregon Bicycle Racing Association race just a few weeks ago.

With two weeks to go in the season, there is still a lot to look forward to. “I think I am most looking forward to the awards ceremony and fixie criterium where people race riding fixed gear bikes. The conference is made up of some dedicated racers and I think that their accomplishments should be recognized,” Crumley said.

Felts looks forward to finishing the season with his time-trial team. “There are a lot of category C [members] this year, which is really awesome,” he said. “It’s really easy to do a road race when you have six teammates or a time trial when you know you have three other guys that will be there.”

The team heads up to Big Sky country this weekend to attend races hosted by Washington State University and the University of Idaho on April 24–25.