Collegiate Nationals 2007

It's Collegiate Road Nationals week in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Jayhawks of Kansas University. The Cumberland University Cycling Team made the trip all day yesterday and got here at a respectable hour. My plan was to leave early, enjoy breakfast at Bread & Company (team ritual on long trips), and then get to the hotel in time to watch Jack Bauer kick butt on 24. Mission accomplished!

For the next three days we'll be doing recon training rides on the road race and team time-trial courses. The team time-trial is Friday morning, the road race on Saturday, while the championships end with a criterium on Sunday. The event draws the best collegiate cycling riders from across the country, all of which are vying to ride away with national champion jerseys. Almost all of the kids have been to this event before, so they understand what to expect.

The Cumberland squad is coming off several successful weekends of racing at Auburn, Lees-McRae and conference championships held in Nashville by Vanderbilt and Cumberland. The end result was Peter Fairbanks of Cumberland winning the overall individual conference title in the Mens A division. Peter's overall title marked the third year in a row that a Cumberland rider won that award (Bennett van der Genugten in 2005, Jason Chatham in 2006).

Cumberland's goals center around the TTT and individual finishes in the RR and crit. We lack the depth to compete for the team omnium, but we do have the squad to nail down some top results.

Cumberland's championship dreams are lofty, somewhat improbable, but always possible.

Stay tuned for race details, photos and follow up reports.