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  Home Page » Sports » College » FLC In Gear Under New Coach

FLC in gear under new coach

Herald Staff Report The Fort Lewis College cycling team is off to another strong start under new leadership in the 2009 Rocky Mountain Cycling Series.

"We're doing really well this year," said first-year head coach Matt Shriver. "The depth is still there, but it's a transitional period for the students."

Shriver is an FLC cycling alumnus who spent five years with the program under previous coach Rick Crawford, who left the team before the road race portion of this season.

The former Skyhawk racer contributed to nine national team championships, winning four individual titles before racing cyclocross professionally for four seasons. Shriver thinks his past experience gives him credibility with student racers.

"Going through the program makes it a lot easier," Shriver said. "You have to build trust, and I've been around."

The Skyhawks are entering their sixth week of competition after a Week 5 cancellation of the weekend's races at Western State College because of dangerous weather conditions and possible road closures.

FLC last competed at Mesa State College in Grand Junction on March 21-22, in what Shriver said was "a great weekend of racing."

The first race on Saturday was a majestic 6k hill climb at Colorado National Monument, with smooth roads and temperatures reaching the low 60's.

FLC's 26-rider squad, including coaches Matt Schriver and Dave Hagen, posted fast times in each category.

Men's C rider Robbie Jones, in his first season of competitive cycling, won his race in 16:58 to accumulate enough points to upgrade to the Men's B class.

•Women's riders Sarah Sturm and Hilary Smallwood placed second and seventh, respectively, while A Women's competitor Jessica Lathrop was fifth at 19:59.

FLC's best finishes came from the B Men and A Men.

In the former class, Kenji Fortune placed second, Alex Dossin third and Levon Kalemkiarian and Grady James crossed close behind the leaders.

Of the 13 FLC men qualifying for the A division, Ian Burnett was the fastest with a winning time of 14:57. Alister Ratcliff came in third, Jesse Dekrey was fourth, and Ian Gordon took seventh.

Shriver showed off his wares in the Pro 1,2 race with a fourth-place 14:51, and Hagen took 12th in the 3,4,5 race at 18:51.

After the conclusion of the time trials and a quick break for a bite to eat, the Men's C and B and Women's B teams were first to compete in criteriums on the Grand Junction Speedway.

Robbie Jones was the only FLC racer in the 25-minute C race, but he didn't let loneliness affect his performance, cruising in front of the pack for most of the race before finally losing a sprint finish by an inch.

At Women's B, Sturm dominated early, then fell back and reclaimed her lead, extending it to a 15-second margin by the finish. Sturm next will race in the A class.

Teammate Smallwood was 14th.

In the Men's B 45-minute race, Dossin injured his shoulder in a crash, leaving teammates Fortune and Grady James to go it alone in the field of 20.

James fell behind early and Fortune was by himself, holding a lead for a while before losing a sprint finish to two riders from Colorado State University.

The A women faced a later start during the cooler hours of the day, and Lathrop was recovering from a crash in the women's open race just minutes earlier, but her Skyhawk teammates gave her the push she needed for a third-place finish in spite of severe pain and a talented group of Coloardo State riders.

"That's always been an area where we've been lacking," Shriver said. "We've had great individual riders, but it takes a team effort."

In the final race of the evening - under the lights on a course shortened because there weren't enough lights for the entire distance - the FLC Men's A team was aggressive and caused a number of crashes in a hard-charging race.

The mishaps left FLC's Alister Ratcliff to battle it out with three other riders for the shortened finish.

Ratcliff made a run, but finished runner up to Mesa State's Conor Mullervy.

Fort Lewis continues its Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference action with a race next weekend at the Colorado School of Mines, but they're looking ahead to May 8-11 at Fort Collins.

"We're gearing up for Nationals," Shriver said. "We'll be in the running again for the overall title. There will definitely be individuals at Nationals that really shine."

heraldsports@durangoherald.com