The Fort Lewis College cycling team sent a loaded team of 11 riders to this week’s track nationals, and Friday will be pivotal in the team omnium standings.
Fourteen different finals will be contested Friday in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for the USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships. Competing on the Giordana Velodrome, a 250-meter track featuring a 42½ degree embankment, the Skyhawks are well prepared after competing in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference championships earlier this month at the 7/11 Velodrome in Colorado Springs.
Led by junior Emmanuel Gagne, who is looking to improve on his third-place finish in the points race and a fifth-place result in the scratch race, as well as senior Bryan Froehlicher, who trained all summer on his home track in Chicago and has been on fire in recent races, Fort Lewis is looking to contend with 2015 national champion Marian university. FLC placed second a year ago in the Division I category. Midwestern State is another big contender this year.
“We are bringing a young squad this year, but they will be led by our experienced upperclassmen,” FLC track coach Ian Burnett said in a news release. “The Nationals team has many members that have trained all summer at their local tracks and are coming into the week on great form.”
FLC will compete in the sprint, time trial, individual pursuit, points race, scratch race, team pursuit and team sprint. Junior Dominique Shore leads the women’s team. She will look to improve on her fourth-place result in the scratch race and fifth in sprints at nationals last season.
Also on the FLC team: Charlotte Backus, Peter Behm, Andre Bos, Kevin Callahan, James Ianni, Weston Flickinger, Cormac McGeough and Tristen Musselman.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
