Cycling club members take on two separate races this weekend
Despite a rainy weather forecast, cycling club members are planning on participating in races throughout Utah this weekend.
With their first collegiate race, scheduled in Fruita, Colo., for this weekend, canceled, the team is traveling to other races to compete. Riders will be going to Salt Lake City and St. George to race this weekend.
Five racers will be going to St. George/Hurricane to compete in the Chums Classic Road Race, a three-stage race that will take place Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, they’ll compete over a 40-mile course in Snow Canyon and around Gunlock Reservoir. Riders ranked in categories three, four and five will make one lap, while higher riders, in categories one and two, will make two laps.
A 5-mile time trial will follow the road race Saturday evening. In a time trial, riders are sent off solo about every minute. During the trial, riders cannot draft off of other riders and are competing for the best time.
The race will be completed Sunday with a 27-mile loop road race in Hurricane. Category three, four and five riders will do two laps, while those in categories one and two will do three laps. Both courses have a lot of ups and downs with rolling hills, and some steep climbs.
Riders who will be competing for Utah State include Barry Croker, Billy Allen, Roger Snow and team captain Tommy Murphy.
In addition to the race in St. George, two USU riders, Steve Hadley and Tim Ricks, will compete in the Earth Day Pedal Cup. This race will be held in City Creek Canyon in Salt Lake. This race is a 6-mile hill climb. Hadley will be racing in category four/five.
Hadley said he expects to do well because hill climbing is his forte, but riding on a new hill may be a challenge, because he won’t know what gears to use and will have to guess to find a rhythm.
“I probably won’t be as fast as I could be because it is my first time on the hill, but I should still be competitive,” Hadley said.
Hadley said a lot of the competition might go to St. George, but some hill climbers may have stayed for this race.
“I think I’ll do well; I’ve been riding pretty strong lately,” Hadley said.