As many students were busy “preparing” for the Lil’ Wayne concert Tuesday afternoon, the qualifying men’s cycling teams were preparing themselves for the Little 500.
At 3:00 p.m. the starters went to the line for a practice run through of what will happen Saturday at Armstrong Stadium. A white truck paced the riders as their teammates cheered words of encouragement.
Delta Chi riders Will McDermott, Zac Moilanen, Dylan Dale, Alex Burtner, Chris Hauger and Geoff Kerbis took full advantage of the afternoon practice. Although Delta Chi just returned to campus, they have a rich Little 500 history with eight championship titles.
“It motivates me,” McDermott said. “I have been in contact with our coaches and alumni and heard all the stories about the days of the Dynasty in the late 70′s and early 80′s when Delta Chi won most of their championships. Our team’s coach, Brian Oliger, has been especially helpful and inspiring me to get better at every one of our weekly team meetings.”
Many teams have been training all year to get ready for the event, but Delta Chi found itself with only two riders before winter break. According to Kerbis, they were worried they wouldn’t be able to get a team together in time so they sent out e-mails urging fraternity members to help them out.
“We had to find people who were willing to give up partying for a week,” Kerbis said. “Two more great guys joined, and that’s where we are.”
Four years ago, McDermott and friends reformed the fraternity after it had been kicked off campus a few years before. They knew that putting Delta Chi back in the race was important for their fraternity.
“Having a rich Little 500 history, being the winningest program at the time in 2008 (eight championships), we knew it was something that had to be done,” McDermott said. “After skipping the 2008 race to focus on recruitment and getting our charter, we formed a team to compete in the 2009 race.”
In 2009, Delta Chi qualified 29th and finished 18th. Last year they improved to qualify 12th and finished 13th. McDermott is hoping for a spot in the top 10 this Saturday.
To prepare for the race, McDermott and his team have been practicing by riding with intervals at times and exchanges. They take longer rides on the weekends. According to McDermott, the team has been watching a lot of race tape “to learn different teams’ strategies and tendencies.”
“Race week is part of my tapering week, where I do not go as hard to allow my legs to recover,” McDermott said. “It’s more about preparing mentally than physically at this point.”
Wednesday was the last day riders can use Armstrong Stadium to practice and Thursday they must turn in their bikes just two days before the race. All riders are hoping their training will pay off.
“This race is very unpredictable,” McDermott said. “With the right amount of luck and riding a smart race anything is possible. Regardless of the outcome, I will celebrate with all of my brothers at the house and end up going to the bars for the first time all semester.”
