Collegiate Racing

By Bob Frank

Every March endurance athletes across the globe that live in the coldest climates slowly start to emerge from their “pain caves” where many have logged hundreds or even thousands of miles preparing for upcoming race seasons. Cyclists and triathletes alike, often using sophisticated technology, are ready to bust out, as warmer temperatures are right around the corner. For student-athletes the winter months can be especially difficult. Balancing studies, social lives and maintaining health and/or improving fitness levels requires discipline, sacrifices and time management skills. If they can get it right, however, there are many opportunities to compete collegiately for cyclists and triathletes. 

The mission of the USA Cycling Collegiate program is to provide opportunities for team-oriented bicycle racing for student cyclists of all genders and abilities. The program has the following key objectives: provide new riders with a welcoming introduction to collegiate riding and racing; enable elite riders the option to pursue higher education while benefiting from development opportunities that integrate with amateur/pro teams and national development programs; create personal growth and leadership development opportunities for scholar athletes on and off the bike; and ensure that the sport is low cost and accessible to any student who wants to participate.

USA Cycling collegiate cycling is comprised of conferences that are broken into 11 geographic areas. Each organizes local racing seasons, manages results and rankings, and makes it happen at the grass roots level. The conferences are staffed by mostly student volunteers and various cycling enthusiasts – these dedicated people are making these programs happen. Collegiate teams are separated into two categories, club and varsity programs. The club programs, which have been in existence for 50+ years make up most of the teams and participants. There over 300 teams in the US, many of which have had premier programs for decades. Some of the top teams include University of Arizona, University of Vermont, University of Colorado Boulder, and Texas A&M. The club teams are referred to the “backbone of collegiate racing.” 

The varsity programs, which are relatively new, seek to give “pro-level support for student athletes.” There are about two dozen of these, often referred to as “cycling schools” that make up this group. Some of the top schools in this category includes Fort Lewis College, Colorado Mesa University, Brevard College, and Lees-McRae College. These programs tend to receive extra support from their schools, they have coaches and, in some cases, offer scholarships. The support from the schools for the club teams varies. Some get support comparable to the varsity programs, many get race entry fees, travel and lodging expenses covered along with the use of the vans, equipment, and tents for the events.      

USA Triathlon, in a similar vein, has taken steps to give student-athletes opportunities to continue to compete while earning a degree. There are 10 USAT Collegiate Triathlon Conferences that are affiliated with the USAT Collegiate Club program. The conference races are organized by the commissioners and are added to local events within the geographical region. The sport of triathlon has seen a tremendous amount of growth over the past five years especially within the college and university community, resulting in a steady increase in the number of participants and schools at this level. This growth is expected to continue and has demanded the development of new programs supporting the growth of the college-aged triathlon community.

The military schools are well represented in collegiate triathlon, with the Naval Academy, West Point, and Air Force Academy being the most prominent. The University of California Berkley and San Diego, University of Colorado Boulder, Queens University, and Stanford University are all among the top teams.  One of the unique aspects of these collegiate events is that there are often divisions and categories for both beginner and elite athletes, making overall participation available for more students, which is unlike many other sports at the collegiate level.    

Locally collegiate cyclists and triathletes primarily participate in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference and the Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference. The ECCC spans from Delaware to Maine and includes a 1,000+ student athletes from 50+ schools competing in track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and road racing events throughout the year. There is also a high caliber national championship event for each of these cycling disciplines.  

The NECTC is comprised of all schools in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The major competition of the schools is a race series of sprint and international triathlons that occurs in the fall. Other non-race series events are added throughout the year to incorporate a different multisport experience, such as 70.3 (half-ironman) or XTERRA (off-road) races. The national championship race, which is held in the spring, is of the Olympic distance: 0.93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike, and 6.2-mile run. Roughly 100 teams participate at the national championship race each year. In cycling and triathlon, student-athletes can compete individually and/or as part of a team.

For cycling, there are several standout Capital Region student-athletes currently competing in the ECCC. This includes Sam Lasher (Cobleskill) for Bucknell University, Connor Singh (Delmar) for Rochester Institute of Technology, Tommy Servetas (Colonie) for University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Patrick Frank (Niskayuna) for University of Vermont. These guys are all strong athletes, several of which compete in mountain biking, cyclocross and road racing – year-round for multiple teams. Although Covid-19 has had a major impact on racing, amongst them they have podiumed and/or won many collegiate races, and have had success at the national championship level as well.

According to Connor Singh, “Competing in college has its benefits and challenges. You have the freedom to ride really whenever you want, and do whatever events you want at whatever intensity you want, but you really have to focus on balancing this with your coursework.” Connor especially enjoys travelling to the events and the “road-trip” mentality geared toward having fun and “riding with friends and not necessarily geared toward achieving results.”  

Tommy Servetas really enjoys “representing the university at races and spreading the word about UMass.” He placed third at the collegiate cyclocross nationals last year, this was his favorite race. He enjoys “…racing in the jersey under the school’s name and having the chance to bring it back home to campus.” When I tried to talk to my son Patrick Frank about this article, he was unavailable because he was bombing trails in Pisgah National Forest in N.C. with 20 other student athletes while on spring break! But I know his cycling teammates mean a lot to him. Most of them study engineering so they talk a lot about courses, internships and potential job opportunities on a regular basis. Patrick placed sixth at the collegiate cyclocross nationals. 

One of the common themes shared by these student-athletes was summed up well by Sam Lasher, who commented that “the team is a great community of friends that ride, race, eat and study together… which makes college more fun, enjoyable, and allows us to get more people on bikes!” If you are interested in getting involved, each group has a presence on social media.

If you want to check out the ECCC events, the spring road season is right around the corner: 4/2-3 Happy Valley Rally (road race, criterium, team time trial) in Shutesbury/Hadley, Mass.; 4/9-10 Army Spring Classic (RR, CR, TTT) in Stony Point/West Point; 4/16-17 L’Enfer du Nord (RR, TTT, CR, individual time trial) in Hanover, N.H./Middlebury, Vt.; 4/23-24 UVM Weekend (RR, CR, TTT), Burlington, Vt.; 4/30-5/1 ECCC Championships: Shippensburg Scurry (RR, CR, TTT) in Cleversburg/Shippensburg, Pa.

At present the NECTC triathlon calendar is still in development; 9/4 Alpha Win Lake George (Olympic) is on the list. Refer to social media or this link for the schedule: teamusa.org/usa-triathlon/usat-for-me/clubs/collegiate-clubs/northeast. 

Bob Frank (jfrank10@nycap.rr.com) lives in Niskayuna, he is an assistant coach for the Niskayuna-Mohawk Mountain Goats mountain bike team. He enjoys many outdoor activities and is a “lifetime cyclist.”