Leather cycling shoes clip into black pedals, and distinct clicks resound within the pack. A mass of riders pushes off of the ground and sprints for position in the peloton. The sun shines down on the backs of cyclists from all across Texas as they complete agonizing laps around the scenic state park. The riders, pushing through the pain of the race, take a moment to appreciate the nice atmosphere, especially in light of the sub freezing temperatures during last year’s event.
On the weekend of February 7th and 8th, cyclists from the North Texas area gathered at Cedar Hill State Park for a weekend of fast racing. With four different competitions and plenty of student cyclists, Jesuit Cycling was certainly prepared for anything.
“There were lots of people,” said Evan Bausbacher ’17, reflecting on the “three hundred and fifty people [who] attended this year’s event,” a large increase over previous years. The races were “open to anyone; there are races are for all skill levels and ages.” Enticing riders from the professional circuit, the race festival saw “pro cyclist Lauren Stephens for Team Tibco-SVB [come] out.”
There was a race for every kind of rider, it seems, with a “road race, a mountain bike race, a cyclocross race, and a time trial.” Each discipline was split into different categories based on the age and skill level of each rider. There was also a scholastic category for high school racers.
“The Jesuit Team did really well this year,” with Evan himself securing first in the road race, and Dalton Walters ’16 earning first in both the cyclocross and mountain categories as well as “performing very well in the time trials.” Complimenting the entire team, Evan added that “our guys had a great weekend and our new riders gained valuable experience.” He concluded by sharing high hopes for himself and the team and that he is “really looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Zachary Bishkin ’15 echoed some of Evan’s words: “The turnout was huge, about fifty people started in the scholastic race.” He also agrees that this year has been the biggest crowd “by far, there were way more people than in previous years.” Even a few “domestic pros showed up, there were quite a few big names from local cycling.”
Bishkin also explained that all the races “were not merely scholastic, we had categories up to the pro level.” He said that “all age groups were represented, and we also had women’s categories,” showing the wide group of riders this year’s festival attracted.
“As a team,” Bishkin said, “Jesuit did pretty well, taking three out of the five top places in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s road races.” The Jesuit cyclists did very well in all the scholastic categories and even some non-scholastic races.
All in all, the cycling team had some great races on a great weekend and came home with some medals and experience after a fantastic pre-season warmer. They now begin preparation for the larger scholastic races beginning soon. Stay tuned.
