By Loren Eggenschwiler
The MSU cycling team travelled south Friday as they made their way down to the UT and Texas State hosted race weekend. Saturday began the road race on the well known race course of Pace Bend Park, along Lake Travis. The hilly course follows a roughly 6-mile course.
The men’s A category started the day. Evan Bybee and Sean Brown along with Michael Sheehan of Texas State had a breakway earlier in the race.
Brown went down in a crash, but Bybee held strong and took second on the uphill finish. Alexi Martinez was able to get away with University of Houston in a chase and took 4th. Josh Carter helped lead teammate Jason Short in the Sprint, where Short took fifth.
The women’s A category also did well. Jessi Prinner took off early in the race, later waiting for teammates to bridge up. Claire Routledge and Loren Eggenschwiler were able to bridge up to Prinner after a few attacks. Together, Prinner, Routledge and Eggenschwiler raced the last four laps and finished the race side by side, taking first, second and third.
Fidel Goytia won the men’s B category in a sprint finish with teammate Aldo Curiel following in second and Erick Goytia finishing in seventh. Bailey Hess took third in the women’s B category.
After the road race, team time trails began on the same course, only doing one timed lap. Both men’s and women’s A team took first. Men’s B category took 2nd behind LSU.
Sunday took place in San Marcos, where the crit was held by Texas State. For the men’s C, Caden Burross took 5th and David Barrett took eighth. Hess took 18th for the women’s B. The women’s A finished first, second and third again after Prinner and Routledge took off and lapped the field. They were then able to help get Eggenschwiler off to take third.
Curiel took first in the crit for the men’s B crit. The men’s A race was won by Carter in the sprint again A&M and Texas State. Short took fourth. Brown crashed in the last corner, but won the “gnarly crash” trophy.
MSU will have its next collegiate race in Wichita Falls! The team will be hosting an event April fourteenth and fifteenth. The criterium will be held on campus Sunday morning and early afternoon of April fifteenth around the Student Center.
Students interested in volunteering Saturday or Sunday or finding out more information should contact Julie Carter at [email protected].
