MADISON, Wis. (5/8/11) – The University of Colorado cycling team finished fifth this past weekend at the USA Cycling Road Collegiate National Championships.
The Buffaloes picked up 246 points; just eight points shy of fourth place UC Davis. Marian University won their second straight championship, picking up 505 points. Lees-McRae College finished second with 430 points while Fort Lewis College finished third with 351 points.
In the individual omnium competition, Josh Yeaton led the CU men with an eighth place finish while teammate Jesse Goodrich finished right behind him in ninth. Heather Fischer was the highest placed women’s rider in 25th while fellow Buff, Claire Bensard, finished 31st.
The championships began on Friday with the road race at Blue Mound State Park. Yeaton and Goodrich led the charge for CU in the men’s 72 mile race, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Also in the men’s race, William Buick finished 37th, Stefan Gomez finished 55th and Chris Hurst finished 56th. In the women’s 58 mile road race, Fischer led the Buffs with a 22nd place finish while Bensard finished 32nd and Abigail Mickey finished 39th.
Saturday’s event was the 19.2 mile team time trial near Waterloo, Wis. The women finished sixth in a time of 47:22.81 while the men finished ninth in a time of 40:14.64. Marian University won both the men’s and women’s team time trials.
The final event was the criterium races at Capitol Square in Madison, Wis., on Sunday. Yeaton and Goodrich once again led Colorado in the 75 minute men’s race with Yeaton finishing 19th and Goodrich finishing 26th. Also, teammate Bill Golembiewski finished 37th. In the women’s 60 minute criterium race, Christa Ghent led CU with a 22nd place finish while Fisher finished 33rd, Bensard 38th and Mickey 56th.
Colorado’s fifth place finish is an improvement from where the Buffs finished at the road nationals in 2010, when they ended up sixth.
For complete results of the 2011 Road National Championships, go to https://www.usacycling.org/events/2011/collegiateroad/.
