Won, two, three for cyclists
Zak Hafner
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Sports
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Sophomore Owen Belton took first in the Men's A criterium race, freshman Alex Bowden sprinted to victory in the Men's B road race, and freshman Zak Hafner won the Men's C road race.
The tremendous weekend added to a great first season with Adrienne Murphy as the new head coach.
"It was great to be able to make a smooth transition from Coach (Darren) Marhanka to Coach Adrienne as the new head coach," team member Francis Hamre said.
The cycling team was started in 2007 as a club sport by Marhanka. He pushed the program to become a varsity sport last year.
Marhanka recruited riders of all skill levels, from Australia to Missouri.
With the cycling team's continued growth, it became too much for Marhanka to manage as a coach and professor, leading to the hiring of Murphy as full-time head coach.
Murphy has coached various levels of cycling teams for 10 years and has been racing for more than 15 years; she has been a professional mountain biker and was also a category 2 road rider.
Murphy said that the Lindenwood team really came together at the end of the season.
"The kids raced as a team, not individuals," she said.
This week, the team travels to road racing nationals May 9-10 in Fort Collins, Colo., for the first time to compete against other collegiate teams from across the country.
The team has already made appearances at Cyclocross and Track Racing Nationals but has yet to attend Mountain Bike Nationals.
In Colorado, the team will compete in a road race over 80 miles and a criterium race over 30 miles.
"The best hope for the road race lies with [Nicholas] Chevally. If we can get him over the climbs he should stand a fair chance in a small bunch sprint," freshman Tim Norris said.
"Chevally will be well supported through the whole race by Belton, while myself and [Francis] Hamre will play our cards early," Norris said.
Belton said, "Altitude may play a part as well but everyone is affected differently."
Belton, Norris, Chevally and Hamre will represent Lindenwood University in the Colorado competition.
For more information about the cycling team or joining the cycling team, contact Murphy at Amurphy@lindenwood.edu (or 314-651-0912) or Marhanka at Dmarhanka@lindenwood.edu (or 636-949-4984).
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