Concordiensis

Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: Sports

Union College Cycling wrapped up the season this weekend with a fourth place finish in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference. The team rose early on Saturday morning and drove down south to Plattekill Mountain for the conference championships. With temperatures in the mid 30's the team was concerned about the 5-mile course, which was littered with technical sections and long gradual climbs. The team started off well with Brendan Truscott '10 taking the course for two laps in the Men's C cross country race. He started off well and held a good pace on the long course but could not stay with the leader after two laps, finishing just 49 seconds behind the leader from Umass, with a time of 1 hour, 31 minutes and 40 seconds. Steven Hopengarten '09 and Forrest Clifton '10 then tackled the same course for an extra lap (15 miles) in the Men's B cross country race. Clifton and Hopengarten held solid positions in the field after one lap. But at the end of the first lap Clifton broke his chain and Hopengarten continued. Clifton eventually repaired his bike and continued on to his second lap, only to break his chain again. After going down a descent Clifton broke his chain for a third time, and was forced to abandon the race. All the while Hopengarten held solid lap times pacing over the course, he passed three riders on his third lap, finishing with a solid 11th place with a time of 2 hours 16 minutes an 24 seconds.

With the points accumulated by the two solid results, Union Cycling maintained their 4th place overall standings. Union College Cycling will next see action in the spring of 2008 with the beginning of road racing.

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