Philly Phyler-- March 10-11, 2007
Race report by Coach Joe Cruz
Williams once again had a terrific showing this weekend. The second stop of the season was the largest collegiate cycling event in history, with schools from both the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Conference well represented among the 600 racers in Philadelphia. The road race was held on a closed circuit with three short power-oriented climbs over the six mile span, while the criterium presented a fast and harrowing four corner course with a tenacious wind.
- Kate Scheider raced confidently and comfortably in the lead pack in the women's A road race, and animated the field with several attacks before finishing strongly in 10th. In the criterium she helped power a break off the front and negotiated a tricky sprint to come in 8th. With her strong performances, she remains competitive for top honors among the undergraduate ECCC racers.
- Liz Spragins placed 19th in the road race in women's B after dropping her chain twice on the climbs, and then showed her strength and talent the next day with an 8th place in the criterium.
- Lauren Yeiser, in her first race, had a spectacular performance to finish 7th in the women's B road race. She will quickly improve on her mid-pack finish in the criterium as she gets more experience racing.
- And Miju Han had another stunning weekend by finishing a strong 6th in the introduction to racing road race and then winning in an exciting drag race sprint to the finish in the criterium.
On the men's side,
- Tucker Sawin showed with strong performances in the main men's A pack that his form is very much on the rise. In races with blistering and relentless speed, he raced intelligently to conserve effort and avoid crashes to finish in the top half of the field both days.
- Ben Grass lead the men's C road race up the climbs and finishing a brilliant 5th. He capped off an excellent weekend with a 13th place finish in the criterium.
- Drew Thayer, in his second collegiate event, let the group get away in the men's D road race, but continued to pedal with conviction to the finish. He bounced back by finishing just out of the top 20 in the Sunday criterium.
Finally -- but certainly not least of all -- the team offers a heartfelt thanks to Janine and Jon Weller '68 for hosting us for the weekend and for providing us with spectacular company, meals, and encouragement. Well beyond the racing, it was their kindness and affection that made our weekend a success.
 Liz and Lauren warm up for the Women's B race
 Drew slays on his "diminutive teal babe"
 Partial team shot w/ the Wellers and their awesome dogs
(L to R): Ben Grass, Drew Thayer, Tucker Sawin, Kate Scheider, Lauren Yeiser, Miju Han, Liz Spragins, Mrs Weller, Mr Weller, Joe Cruz
 The criterium (flat, fast, and windy)
 Ben sitting pretty at the front of the Men's C field
 Kate in a break in the Women's A crit
 Tucker (with his typical racing expression) in a raging Men's A field
 Kate sprinting for 10th in the Women's A circuit race
photos by Joe Cruz |
