The University of Denver club cycling team placed 13th in Division II in the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships. The competition was held May 11–13 in Lawrence, Kansas. On May 11, the men’s team took third place out of 19 teams in the time trial. Steve Forbes, Taylor Shelden, Eric Moore and Grant Goerzen represented DU in the men’s team trial.
On May 12, some of the team’s best cyclists had flats and crashes during the 85-mile race. Goerzen finished the race in 31st place, despite having a flat on the third and final lap. Katie Ronsse finished 14th in the criterium on May 13.
“It only is the second year of the DU club cycling team, so it is not only exciting to be able to qualify for nationals, but also to do well,” says Goerzen, the club’s vice president.
The team boasts 40 members, and more than half race competitively. Those who compete race almost every weekend during the 10-week season, which runs from early March to mid-May. DU’s team came in third in Division II conference championships, landing them a spot at the national competition.
At nationals, the seven-person team competed in a team time trial, road race and a criterium. The six-man, one-woman team was matched with other Division II teams (from schools with fewer than 15,000 students) and Division I teams from the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.
This year, the team hired a coach, Corey Carlson, who has collegiate cycling experience from the University of Northern Colorado. The team hosted a race at Invesco Field in March as part of the collegiate season.