While we’re missing Roanoke, VA, we’re laying the foundation for LA 2028—getting the hard work done at altitude. We’re in Colorado Springs this week for a special blend of racing and development: USA Cycling’s track development camp paired with a mini-camp for our international squad of Sofia Arreola (MEX), Rylee McMullen (NZL), and Marlies Mejias (CUBA). Add in the Friday Night Landis Tyson Cup Omnium (plus a 4k individual pursuit exhibition), and it’s been a full schedule rolling straight into the upcoming U.S. Elite National Track Championships.
But before all that action unfolded, race day threw us a curveball. During their pre-race spin earlier in the day, Rylee, Sofia, and Marlies hit a sandy patch of road and went down together returning with plenty of bruises and road rash. Marlies was unfortunately too banged up to start, but Rylee and Sofia lined up alongside their U.S. teammates from camp: Olivia Cummins, Bethany Ingram, Emily Ehrlich and Anna Hicks.
The evening began with what was billed as a exhibition IP “just for fun, I said to the riders...” —but let’s be honest, there’s nothing fun about a 4k pursuit at altitude! Still, it was the perfect way to get a pre-national’s test run in. Emily came out on top with a very small margin over Anna Hicks who raced her first individual pursuit. Bethany Ingram rode a solid race behind them. From there, the program rolled into a condensed Omnium: Scratch Race, Tempo Race, and Points Race.
"I haven’t had much time on the track this year, so I didn’t go into Friday night with many expectations, I was just hoping to have fun racing again. I was excited and a little surprised to win both the scratch and tempo races, and in the points race I just focused on collecting points to try and hold onto the Omnium lead." Commented Olivia. " I managed to keep it and win overall. It was a great night of racing, and I’m looking forward to carrying the momentum into nationals later this week."
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Roanoke College Cycling is proud to welcome Lauren and Ragan Weigel to the Team!!
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