University of Notre Dame Cycling

Notre Dame Cycling sent Andrew O’Donnell (Grad.), John Pratt (Jr.), Jim Snitzer (Jr.), and Luke Tilmans (Sr.) to the 2014 CapTech USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships on May 2-4. The event was held in Richmond, VA and served as a test event for the UCI Road World Championships that will come to the city in September of 2015. The collegiate courses were identical to those that will be used in the World Championships and showcased historic parts of Richmond, including Monument Street, Broad Street, and Libby Hill.

The team and individual time trials were held on the first day of racing, Friday, May 2. Despite a crash during warmup for the TTT, the 4 Irish riders paced well and finished the 31km course in 43:12. It was good enough for 3rd place amongst DII teams and the first nationals podium in the history of Notre Dame Cycling. A few short hours later, O’Donnell and Snitzer took the line for the ITT. Amongst a very strong DII field, Snitzer finished 13th (45:09) and O’Donnell 25th (47:06).

In Saturday’s criterium Pratt took advantage of his front row start from winning the MWCCC conference omnium. Tilmans and Snitzer started near the back but managed to work their way up through the field. A short, tight, and technical descent followed by a moderately sized climb along the backstrech made for a very difficult race in which over 2/3 of the field was pulled. Tilmans managed to finish in the field at 28th, while Pratt was 29th and Snitzer 64th.

Sunday’s road race, 7 laps of a 10 miles loop, featured two sections of rough cobbles: a fast descent in the middle of the city and a switchback climb through a nearby park. Unfortunately, the race saw some very bad luck for the Irish. Tilmans suffered a flat tire only 3 miles in, received a neutral support bike, but was unable to chase back to the charging peloton. Just a few miles later, Snitzer went down in a crash that took out over 20 riders. He was still able to finish 54th. Pratt, the last remaining ND rider, rode near the front of the field even putting in a solo attack during the first lap. Unfortunately, he too suffered a flat tire with 2 laps to go and had to settle for 48th.

Notre Dame Cycling thanks all of their sponsors and fans for their support throughout the 2014 road season and the city of Richmond for hosting a fantastic event. Happy riding to all this summer! It won’t be long until the 2015 MWCCC season and National Championships in Asheville, NC.

From MWCCC conference director Matt Jones: “In the D2 men’s field, Notre Dame has dominated the entire season, even taking a few wins from the larger varsity programs. John Pratt has led this charge and is expected to be an active force in both the road race and criterium. This will continue into the TTT where a podium finish for Notre Dame would not be out of the question.”

See the following for a complete preview: http://www.usacycling.org/2014-captech-usa-cycling-collegiate-road-nationals-preview.htm

Notre Dame Nationals roster:

TTT- Andrew O’Donnell (Grad.), John Pratt (Jr.), Jim Snitzer (Jr.), Luke Tilmans (Sr.)

ITT- O’Donnell, Snitzer

Crit- Pratt, Snitzer, Tilmans

RR- Pratt, Snitzer, Tilmans

Follow @cyclingirish on twitter for live updates from this weekends National Championships in Richmond, VA.

The Notre Dame Cycling team competed in West Lafayette, IN on April 26-27 in the MWCCC Regional Championships hosted by Purdue with the Division II conference title on the line. The races were held west of Purdue’s campus and began with an 8-mile team time trial on Saturday morning. The Notre Dame men’s A team represented by John Pratt (Jr.), Jim Snitzer (Jr.), Luke Tilmans (Sr.), and Andrew O’Donnell (Grad.) took a season best 4^th place, only 32 seconds behind the winning time, while averaging a blistering 28+ mph pace.

Shortly after the time trial, the road races began. The course consisted of a 9.4-mile lap including a one-mile, 160ft climb followed by sections with strong winds and a fast decent. The races had riders completing between three and eight laps totaling 28-75 miles, depending on their respective categories. Sarah Cullen (Fr.), despite wrecking early on in the race, took 7^th in the women’s B race after quickly catching up to the field. Mike Lorenzen (Grad.) once again set the pace for the men’s D race. He took third place after establishing himself in a four-man breakaway, providing the Irish with their first podium spot of the weekend. In the men’s C road race, Tom Frederick (grad.) was able to bridge to a seven-man break and took a season best 6^th place. Notre Dame’s star freshman James Pratt was able to fend off several attacks by riders from Marian in the men’s B field, and took a career best second place in the final sprint. The men’s A road race saw an uncharacteristically large amount of wrecks, which claimed riders Douglas Ansel (Grad.) and O’Donnell as victims. However, the Irish were able to get their leader John Pratt in the day’s six-man breakaway. Both Snitzer and Tilmans worked together to cover other teams’ attempts to bridge the gap allowing the break to gain more than a ten-minute advantage. Pratt took second in the final sprint, while Tilmans and Snitzer finished 17^th and 20^th respectively.

Sunday’s circuit race featured a four-mile loop that included a short, steep climb, with no time to recover due to strong crosswinds and a quick descent back to the base of the climb. Cullen put in an impressive effort to grab 9^th place in women’s B. Lorenzen applied constant pressure while attacking the men’s D field, eventually taking 15^th.  In men’s C, an attack by a rider from Case Western established the ten-man break including Frederick in the final lap. On the finishing climb, Frederick took another impressive top ten finish grabbing 5^th place. The men’s A field was shelled by the tough climb and strong crosswinds; however, John Pratt helped Snitzer establish himself in the days surviving field. Snitzer eventually grabbed 18^th, Pratt 21^st, Tilmans 25^th, and O’Donnell 30^th in a very difficult race.

For the fourth year running, the Notre Dame Cycling team emerged as the MWCCC Division II team champions. Furthermore, John Pratt and Jim Snitzer took first and second place respectively in the Division II Individual Omnium. Notre Dame would like to thank Purdue for hosting a very well organized race weekend and providing a stellar setting to help bring an end to another successful MWCCC season.

Men’s A riders John Pratt, Jim Snitzer, Luke Tilmans, and Andrew O’Donnell will head to Richmond, VA for the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships on May 2-4. The Irish will face the best collegiate riders from across the country on the course for the eventual 2015 UCI Road World Championships.