2007 Philly Phlyer

This past weekend of March 10th and 11th saw the Colgate University Cycling Club go to Philadelphia for the Philly Phyler collegiate road cycling event. Representing Colgate this weekend were Teddi Hofmann, Will Hilsman, and Jamie Simchik. This cycling event was a joint race for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference and Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference. The event saw a total of 525 riders! Of the 57 schools that participated, almost all of them arrived in their own team vans along with their own set of team trainers.

The weekend opened up with the Road Race. The course involved two difficult climbs. Teddi Hofmann represented Colgate in the Woman’s Intro field. This event provided professional coaching for all of the athletes involved. After this period of coaching, the riders were let loose. Teddi Hofmann worked very hard in her first road race. She stayed at the front the entire race and finished with a 3rd place finish out of 23 riders, collecting 18 points for Colgate overall! These were the first ever points for a woman’s cyclist from Colgate!

Later on in the day was the Men’s C road race. Will Hilsman and Jamie Simchik represented Colgate. Riders attacked on the last climb. Will Hilsman broke away with a small group, and sprinted to a 2nd place finish collecting 24 points for Colgate! Jamie finished behind the pack after dropping his chain and being unable to regain contact with the lead group.

The next day was the Team Time Trial and Criterium. In the Team Time Trial, Teddi Hofmann was a member of a composite team. She worked hard with one cyclist from Columbia and another from Pitt. Leading her team over the finish line, she finished strong. Later was the Men’s Team Time Trial. Jamie did not participate in this event. Will, like Teddi, was a member of a composite team.

The next event was the Criterium. The course was flat and windy. In the Women’s Intro field Teddi had some great coaching. The coaches had the cyclist work on clipping into and out of their pedal. Later on, they worked on maintaining a pace line. Then, the cyclists raced on their own. Teddi was clearly one of the strongest athletes in the field. In the early stage of the race, she single-handedly chased down a break away. Showing her fitness, Teddi rode nearly the entire race at the front. She finished in forth place, and collected 10 points for Colgate! Her superior results were clearly an indication of good things to come.

Later was the Men’s C Criterium. Having sat out the Team Time Trial, Jamie was entirely focused on the Criterium. During warm-ups, Jamie refused to converse with anyone. He responded to any question with the simple phrase, “I am going to my happy place.” Due to the windy conditions, the field stayed together. Will finished in 18th place.

Overall, this was a great weekend. Teddi, with her 28 points, provided the greatest contribution to the team. With only 3 riders, Colgate finished 32 out of 57 schools. This is a clear sign of greater things to come for the Colgate Cycling Club.