Start of Saturday's race, photo by Maureen O'Neal
The WCU Cycling Team commuted to Raleigh over the weekend to participate in the Wolfpack Classic road race, hosted by NC State University. Allen Grosse, Brooks Forsell, Nick Lacombe, Patrick O’Neal and Troy Adams were representing WCU in the 2-day event. WCU had favorable results in the races as a team, with a 2nd place finish and 4 top-20 finishes.
Forsell, Grosse, and O’Neal raced on Saturday in the collegiate D Jordan Lake road race, their first time taking part in a road race. “It was an awesome experience, and I can’t wait for the next race”, said Forsell. The race consisted of 2 laps, 11.5 miles in length following a neutral rollout. This was the first race of the season and many of the riders were new to racing and uncomfortable following closely behind each other. O’Neal was involved in a crash in the first lap after an inexperienced rider from Duke University ran into someone’s wheel.
“It was fun to compete with people of a similar skill level as me and be able to gain new knowledge from fellow cyclists,” said Grosse.
Nick Lacombe finishing Sanford road race, photo by Allen Grosse
Lacombe raced in the collegiate C race at Jordan Lake on Saturday. The course was 3 laps, 11.5 miles each totaling 35 miles.
Lacombe also raced in the Sanford road race Sunday. The course was 4 laps, 7.8 miles each totaling 33 miles. “It was great to see some new WCU Cycling members out there racing for their first time, along with strong performances from more seasoned members,” said Lacombe. “The future looks bright for the WCU Cycling Team.”
Troy Adams raced in the collegiate A race on Sunday in Sanford. The race consisted of 8 laps, 7.8 miles each totaling 64 miles.
O’Neal raced in the collegiate D race on Sunday in Sanford. The race was 3 laps, 7.8 miles each totaling 25 miles. He started a solo breakaway in the first lap of the race on a climb in the course and maintained it until the final sprint, where he was edged out by a rider from NC State, placing 2nd in the race.
