[This post was adapted from an email sent to the friends-of-mitcycling@mit.edu mailing list. If you would like to receive our spring and fall email updates, subscribe at the provided link or email me at cycling-alumni@mit.edu.]
With spring almost over and summer just a few days away, we can finally stash away our leg warmers and get ready for some big rides (with maybe a few stops for ice cream thrown in there too…) It was a short collegiate season for many of us since the Extremely Cold Cycling Conference turned into the Extremely Canceled Cycling Conference after a few storms. Still, we had some awesome results this year, and we’re in a great position for next year as well. Keep reading to see some of the highlights from our season.
As always, our successes and activities are only made possible by the generous contributions of all of you: our alumni and our financial and product sponsors. If you would like to make a donation to the team, you can do so at this link.
Thank you for helping make our team what it is today!
**************************************************************
#crosswashere
The MIT cyclocross team finished the season strong after repping the beaver at 12 races across 6 states. We even had 10 racers compete at the ECCC championships, the NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross. Notable results from the season include Emma Edwards winning NBX day 1, Dmitro Martynowych bagging podiums on Supercross Day 1 and 2, and Tobi Eh placing in the top 10 of the Men’s A omnium. We’re excited for what these crazy folks will do next year!
Dmitro makes the background blur at Wicked Creepy Cross in Vermont
MIT brings a formidable squad to NBX
MIT Cycling goes to California to ride away their winter blues
We traveled to Temecula, California again this year for our winter training camp! As a side bonus, the cacti were in full spine-spreading mode, so the team is now also adept at flat repair. As always, the riding was intense, and the company was awesome. It was great to have so many alumni join us for the rides.
Current and former MIT women are photobombed by the Montezuma Yeti
This group was lured 90 miles by the promise of tacos
MIT hosts ECCC Road Championships
The road course was largely the same as the one two years ago in Warwick, MA. The dirt climb was predictably brutal, but I guess we knew what we signed up for… The criterium was held in the same park in Turner Falls, MA, and it was a joy to finally have a criterium with a real hill. The locals in both areas were very warm and accommodating, and it was great to see so many non-cyclists come out to watch the races. The whole weekend would also not have been possible without the Herculean efforts of Dmitro Martynowych and James deMelo, so we owe them a lot of thanks.
The MIT crew at ECCC Road Championships. Omnium Champs!
MIT Cycling wins ECCC Road Omnium
MIT once again captured the ECCC D2 Omnium for the year, beating out strong showings from Dartmouth and the US Military Academy. This season was notable for the awesome performances from riders of all levels on our team. Our women’s squad did its usual breadwinning for the team, but we also regularly received points from the Men’s B, C, D, and E teams!
MIT’ers Berk Ozturk and Dustin Weigl relax after lapping the Men’s B field and watch on as they sprint for the finish. Shoutout to Quinn White for a heroic blocking effort to make it all happen.
2018 DII Club Road Omnium National Champions
Although we didn’t have any men eligible this year, that didn’t stop our team of women from going to nationals to win it anyway. Shoutouts to Emma Edwards, Tori Wuthrich, Amy Ousterhout, and Sarah Weiss for an excellent display of pedal-pushing. The weekend culminated in epic fashion with Emma winning the criterium. Emma Edwards is a national champion!!
Emma Edwards wins happiest human award National Championship (photo: Jeffrey Bush)
Our women’s TTT team likes to go out in style
Who are our sponsors?
For those of you who don’t know, here’s some information on our awesome sponsors. In addition to our product sponsors—Wheelworks, BMC, Giro/Stages, Mavic, O2 Rainwear, Rudy Project, and Supacaz—we would like to give a special shoutout to our direct sponsors below:
Thoughtforms
Thoughtforms has been a long-time sponsor of the club, first at the Championship Level, and now three years as Title Sponsor. Established in 1972, Thoughtforms collaborates with clients, architects, and designers to build some of the most unique custom homes and community spaces in the Boston area. Their work has received numerous awards — in 2003 Thoughtforms was nationally recognized by Custom Home Magazine as the Custom Builder of the Year, and in 2017 they were selected for the New England Design Hall of Fame. Thoughtforms has a strong connection to MIT, with four alums working in leadership roles, as well as a number of avid cyclists, including their President, Mark Doughty, who raced professionally in Europe.
The Branta Group LLC
The Branta Group LLC has been a Championship-level sponsor of the MIT cycling team for over 7 years. As a hub of healthcare entrepreneurship, the Branta Group has founded many biotech companies, and provided capital and expertise to promote growth and business sustainability. In the community, The Branta Group is committed to encouraging students to pursue STEM education as well as endurance sports, a passion that MIT cyclists share. During the summer in 2017, The Branta Group coached a group of motivated high-school students to foster entrepreneurial growth, and MIT Cycling was proud to help. The Branta Group provided business mentoring, while MIT Cycling helped the students design experiments to quantitatively demonstrate the value of their product. You can read more about the program here.
Exponent
This year was Exponent’s 14th year as an Elite-level sponsor of the MIT cycling team. Exponent is an international consulting firm that specializes in the investigation and prevention of engineering failures and has been involved in cases from airplane crashes to the design of consumer electronics. With many MIT alumni and cyclists, members of the Exponent team can often be found riding in The Greater Boston Area.
Biognosys
Biognosys has been an Elite-level sponsor of the MIT cycling team for three years. Specializing in proteomics data acquisition and analysis, Biognosys has pioneered many techniques that give more comprehensive coverage for proteomics, allowing new drug targets to be discovered and validated. They recently had two product launches, including their newest reference peptide kit, which enables proteomic researchers to quantify over 500 human plasma proteins. You can read more about it here. A company with a strong sports culture, Biognosys employees compete in the annual alumni SOLA relay run and local cycling races.