A dramatic end to the 2017 CX season!

ASU and UA brought incredibly strong teams to every conference race this season. UA dominated the women's A races with Cara O'Neill undefeated and Chloe Welch in 2nd- minus a mechanical on the last day of racing, which saw her slip into third.

The final women's A omnium: Chloe Welch, Cara O'Neill, and Brooke Lyman

The men's side was a hotly contested between Rhys Louis (ASU), Nick Thomas (ASU), and David Greif (UA). Greif skipped the Albuquerque weekend to seek out UCI points at CXLA- this proved pivotal in the men's omnium battle and gave Rhys an insurmountable lead. 

Men's A omnium: Gabe Perez, David Greif, Rhys Louis, Nick Thomas, and Scott Jones

 The real battle for the team omnium was in the lower categories. Where as UA dominated the women's side, ASU brought incredible numbers in the Men's B. This lead to a stalemate in the points: UA would win the max amount of women's points (50) and ASU would win the max amount of men's points (50). UA faltered by sending too few men to the Albuquerque weekend which set them back 22 points. UA's home race provided a chance to make up ground but they couldn't muster enough men to overcome the sheer numbers from ASU. The relay both days closed the gap down to 8 points; however, at ASU's home weekend UA was outnumbered in the women's field as well and the gap extended back out to 22 points heading into the final day of racing.

Consistent racing from the UA women's squad saw them take home max points at regionals, to counter ASU's men's points. The relay would prove to be the deciding event- UA would need to field 2 relay teams and take first and second- forcing ASU into third place. 100 points would go to the winner and 74 to third place- a 26 point difference which would give the Wildcats the win by 4 points. The relay teams were close halfway through lap 1 with both UA team's leading, but a flat just past the pits for ASU placed them on the back foot even more. UA also had a flat on lap 2, however it was prior to the pit so a quick bike exchange was given without losing much time. In the end, UA executed their plan with a 1-2 win in the relay to clinch their third in a row team title.

Team relay podium: UA 1, UA 2, and ASU 2

Team omnium: ASU in 2nd and UA in 1st

MTB Nationals Recap

NAU and Embry Riddle represented the SW at collegiate nationals this past weekend. NAU's Cal Skilsky brought home the XC title! This means the SWCCC is home to the women's road race champion (Erica Clevenger, UA) and the XC champ (Cal, NAU).  Great work!

Up next, CX! Let's see if we can keep the natty champ trend rolling!

Horny Toas Hustle

We kicked off our 2017 MTB season with the Horny Toad Hustle in Las Cruces, NM! We had excellent representation from the majority of teams in the conference (where ya at Prescott?!). We're at it again next Saturday in Gallup!

 

 Men's A podium (Paul, Cal, Tom)

 Men's B podium (Gordon, Ken, and Alan)

 Women's A (Sydney, Shaye, Jenny) All photos from Ian Burke (NAU)

Team Omnium Podium: UA, ASU, NAU

Credit: Sarah Muench/Clipped In

We wrapped up our 2017 road season with an exciting crit at South Mountain in Phoenix, AZ. The leaders jerseys in the men's and women's A races changed hands back to their original wears before the Albuquerque weekend. Congrats to all the winners on the day- you can catch up on all the action at Clipped In!