Northwestern University Cycling Team

[William]

Originally Posted by echappist

most of us who participated would never had the chance had collegiate cycling been a varsity sport. The beauty of it all is to have a cat-1/2 (or sometimes even a domestic pro) and a cat-5 on the same team, and having the more experienced riders helping and coaching the newer riders. Limiting it to something to be showcased for TV is going to detract from that



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This is one of the things I loved about collegiate cycling. We had pro/1/2's, State Champions, Olympic junior champion, and guys that ran the gamut in between. I already had good bike handling skills going into it, but the more experienced guys in racing really went out of their way to help everyone out on the team become better riders and tacticians. Awesome time!







William

[Ti Designs]

Originally Posted by echappist

most of us who participated would never had the chance had collegiate cycling been a varsity sport. The beauty of it all is to have a cat-1/2 (or sometimes even a domestic pro) and a cat-5 on the same team, and having the more experienced riders helping and coaching the newer riders. Limiting it to something to be showcased for TV is going to detract from that

Varsity vs club sport: The big difference is money. Make it varsity and the team is four ringers and their supporting cast, offered incentives or scholarships and sent to the races in chartered busses with team vans following close behind. There's also school pride involved, and probably some doping. Don't we already have that - do we really need more?

Keep it a club sport and any freshman can walk onto campus and join the team. They'll get help from more experienced riders who were in their shoes in past years. It is honestly the best way to get into the sport. You show up, you learn, you race, you pass what you've learned on...

The down side of being a club sport is the same as the up side - no money. I was recently staying in Craftsbury Vermont as a location to start rides. They have a rowing program there, they never had fewer than 6 coaches who are paid to be there. By comparison, I've been coaching the Harvard cycling team for 15 years, I've gotten 15 jerseys and an ice-cream machine... Sadly, importance is linked to money in our society.