Riders sprinting into Miss-N-Out event

Every rider who has trained for the Little 500 has dreams of making that last dash to the finish line for the win. But only a handful actually get the chance.\nCome Saturday, riders will be put in that position for an entire day during Miss-N-Outs, the second installment of the Little 500 series events and the most popular spectator event.\nThis is the third time in the past week that riders are mounting their bikes for a day at the track.\nThe event is divided into four rounds with eight or nine riders in each heat in the first round. They will then ride around the track until the heats are down to three riders, with the last rider dropping from the heat after each time around. In the second round, heats are made up of six riders, and with the same format as the first round, but only two advance. \nThe third round features eight riders per heat and the final six riders advance to the last round. There, the field is narrowed down to two riders who then race each other in one last lap to determine the Miss-N-Out champion.\nBesides working on the stretch run, pack riding and sprinting are large parts of the skills tested in the event. \n"It's head to head," said IU Student Foundation assistant director and Little 500 coordinator Alex Ihnen. "If you beat somebody, they have to leave. It's by far the most aggressive racing." \nOn the men's side, much of the competition from last year has graduated, so many of this year's successful riders are looking to take the top spot in the event. Mark Marketti of Phi Delta Theta won the event last year, senior Luke Isenbarger of The Corleones took second and senior Mark Downing from ACR Cycling took third. \nThe field for this year's race has intense competition as the final times for Individual Time Trials (ITTs) were within tenths of seconds of each other. \n"This is the strongest field I have seen in my four years riding," Downing said. "(The event) has a lot to do with who's good at the final lap. It's a sprint to the finish line. But not everyone shows up to these things."\nThe highest returning finisher from last year's Miss-N-Out, Isenbarger, finished second a year ago. In the first Little 500 series event, ITTs, he finished third, which isn't what he planned on.\n"I'm looking to redeem myself since stuff didn't work out in ITTs," Isenbarger said. \nAgain in this event, Isenbarger is setting his goals high and looks forward but is wary of the competition. The trust people gain at the track is essential to riding with so many others, Isenbarger said.\n"It's important to understand how other people ride," he said. "There needs to be trust between people, (the other riders) need to get to know how people ride."\nAside from his concerns, Isenbarger is looking for a good day on Saturday.\n"My goal is to win," he said.\nOn the opposite side of the bracket from Isenbarger, senior Analisa Dziedziejko of Phi Mu is the lone returner from the final women's heat of a year ago. \nFor the women of the pole sitters, Dziedziejko feels that Miss-N-Outs is a great opportunity for them to learn how to ride from the pole. \n"You want to be in the front of the pack, to stay out of wrecks." she said. "It's also helpful to lead packs to set your own pace."\nAnd if Phi Mu slips into the middle of the pack, Miss-N-Out will also benefit her team. \n"I think it's very important that we do pack riding," Dziedziejko said. "Since we are the pole, getting girls as much practice in pack riding that we can is great."\nBesides Dziedziejko, ITT champion junior Corey Bitzer of Alpha Gamma Delta is a favorite as well.\nAnd the riders of Kappa Kappa Gamma, who are currently atop the Overall Series points standings, are also favorites. \nThe first heat starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nStaff reporter Katie Schoenbaechler contributed to this report.