One final test before race

For weeks, months and in some cases, years, Little 500 riders have been working as one to form the perfect team. They train together, ride together and some even live together. \nAs the teams take the track next weekend, the unity and strength they've been building will be tested, but before the race, there is one final test of rider ability: Team Pursuit. \nThe final of the Little 500 spring series events -- Team Pursuit -- will begin tonight at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The event is the most team-oriented of the series events, and tests pack riding and a team's overall ability. \nThe event begins with two teams on opposite sides of the infield, which then run to their bikes lying on the track. The teams ride against each other as a pack for 15 laps for men and 12 for women. The two teams with the fastest times from the preliminary heats will then advance to the final race which determines the winner.\n"This is the best indicator of a team's depth and ability to work together," said Rob Rhamy, IU Student Foundation Director of Little 500. "There is a lot more strategy involved."\nRhamy said the teams that traditionally do well in the event are teams with depth; meaning four riders that can pack ride together for 12 to 15 laps. To be successful, teams must ride for the set amount of laps together without dropping any riders. \n"Teams don't want to have to wait for other teammates so the teams that are only two deep are going to have problems. Look for Cutters to do well -- they have a deep team, (Alpha Tau Omega), has a balanced team. On the women's side, there's Kappa (Kappa Gamma), (Kappa Alpha) Theta and Teter," Rhamy said.\nDespite the strong mens' teams, the event may look different from last year. The first and second place teams from last year's event -- Gafombi and the Corleones respectively -- have since graduated. With this void, other successful teams from last year will have a chance to claim the top spot, including Alpha Tau Omega, which took third, Phi Delta Theta which finished fourth and Acacia rounded out the top five. \nThe women's event is expected to be more of the same from 2003, with teams such as Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Teter and Athena placing high. Kappa finished first last year, after Team Athena failed to finish. Theta finished third and Teter, fourth. \nKappa rider, sophomore Jessica Sapp, is looking forward to her first attempt at Team Pursuit. Sapp, who competed in Individual Time Trials and Miss-N-Out last year, said despite her team's philosophy of not placing too much emphasis on series events, the event can still show talent of individual riders. \n"I learned what I know from the other girls on my team," Sapp said. "They don't place much emphasis on series events. They are for fun. (The team) taught me to think about them as practice and to not put too much emphasis on them."\nWhile the event is a team test, it is also hailed as a rider favorite. The fast pace and strategy that goes into the event challenges riders, but also gives them the chance to work as a team -- which no other series event allows.\n"Team Pursuit can show how teams work well together and it's the best indicator of how strong and deep a team is," senior Tom Meersman of Alpha Tau Omega said. "It's the best out of the series events, but it's hard as hell."\n-- Contact staff writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.