Though the fields for the men’s and women’s Little 500 were set Saturday, the biggest story of the day was who didn’t make the race.\nDefending men’s champion Alpha Tau Omega failed to make the field for the 57th men’s Little 500 after faulting on all three qualification attempts.\nATO faulted on their first two attempts by dropping the bike during an exchange, forcing the team to try one final time at the end of the day.\nThe third run ended on the first exchange for the reigning champs. The team unsuccessfully attempted a full bike exchange, which occurs when each rider uses a different bike. However, the second rider began moving before his teammate, Robert Perez, completed the hand tag, required by rule.\nA judge raised a yellow flag signaling a fault, which angered ATO riders and fans.\n“We didn’t know about the rule,” Perez said. “We did it both the first time and the second time and nothing was called. He called it (the third time). I don’t know what the deal is with the flag man. ... It’s bullshit.” \nLittle 500 race coordinator Matthew Ewing defended the judge’s ruling.\n“I tell the people at the meetings that it’s the judge’s call,” Ewing said. “It’s out of my hand at that point. They know the rules, and how they call it is how they call it. ... (The rule is) pretty cut and dry.”\nATO is the first defending champion in the 57-year history of the race to fail to qualify for the next year’s race.\nThe last time no team wore a yellow jersey was 2004, when then-defending champ Gafombi did not field a team. At no other point has a defending champ been absent from the next race.\nAfter a day of fast racing, Phi Kappa Psi and Beta Theta Pi took the top two places for the men’s race, which will take place April 21. Teter and Kappa Delta finished one and two for the April 20 women’s race.\nOn the men’s side, the Cutters started the morning on the pole, staying there until late afternoon. As the day progressed, the track became faster, and times improved. Two different teams took the lead in the afternoon before Phi Psi won the pole with the second-to-last run of the day.\nPhi Psi junior rider David Schweer said the team is excited to sit atop the field to start the annual cycling race.\n“It’s just great,” Schweer said. “The pole doesn’t necessarily translate into race-day performance, but this is a great way to get Little 5 season started.”\nAlpha Gamma Delta took an early lead for the women in the morning until Kappa Delta beat AGD’s time by more than two seconds. About a half-hour after KD’s attempt, Teter stole the pole with a time of 2:38.19.\n“We probably had the best run we could have gotten,” junior Teter rider Sarah Rieke said. “Yeah, we could have pushed a little faster here or there, but it was great.”\nLittle 500 riders take the track again Wednesday for Individual Time Trials.
2007 Little 500 qualification times
Men’s Little 500 qualification times
1 Phi Kappa Psi 02:18.83\n2 Beta Theta Pi 02:21.81\n3 Pi Kappa Alpha 02:21.93\n4 Phi Delta Theta 02:22.94\n5 Cutters 02:23.41\n6 Black Key Bulls 02:23.64\n7 Phi Gamma Delta 02:23.88\n8 Team Major Taylor 02:24.45\n9 Dodds House 02:24.72\n10 Delta Sigma Pi 02:24.87\n11 Sigma Alpha Mu 02:25.18\n12 Theta Chi 02:25.64\n13 Delta Tau Delta 02:26.13\n14 Alpha Epsilon Pi 02:27.22\n15 Acacia 02:27.44\n16 Cinzano 02:27.81\n17 Evans Scholars 02:28.80\n18 Achtung 02:29.06\n19 Sigma Phi Epsilon 02:29.13\n20 Kappa Sigma 02:29.25\n21 Phi Kappa Sigma 02:29.79\n22 Delta Upsilon 02:30.61\n23 Sigma Nu 02:30.81\n24 Phi Sigma Kappa 02:31.19\n25 Wright Cycling 02:31.99\n26 Sigma Chi 02:32.71\n27 Team SOFA 02:34.35\n28 IU Mens Rugby 02:34.89\n29 ACC 02:35.36\n30 Sigma Pi 02:35.37\n31 Chi Phi 02:36.21\n32 Lambda Chi Alpha 02:37.02\n33 Pi Kappa Phi 02:37.08\nDid Not Qualify Forest Cycling 02:37.52\nDid Not Qualify Delta Kappa Epsilon 02:37.74\nDid Not Qualify Phi Kappa Tau 02:40.96\nDid Not Qualify Alpha Phi Omega 02:41.36\nDid Not Qualify Teter 02:47.63\nDid Not Qualify Collins FAULT\nDid Not Qualify Zeta Beta Tau FAULT\nDid Not Qualify Alpha Tau Omega FAULT\nDid Not Qualify Armed Forces FAULT
Women’s Little 500 qualification times\n1 Teter 02:38.19\n2 Kappa Delta 02:39.65\n3 Cycledelics 02:39.73\n4 Kappa Alpha Theta 02:40.92\n5 Alpha Gamma Delta 02:41.50\n6 Delta Gamma 02:42.95\n7 Delta Sigma Pi 02:44.92\n8 Athena 02:45.90\n9 Alpha Phi 02:46.32\n10 Alpha Omicron Pi 02:46.96\n11 Gamma Phi Beta 02:47.53\n12 Kappa Kappa Gamma 02:48.09\n13 Army Women 02:48.46\n14 Alpha Chi Omega 02:49.85\n15 Team Gluff 02:50.39\n16 Chi Omega 02:51.69\n17 Wing It 02:51.75\n18 Zeta Tau Alpha 02:51.85\n19 Delta Zeta 02:52.29\n20 High Ride 02:52.51\n21 Bella Veloce 02:52.59\n22 Alpha Xi Delta 02:53.42\n23 Alpha Delta Pi 02:56.50\n24 Phi Mu 02:56.53\n25 ACC Women 02:59.91\n26 Team Revolution 03:01.69\n27 Collins 03:04.47\n28 Pi Beta Phi 03:06.15\n29 Delta Delta Delta 03:09.43\n30 Sigma Delta Tau 03:12.38\n31 Alpha Epsilon Phi 03:20.68
