Trial for speeding

With the field set for the 57th annual Little 500, the teams can now focus on winning the spring series to prepare for the intramural cycling race.\nTonight the Individual Time Trial will kick off the spring series events, determining which team will wear the coveted white jersey on race day. \nWhile the time trials and spring series events do not affect the outcome of the main race, senior Dodds House rider Chris Chartier said the events are a good way to compete and have fun at the same time.\n“We are just throwing down,” Chartier said. “I love it. We get all the heats coming in all day and tons of riders are doing it. Usually it gets energized for the power hour when all the big time rollers get going.”\nSix of the top-10 finishers from last year’s Individual Time Trial will be challenged by many other riders who want the crown of best sprinter at IU. \nJunior Cutters rider Alex Bishop is the highest returning finisher and is favored by many to win the event.\n“Alex Bishop will put in a really fast time,” senior Black Key Bulls rider Ryan Knapp said. “It depends on what the track is like. He could challenge for the track record. He’ll be flying.”\nJunior Beta Theta Pi rider Nathan Miller said also that Bishop had a good chance to win, but noted that several riders can win tonight.\n“It doesn’t really matter who has done what,” Miller said. “It’s four laps and the top riders are going to be separated by a fraction of a second, so any given day it could be five different guys.”\nThe event is grueling with each rider sprinting all-out for four laps. Though difficult, pushing through the pain makes the event worthwhile, Knapp said.\n“For ITTs you just put yourself in as much pain as you can and just deal with it because it’s going to be over in two and a half minutes anyway,” Knapp said. “It will be painful for two and a half minutes, but not half as painful as knowing you did a bad time because you didn’t go as hard as you can.”\n– Sports Editor Michael Sanserino contributed to this report.