Chasing Cutters, men's teams aim for front spot

The checkered flag waved, the crowd flooded the walkway and one by one, members of Delta Tau Delta’s cycling team grabbed the fence surrounding the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

They lifted themselves up and threw their bodies into the arms of brothers and fans.

They smiled, screamed and celebrated their finish in the race — second place.
Among riders, it’s joked about as the most celebrated second-place finish in the history of the Little 500, but Delta Tau Delta riders were celebrating their fraternity’s highest finish in Little 500 history last April.

“It was a culmination of really three years of work,” senior Jon Myrvold said. “Our goal this year is to just have everybody ride well and in position on the last lap for the win. That’s really all we can ask for.”

Like Delts, Phi Gamma Delta wants to be in good position in the pack for the final lap of the 60th running of the men’s Little 500.

“Especially with a forecast of rain, it’s going to be critical to stay in the front,” junior Fiji rider Rett Deinlein said. “Hopefully by staying in the front, we’ll put ourselves in the position to win.”

While Fiji has placed in the top eight for five of the last six years, Delts struggled to crack the top 30.

Phi Delta Theta’s cycling team is a different story. Since 2007, they have placed 14th, 15th and 15th, respectively.

This spring season, Phi Delt showed up to the competition like a top-10 team, winning Team Pursuit and placing three riders in the finals of Individual Time Trials.

“Two years ago, we kind of came into the race ... we thought we had higher potential than we really had,” senior Phi Delt rider Baxter Burnworth said. “Last year, I think that the race kind of got taken away from us, so we prepared this year so we would not have that happen again. Last year’s finish was much worse than we deserved, which that’s Little 500.”

Another race under its wheels made Phi Delts aware that being stuck in the pack is not an option this year. Burnworth said the team ideally wants to ride clean and be in a good position to be the first to cross the chalked line on the track.

But then again, that’s Delts’ and Fiji’s idea, too.

“It’s racing to win,” Myrvold said. “The Cutters are one team, in the past three years the most dominant team on the track, but it is a race against the 33 teams on the track.”