Best is yet to come

Before they could race on single-speed Schwinns, women competed in the Mini 500, riding AMF Roadmaster tricycles around a loop inside Assembly Hall. In 1986, Kappa Alpha Theta assembled a team to qualify for the exclusively male Little 500. Another all-woman team had tried in 1981, but “man-to-man” exchanges became their downfall. The Thetas weren’t plagued by faulty exchanges. They made the board at 3:07.74, but other teams’ faster times forced them out to finish 34th.

Thanks to collaboration by the IU Student Foundation and the IU Office of Women’s Affairs, the inaugural women’s race came to fruition in 1987. That same Saturday, the Mini 500 trikes were offered to men, too. Nine men’s teams lined up against a staggering 54 women’s teams, including Theta.

In 2006, almost 20 years later, the women’s Little 500 field was full. It hit capacity again this year, and with no clear-cut winner, it might be the most competitive, ever. The women complete only half the distance and exchanges required of men, but the race has come a long way. It’s competitive. It’s serious. It’s a bike race.

The most memorable running of the women’s Little 500 might not have occurred yet.

In the 24 years since the inaugural race, perhaps no field has been as competitive as the one fans will see take to the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Friday.

“I think that’s a pretty fair assessment,” Little 500 Race Coordinator Jordan Bailey said of the assertion. “I haven’t been around for all 26 of the races, but this year is certainly the most competitive in recent history.”

The top five finishing teams of last year’s race—Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Teter, Wing It Cycling and Kappa Kappa Gamma—are legitimate contenders for this year’s title, making the 2013 edition one of the deepest in memory.

“On the women’s side, five or, potentially, six teams all have a legitimate shot at winning,” Bailey said.  “Oftentimes, you have a handful of standout teams that have a legitimate shot at winning, but with this year in particular, the field is just wide open.”

Rachel Metherd, a Kappa Alpha Theta rider, also noted this year’s incredibly competitive field, and openly admitted she and her team’s willingness to work with other teams during the heat of the race.

“I guess what excites us most is that there’s always people you can work with in a situation if you need to,” she said. “Obviously, you want to win. Being a competitive team ourselves, we know the other people on the other good teams. I’m sure they’re willing to work with us because we’re more than willing to work with them to reach our end goal.”

It’s a rare mentality that few teams would adopt, and one that Metherd believes remains consistent on an annual basis.

“The competition doesn’t really change our mentality from year to year,” she said. “Yeah, there are a lot of returning riders from good teams, but I don’t think we look at the race any differently this year as opposed to last year.

“I think because we’ve been riding with the same riders for at least one or two years we know their strengths and weaknesses,” Metherd said.

Teter senior rider Lisa Hutcheson noted not only the quality of the riders, but also the extraordinary depth of that quality.

“It’s a totally different experience with everybody being experienced racers,” she said.  “There are 20 girls out there who are experienced riders and who are really good at racing, so you really have to strategize more and really try to counteract everyone’s move instead of just sticking with your plan.

“That’s probably the most challenging part of the race,” Hutcheson said.

While outright team speed is a crucial element in a victorious formula, a mastery of all racing elements is necessary for the claiming of a championship.

Bailey said each of this year’s contending teams possesses those traits.

“Each of these contending teams is capable of winning in a variety of ways,” he said. “It’ll make for an exciting race on Friday.”

And in a rather peculiar turn of events, the women’s race can and should be considered more exciting and entertaining than that of the men’s race, per Bailey.

“I will even go so far as to say that if you compare the women’s race to the men’s race, it has the potential to be more exciting,” he  said. “On the men’s side, it’s a little more clear cut who the favorites are, and you have your usual suspects.”

That distinction given to the women’s field as was an honor for Hutcheson, whose feelings on the matter were nearly identical.

“I would say the women’s field is on a more even playing field this year than the men’s race,” she said. “It’s going to be a more quality race this year than ever, and that’s a huge thing.  Basically everyone who is going to be on the last lap is going to be a graduating senior, which is a huge thing. It’s very rare to see the top 10 riders from one race be seniors.

“There are really experienced riders, more so than the men’s side because it will be a better match-up and more competitive,” Hutcheson said.

For Metherd and Kappa Alpha Theta, the boast of the women’s field the premier race this spring has delivered satisfying feelings.

She even mentioned last year’s women’s race being, perhaps, more enticing than the men’s.

“It makes me feel really good,” Metherd said. “It was an exciting race last year. I think anyone who was there wouldn’t argue with me on that one.  It’s cool that the girls’ side of a sport is more exciting.

“It’s a shorter race, so spectators won’t really lose their attention span,” Metherd said.
Bailey echoed Metherd’s sentiments on the dynamics of the women’s race, which consists of just 100 laps, compared to 200 for the men.

“Again, just the nature of the race being only 100 laps, that in and of itself makes the event more exciting because you have such a narrow margin to make mistakes,” Bailey said.  “If you make a mistake, it’s going to be very difficult to be there at the end.”

Bailey compounded that belief in a historical context and cited the absence of an annual contender as reason enough to truly appreciate the rapid improvement of the women’s field. 

“It’s tough to be competitive in the women’s field today because there are so many riders who take it so seriously,” he said. “I think a perfect example of that is that the Collins women’s team did not qualify for the event this year.

One year ago, the Collins women placed eighth in the race with a time of 1:13.20.
While the women’s Little 500 is simply an intramural cycling race, its once latent equality has finally manifested.

That it is no longer seen as inferior to the men’s race speaks volumes of the progression and budding notoriety of women’s sports on a universal scale.

“I think it displays kind of a culture shift,” Bailey said. “Women’s sports have come a long way in recent history.”