Chelminiak, Doogs top riders to watch at ITTs

For the only time during the Little 500 Spring Series, it will be all about the individual performances of riders.

Beginning at 3:55 p.m. Wednesday, female riders and their male counterparts will take to the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium for the 2013 Individual Time Trials.

The event consists of heats of four riders each completing four laps around the track from a stationary starting position located at one of the four turns.
 
Riders are sorted based on their four-lap time.

Reigning ITT champion Kathleen Chelminiak, a senior rider for Kappa Alpha Theta, headlines the field this season. The experience she gained from placing first one year ago will be vital to a repeat performance, she said.

“I think it’s good to already have experience because you know what to expect overall, and you know what to expect pain-wise,” Chelminiak said. “It’s something you have to keep pushing through, regardless of how your legs are feeling or what the other people are doing.”

Kayce Doogs, a senior rider for Delta Gamma, said the burden of expectations after a third-place finish in last year’s ITT’s.

“Obviously, it puts a little pressure on your back to perform as well as you did,” Doogs said. “It’s important to ignore last year’s results and to go with how you feel with the training you’ve done during the past year. It’s really a chance to see all the hard work you’ve put in pay off.”

Unlike the other events in the Spring Series, ITT’s stray entirely from the team-oriented competition riders become accustomed to.

“Everyone has their own ITT strategy,” Chelminiak said. “You have to make sure that you know what yours is and not let other people influence it.”

Doogs echoed those sentiments, noting the total self-reliance not found in the team competitions.

“It’s the only time during the season where you can 100 percent hold only yourself accountable for your results,” Doogs said. “If you don’t get the time that you wanted, it’s completely your fault.

“For the personal development of a rider, this is the one time where it’s just you and showing what you’re capable of and showing what you can do,” Doogs said.

Despite having an introverted, individual focus, riders also have their teammates in mind and desire to see them do well.

“A lot of it is for your team,” Chelminiak said. “You’re all rooting for each other and your team. Mostly everything about Little 500 is team-oriented. I’m always thinking to myself, ‘What’s best for Theta Cycling?’”

Doogs had a similar train of thought about representing her team.

“Winning it is obviously a great confidence-booster for yourself, but also for your team because your team is attached to your name,” Doogs said.