Quals to kick off Little 500 Saturday

Months of training will be put to the test Saturday during the 2014 Little 500 qualifications at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

This year marks the 64th running of the men’s Little 500 and 27th edition of the women’s race. Thirty-seven men’s and 35 women’s teams will attempt to qualify for one of the 33 spots in each race.

Qualification times were chosen Monday evening in a double-random draw.

The top three men’s and women’s teams from the fall cycling series were awarded the opportunity to pick their qualification times, but the rest had to endure the suspense of picking their times out of a hat.

Phi Gamma Delta, known as Fiji, will kick off the event with the first trial at 8 a.m. The track conditions may change over the course of the day, potentially giving some teams an advantage.  

Alpha Epsilon Phi rider Sydney Aronovitz said the track might be a little fresher early in the morning, while Liz Lieberman, a cyclist for Kappa Alpha Theta, said mornings tend to be wet and windy.

“It’s definitely something to take into consideration,” Lieberman said.

Given the split personality of the weather in Indiana, there is no way to accurately predict what the conditions of the track will be until race day.

Theta rider Brenna Mcginn said the weather changed about three teams this week, adding that her team doesn’t know if there are potential advantages of qualifying early in the morning or later in the day.

She offers simple advice for cyclists attempting to combat Mother Nature.

“Pedal harder,” Mcginn said with a laugh.

AEPhi rider Margot Kleinberg said her team is happy with its early qualification time. AEPhi is scheduled to take the track at 9:40 a.m.

“We’re really excited about that so we can kind of get it over with,” she said. “Our heads will be clear for the rest of the day. We won’t be thinking about it.”

AEPhi is made up entirely of rookies, so it has less cycling experience compared to veteran teams.

Kleinberg said her team is just learning, making the road ahead for AEPhi a little more nerve-racking. She said her team rides every day, and they have spent three hours per day at the track in the days leading up to qualifications.

“It’s that intense,” Kleinberg said. “It’s unlike any other sport you’ve ever
experienced.”

Qualifications will continue until 4:25 p.m., when Cutters will be the final team to take the track. Teams can choose to attempt to qualify for a third time at 5 p.m.

In each qualification attempt, teams will ride four consecutive laps, with a different rider riding each lap.

The first rider will get one warm-up lap and the attempt officially starts once the rider crosses the start-finish line.

After each lap, the rider will exchange the bike with his or her teammate, and the exchange must take place within 16 feet of either side of the start and finish line. The attempt is over as soon as the fourth rider crosses the finish line.

Theta cyclist Abbey Rogers said the key to performing well Saturday will be her team’s mindset.

“I think (it’s) the mentality of ‘we’ve done this a thousand times already,’” she said. “Nothing is changing. It’s us, the bike and the track.”

While that mantra sounds good in theory, Saturday will be so much more than just the cyclists and their bikes. The stadium will be brought to life with thousands of fans supporting the riders.

“It’s not just the four of us,” Lieberman said. “But it’s your house or your parents or whoever is coming to support you. You have a hundred of your friends cheering you on.”

New and established teams alike will leave it all on the track Saturday, as four men’s teams and two women’s teams will not make the cut.

Qualifying for the Little 500 is the most important part of Saturday. Earning a good position in April’s race is just the cherry on top.

“Our goal is just to qual,” Aronovitz said. “We don’t care exactly how fast we are, but we just want to make it.”