"The team has built a reputation as a strong cycling team and that draws good riders every year, especially in the last three years," Kevin Wolfson '08 said. "Plus the riding up here is phenomenal and we all get along in a way that motivates us. I think we all share a pretty deep love for the sport."
"We train a lot and we hang out a lot. It's a really close-knit group," Toby Marzot '09 added.
On Sunday, May 13, the Dartmouth cycling team finished a successful trip to the national championship at Fort Lewis College in Lawrence, Kan., by securing second place in the Division II team Omnium standings. The Big Green finished behind Western Washington University and ahead of 38 other schools including Princeton, Yale and Notre Dame.
The team was led to its impressive finish by Marzot, who won the competition's road race.
"The big highlight of the season was definitely seeing [Marzot] win the
national championship road race," Wolfson said. "He had talked all season about how he wanted to win, and I know he's wanted a jersey for a long time, so that was phenomenal."
"It is great to have a national champion on the team," captain Jonathan "Rudy" Awerbuch '07 added.
Jennifer Stebbins '09 and Eric Schildge '10 also secured points for Dartmouth by finishing fourth and eighth, respectively, in the Criterium. With his finish in the Criterium and a seventh-place finish in the road race, Schildge took second in the Division II individual Omnium, only two points out of first.
The Dartmouth women secured points for the Big Green by placing fourth in the team time trial, an impressive feat considering they were biking one rider short, with three riders compared to the standard four.
After a disappointing team finish last year at nationals, the Big Green was pleased with this year's results.
"Last year we were not in the top five and I think we were excited to do as well as we did this year," Stebbins said.
"This year we didn't expect to do as well as we did, it was definitely a rebuilding year," Schildge added.
Awerbuch believed nationals would present one of the greatest challenges to the Dartmouth cycling squad.
"We knew we had a strong team going in to it, but the level of competition seems to increase to a higher level every year, so one can never be too confident," Awerbuch said.
Wolfson also knew that the competition would lack a feel of familiarity.
"I think we had a mix of high expectations and some uncertainty that comes with nationals about what schools were threats," Wolfson said.
Although the team was stunned at this year's finish, historically the results are unsurprising. The Big Green were the Division II national champions in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Dartmouth cycling is excited for the arrival of Arielle Filiberti '11 and Peter Nowadnick '11, both experienced riders poised to make contributions to the Big Green next year.
"I raced against Arielle in high school. She was the cyclocross national champion in 2005," Stebbins said.
"We will be faster next year. I don't want to jinx us this early in the game, but I think we have a great shot at the national championship," Awerbuch said.
"We have a lot of potential to do really well next year because of the ones who went to nationals, only two [riders] are graduating," Stebbins said.
While the Big Green has many experienced riders, the team also has a number of novices who contribute.
"It is the easiest sport on campus to get involved in and once you are on the team you are part of a really welcoming environment. College cycling is set up so that you can go to a race with no experience," Schildge said.
Now the team captain, Awerbuch began biking only after he came to Dartmouth.
"I started my career with Dartmouth cycling by borrowing a stranger's road bike and jumping right in to a road race and losing, but I was hooked," he said. "The team quickly became a great group of friends. After riding with the more experienced racers, training hard for a few years, and racing a lot, I'm up there competing at the top level of college racing, and leading the Dartmouth team as team captain. Maybe my story isn't typical, but Dartmouth doesn't just attract great bike racers. We make them here too."
