Many Appalachian State students are interested in cycling; it is obvious judging how many students use the stationary bicycles at the Quinn Center or Mt. Mitchell. What many students do not realize is that ASU has its own cycling team. 

Students Eric Marquez and Gary Greer started the team four years ago.  It has developed into an 11-member coed team with nine men and two women.  This year’s team is the largest yet. 

The cycling team is a member of the National Collegiate Cycling Association (NCCA) and competes regularly with regional schools. The list of opponents includes UNC-Asheville, UNC-Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Navy, University of Georgia, University of Virginia, and University of South Carolina.  There are six races during the regular season, and the top two teams from the region go to nationals.  According to team member Brock Helms, the ASU team is in strong contention to make nationals. 

Along with the six road races, the teams have mountain biking competitions.  ASU will host a mountain bike competition during the summer at Beech Mountain. 

It has not yet been determined whether the team will be hosting a regular road race.  The ASU cycling team has limitations in that it does not receive any financial support from the university.  Most of the other cycling teams do receive financial support from their schools. 

According to Helms, there is a great deal of cost that goes into putting on a bike race.  There are also regular costs that come with transportation and housing for races, uniforms, and other regular expenses.  The team must depend on sponsorship to pay these costs.  The cycling team does a lot without getting anything from the school, said Helms. 

Some of the major sponsors of the cycling team are Magic Cycles, Bolle sunglasses and The Curiosity Shop.  The owner of The Curiosity Shop, Randy Feister, is also the team’s coach.  Helms said that Feister has donated a great deal of his personal money to the team. 

Feister and the cycling team have a very close relationship.  “Without him, we wouldn’t have the cycling team,” said Helms.  “He is like our mentor.” 

Feister has the team over to his house for dinner every Thursday night.  He attends all their races and helps organize a great deal of their events. 
Feister’s sense of leadership and camaraderie has filtered down through the team. 

According to Helms, the team is like a fraternity.  They spend time together outside of cycling and have developed a great sense of friendship. 
The team’s sense of friendship and teamwork outside of racing translates into teamwork during competition. 

Contrary to popular belief, cycling is a group effort rather than an individual competition.   The strategy in cycling is to stay in the group for most of the race and pull away from the pack at the end. 

Helms explained some of the techniques that teams use, such as drafting.  Drafting is when one racer gets behind another racer in order to feed off his or her draft.  As a result, the racer in front uses up a great deal of energy while the racer in back saves energy for the final sprint.  Helms compared it to driving behind a large truck on the highway. 

By being in the front of a drafting situation, the racer sacrifices his or her position in the race.  It is done in order for the person in the back to be in a position to win the race and, as a result, gain more points for the team.  When asked if he would be willing to sacrifice his position in the race for the sake of the team, Helms said “I wouldn’t mind doing that at all.” 

Each competition consists of three races.  Every school has an A, B and C team. The strongest cyclists race in the A race.  Each race contributes to the overall standings of the teams. 

Helms explained that if there is a cyclist that is on the borderline between teams, he or she will often race with the lower team to increase the chance of winning the race and gaining more points. 

The team practices all around the Boone area.  They often ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone to Grandfather Mountain and back.  They also go to Beech Mountain to practice.  Helms said that the Appalachian Mountains are a great place to practice and attract many professional cyclists.  The steep inclines, thin air, and mountain scenery give the mountains their popularity. 

According to Helms, cycling  is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer.  The Tour de France attracts millions of live spectators every year.  People line up on both sides of the road on stretches for up to 150 miles to cheer on the cyclists.  Helms also said that some of the professional cyclists that race in competitions like the Tour de France make millions of dollars a year. 

The cycling team welcomes interested students to get involved with the team.  They are looking for both men and women to join. 
Those interested can contact team president Adam Hoppe at 262-5716.