Monday, May 4, 2009
Mid-Week Crit Win in Pitt for IUP!
On Tuesday, April 28th, at the start of finals week, Duane Corbett and first time racer John Churan headed out to Pittsburgh's Washington Blvd. Cycling Oval. The two thought this would be ideal speed training and experience for the ECCC PSU race the upcoming weekend. Despite the less than favorable weather conditions and getting lost around Pittsburgh, they arrived in time to register and watch the women's and juniors' race. The men's race consisted of 32 laps including 5 initial neutral laps. The race was full of tactical drafting and sprints around the short and often awkward track. Throughout the race there were prizes, called "primes," for winning a lap- keeping the pace and focus up. Duane won two of these "$5 primes" early, and John did not leave empty handed winning one prime- both showing ability to commit to and win sprints. With three laps to go the real speed and positioning tactics were in play with Duane in front and John in a more comfortable 3rd. On the final lap there was one breakaway sprint from two other racers that was caught and the race would be decided by a final stretch sprint. Just off the final turn John was unfortunately sandwiched between two other riders carefully avoiding a crash as he began his run at the finish line, only to finish 7th. Duane, however, was able to catch a clear outside lane near the front and sprinted to his second season win. The two IUP racers were congratulated for their efforts and left Pittsburgh in high spirits and eager legs for their next test the upcoming weekend at PSU.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Mingo Creek
Sunday was the first day of the Mingo Creek Spring Road Race Series. Duane Corbett headed out solo in the wet and wild weather that quickly dropped what felt like 10 degrees from the time he registered to the start of the race. What also made it bad was only having 2.5 hours of sleep and a poor breakfast. Despite the weather, a lot of riders showed up for what turned out to be a good race. Unfortunately, with the grit still on the road from winter, there was a lot of flats and our IUP rider was one of them. Sitting near the front in the second lap Duane was forced out due to a front flat. Not a good reward for braving harsh weather conditions and lack of sleep. There's still two more races left in the series though, so maybe this weekend will be a second chance.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Start the year off with a win!
Duane Corbett and John Blank set out to Lancaster over the weekend to get their first races of the year under their belt. Saturday they hit it off with the Farmersville road race. Didn't go as well as they hoped. The entire field of 85 riders split in half on the second lap and they were at the wrong end of it. Duane blames his poor positioning on riding up to the start line late with a warm up jacket on and then getting the zipper stuck while trying to take it off at the start of the second lap. Duane ended up getting 36th out of it, at least winning the sprint out of the second half of riders. Sunday was a better day at the New Holland criterium. Both guys started off in the D race. Duane took too early of a lead out in the final laps and finished 6th. John didn't do bad either but the results only list the top five riders. Immediately following the D race Duane also did the C race. He worked his way to the front for the final laps and held on to defend a good attack on the final lap and sprinted his way to his first win. Bill Laudien, an IUP cycling team alumni also was in the race and finished 5th. The guys were really glad to meet Bill and a few other IUP cycling alumni riders over the weekend. All in all, it was a good way to start the year off for the team.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
New Jerseys
Wow, I havent updated the blog since the last road season. I honestly forgot to add anything about the team and have been busy with school and dealing with the snowy season. We have had some new additions to the team for the spring road season and have also picked up a few bikes over the winter. I (Steven Brewer) have picked up a new road bike (Specialized Tarmac Pro SL) and a new time trial bike (Felt B2). Duane also has a bike coming in next week but he wishes to keep in a secret, but I will give you a hint (T-mobile). We also just ordered really nice jerseys over the winter and will be sporting this for the summer and fall road season. Anyway I'm off for now but will be back to update later. One an end note; the blog was link Smethports Wheel Around the Hub Page. I"m really hoping they have the race next fall, they have an awesome area and put together a really nice race. If we can only bring home the gold watch to IUP.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wheel Around The Hub
Duane and I travel a long and monotonous three hours to Smethport, PA for the Wheel Around The Hub Race. The drive was terribly boring, but at least we were in the truck which makes the trip a tad bit more enjoyable. I outfitted the truck with an in-bed rack that made the process of t
raveling a whole lot easier. I no longer had worry about my bike swinging off the back of my car. After finally arriving at the race, Duane opted to join the 53 mile circuit race while I remained copasetic with the 15 mile. After getting all our gear ready we went on a nice one lap warm up. The track was rather flat with one small hill at the finish, so I knew that the pace would be well over 20mph. Duane and I really felt good after the warm up and we were familiar with the turns and obstacles of the track. Overall the weather was great, it was a nice sunny day, and you couldn’t ask for better race conditions. We began to stage and listen to the instructions for each race and then proceed to the starting line. The 53 mile race took off and disappeared pretty fast after the straightway. When the 15 mile race began, I had a terrible time getting my left foot clipped in and I was shot out the back. I didn’t bother me because I knew most of the riders would drop off within the first lap and I waited patiently in the back. On the 2nd long straightaway I made some attacks to get into the lead back and began to share the pulling. I pulled the group into the bridge because I didn’t want to get hung up with someone and end up in a wreck. The pace was around 24mph and when I approached the next turn the fire marshal pointed straight so I followed his directions while everybody went right. Luckily, I cut back through the grass and caught the pack, one guy helped pull me back while we discussed how much of an idiot that guy was. After we finished the first lap the pace increased even more and a bunch of guys shot past me on the strait. Again, I just waited in the back and made an attack on the outside of the first turn. After crossing the bridge there were only 6 of us left in the lead pack. When we were about 2 miles from the finish the top three took off and left 
us remaining three. I soon discovered Duane and I instantly knew he has mechanical problems. He caught up to me and told me how he stripped his pedal out of the crank. He decided to help pull me through the finish and we were traveling about 30mph through some sharp turns. On the pull thought the one S turn I was too fast coming in, so I had to sit up and ended up going off into the gravel. Luckily I didn’t drop it and I ended up jumping the bike back onto the road. For that mistake the 2 guys in my pack left me and tired to draft off Duane. They ended up putting some distance on me, until that got to the turn and I made a decent attack, but the heading was terrible. I came within about three seconds of them and ended up finishing 6th overall. It was a great race and I brought home a medal. Hope to they have the race next year.
raveling a whole lot easier. I no longer had worry about my bike swinging off the back of my car. After finally arriving at the race, Duane opted to join the 53 mile circuit race while I remained copasetic with the 15 mile. After getting all our gear ready we went on a nice one lap warm up. The track was rather flat with one small hill at the finish, so I knew that the pace would be well over 20mph. Duane and I really felt good after the warm up and we were familiar with the turns and obstacles of the track. Overall the weather was great, it was a nice sunny day, and you couldn’t ask for better race conditions. We began to stage and listen to the instructions for each race and then proceed to the starting line. The 53 mile race took off and disappeared pretty fast after the straightway. When the 15 mile race began, I had a terrible time getting my left foot clipped in and I was shot out the back. I didn’t bother me because I knew most of the riders would drop off within the first lap and I waited patiently in the back. On the 2nd long straightaway I made some attacks to get into the lead back and began to share the pulling. I pulled the group into the bridge because I didn’t want to get hung up with someone and end up in a wreck. The pace was around 24mph and when I approached the next turn the fire marshal pointed straight so I followed his directions while everybody went right. Luckily, I cut back through the grass and caught the pack, one guy helped pull me back while we discussed how much of an idiot that guy was. After we finished the first lap the pace increased even more and a bunch of guys shot past me on the strait. Again, I just waited in the back and made an attack on the outside of the first turn. After crossing the bridge there were only 6 of us left in the lead pack. When we were about 2 miles from the finish the top three took off and left 
us remaining three. I soon discovered Duane and I instantly knew he has mechanical problems. He caught up to me and told me how he stripped his pedal out of the crank. He decided to help pull me through the finish and we were traveling about 30mph through some sharp turns. On the pull thought the one S turn I was too fast coming in, so I had to sit up and ended up going off into the gravel. Luckily I didn’t drop it and I ended up jumping the bike back onto the road. For that mistake the 2 guys in my pack left me and tired to draft off Duane. They ended up putting some distance on me, until that got to the turn and I made a decent attack, but the heading was terrible. I came within about three seconds of them and ended up finishing 6th overall. It was a great race and I brought home a medal. Hope to they have the race next year. Saturday, September 13, 2008
Tour de StrongLand
Tour de StrongLand Results
Results of the 11 mile off-road mountain bike race include Robert Charneski 23rd, David Wheatley 27th, and Duane Corbett 39th. Results of the 20 mile road race include Jonathan Yuhas 39th. Results of the 10 mile road race include Steven Brewer Jr. 7th
Results of the 11 mile off-road mountain bike race include Robert Charneski 23rd, David Wheatley 27th, and Duane Corbett 39th. Results of the 20 mile road race include Jonathan Yuhas 39th. Results of the 10 mile road race include Steven Brewer Jr. 7th
New Bethlehem Mountain Bike Race
Greetings,
Duane, Adam, Dave, Nate, and I took a trip up to the land of peanut butter today to the mountain bike race. It has been raining for the last three days so the course was full of washouts and mud. I was just along for the ride because I'm a true roadie (for now), but I wanted to be there to support our race team. I will say that I did have the itch to look into getting an MTB for next season, so we will see if one ends up in my house. There was a great turn out for the race and the
talent was spread pretty even. The weather started to clear up right before the beginning of the race; however, the temperature was pretty high along with the humidity. It was around 80 during the race, but the wetness was by no means clearing up. Our team was up at the front of the pack for the beginning of the race and then I lost sight of them as they went into the woods. Adam had some difficulty with a tire that seemed to go flat about three miles into the race. The race officials tried to help but only made the situation worst. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get it repaired and had to drop out. Adam said that he felt strong going into the woods, but got stuck in the bind with flat, so hopefully he will be back in order for the Penn State race in a few weeks. Duane, Adam, and Nate continued through into the woods, and stay up with the main pack. I saw Duane approach the finish line on foot dragging his bike, so I knew it was some type of mechanical failure. He said t
hat his rear derailleur broke completely off the frame and jammed his rear wheel. Anyway, he still led our team to the finish line first. Nate came in second for our team close behind Duane. He said that he got lost in the woods due to poorly marked trail, but was able to get back into position and finished with a decent time. Dave came in first for the mens 1-19 age group and brought home the gold for him and the team. Overall, the team did great and will be looking for getting the bikes together for the next race in Penn State. Lastly, I was able to score a free t-shirt from one of the race officials for my hard work as the team cameraman. Stay tuned for the official race results.
Duane, Adam, Dave, Nate, and I took a trip up to the land of peanut butter today to the mountain bike race. It has been raining for the last three days so the course was full of washouts and mud. I was just along for the ride because I'm a true roadie (for now), but I wanted to be there to support our race team. I will say that I did have the itch to look into getting an MTB for next season, so we will see if one ends up in my house. There was a great turn out for the race and the
talent was spread pretty even. The weather started to clear up right before the beginning of the race; however, the temperature was pretty high along with the humidity. It was around 80 during the race, but the wetness was by no means clearing up. Our team was up at the front of the pack for the beginning of the race and then I lost sight of them as they went into the woods. Adam had some difficulty with a tire that seemed to go flat about three miles into the race. The race officials tried to help but only made the situation worst. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get it repaired and had to drop out. Adam said that he felt strong going into the woods, but got stuck in the bind with flat, so hopefully he will be back in order for the Penn State race in a few weeks. Duane, Adam, and Nate continued through into the woods, and stay up with the main pack. I saw Duane approach the finish line on foot dragging his bike, so I knew it was some type of mechanical failure. He said t
hat his rear derailleur broke completely off the frame and jammed his rear wheel. Anyway, he still led our team to the finish line first. Nate came in second for our team close behind Duane. He said that he got lost in the woods due to poorly marked trail, but was able to get back into position and finished with a decent time. Dave came in first for the mens 1-19 age group and brought home the gold for him and the team. Overall, the team did great and will be looking for getting the bikes together for the next race in Penn State. Lastly, I was able to score a free t-shirt from one of the race officials for my hard work as the team cameraman. Stay tuned for the official race results.
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