Mercer Cycling Preview

By Adam Hunt
Sports Reporter / Columnist

While Mercer cycling may not be an official NCAA team, they certainly don’t pull any punches when it comes to professionalism or dedication to their sport.

Created just last year under the guidance of director Shaun Kell, Mercer cycling provides students with a love for life on two wheels a chance to practice and compete at a collegiate level.

The team is currently hard at work preparing for a packed spring schedule of events beginning in February at the Tundra Time Trials in Dallas, Ga.

The 8-strong mixed roster is made up of a clutch of Mercer students with varying experience of cycling. Kevin Roberts, for example, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, has notched up over three years in the saddle and could well prove to be an all important cog in the team’s wheel this semester.

Freshmen Gabe Denes and Alex Lockwood, on the other hand, are relatively new to the sport and will be looking to rack up plenty of road miles in the coming months.

With financial support from various local businesses, including Ingleside Village Pizza and Francar’s Buffalo Wings, the Bears are aiming to make their mark in competition.

“It obviously won’t be easy given that this is our inaugural season,” said senior cyclist Andrew Lockwood. “But we definitely have a good core group of riders who are working hard in practice to reach their goals. We are also grateful for all the support we have received to make this possible.”

Mercer will at least be easy to spot while they are in action thanks to their resplendent new orange and black jersey design for the 2010 season. They are set to compete in seven events this semester against top level competition such as Furman and Georgia Tech.

The team’s opening training camp of the year was completed last week with a 40 mile afternoon ride through North Macon. Roberts clinched the mountain stages while Denes created quite a stir at the sprint points along the ride. In all, five riders completed the ride, with two cyclists joining along the route.

All of us here at The Cluster wish Mercer cycling good fortune for their maiden season and we will keep you updated with their progress in later editions of the paper.

If anyone is interested in learning more about Mercer cycling or sponsoring the team, please visit their website at http://mercercycling.blogspot.com/.