Hello Conference Championships!

Indeed that is the phrase going around as the Appalachian State Cycling Team prepares to fend off the rest of the ACCC in their quest to capture their 3rd straight Atlantic Coast Cycling Conference Road Championship (5th Road Championship overall). The ACCC Conference Championships will take place this weekend at Wake Forest in beautiful Winston-Salem, NC. With less than a two hour drive to the races this weekend, expect the Appalachian Mountaineers to bring a full squad of talent as they prepare for the biggest test of them all.

Before moving into too much detail about the Championship weekend, let's go ahead and review the domination that ensued at West Virginia University this past weekend. We'll start with the men's and women's individual time trial that took place last Saturday. Apparently someone made Michael Wilson a bit upset as he decided to destroy everyone in the men's A field by launching to a 2nd place finish in the solo effort. One could also argue that Jacob Florence had a quarrel to settle as he let everyone know that this was his day by rocketing to a 1st place finish in the men's B time trial. I guess the same power juice trickled down to the men's C and D fields as Emerson Howe also picked up a win, and Chris Jones brought home a 3rd place finish in men's D. Amanda Gilbert also picked up crucial women's points by finishing a respectable 7th on the day.

The road race took place Sunday as the rain once again decided to make an appearance in a brutal race of strength and talent. Michael Wilson would again carry the Appalachian banner and his good form over into the road race by finishing 6th in men's A. Florence and Daniel Wendover would take 4th and 6th respectively in men's B. Chris Jones picked up a podium finish with 2nd in men's D while Amanda Gilbert took home 7th on the afternoon. All in all, it was another good weekend for the Mountaineers as they once again placed some separation on themselves from other conference contenders such as Pfeiffer University and John Hopkins.

And so we look forward to this weekend as Appalachian looks to put a cap on another great season, and rest assure that the Apps will only view this season as a success if they can once again rise to the top of the ACCC! With strong riders such as Michael Wilson, David Forkner, Jason Waddell, Jacob Florence, Daniel Wendover, Zach Greene, Chris Jones, Lauren Trull, Amanda Gilbert, and a host of others expected to make an appearance this weekend, you can bet that at least a few of these men and women will expect to be standing on the podium later this weekend. The weekend will also mark the "end of an era" for many of the team's veteran riders as Appalachian will wave goodbye to these members due to graduation. Our departing senior and graduate riders include: Michael Wilson, David Forkner, Michael Trivette, Zach Greene, Jeremy Edwards, Chris Jones, Alex Fowler, and Lauren Trull. Another senior, Alex Hannah, will return next season as he transitions from undergraduate student to graduate student. The team wishes to extend a big thanks to David Forkner for his continued leadership and dedication over the past few years. David has been a huge part of this team's success and honestly, we don't know what Appalachian State Cycling would be without him. One thing is for sure, however, and that involves David continuing to be a big part of this team even after graduation and marriage, yes marriage! David will marry his longtime sweetheart, Bonnie, in less than a month! We wish them the best in years of happiness together and we hope they continue to support the team as they have over the past five years. Thanks again David, and good luck in your final weekend of conference action before nationals!

This weekend will mark the final conference weekend before Cycling Nationals! App State Cycling is alive and well, and we hope to see you this weekend in Winston-Salem! It should be a great weekend of racing. A full report on this weekend's races will come next week.

-App State Cycling