“It’s about you trying to push yourself instead of competing against someone else,” says Blues mountain biker Ting Cong of mountain biking.
Cong is among many athletes on the team who were new to the sport when they joined.
“I wasn’t an avid cyclist,” says Cong. “I started out cross-country skiing and always tried to find a sport that was complementary to it for summer and fall.”
“Our goal as a team is always to ensure that the sport remains fun and that the team atmosphere remains inviting and relaxed,” says Head Coach David Wright.
Although mountain biking is a very demanding sport, the team is relaxed. Practices are not mandatory and athletes can attend as many or as few as they want. The most devoted bikers attend practices during the week, which take place on the Don Valley and Beltline trails. Many train on their own as well.
“The practices tend to be smaller — four or five people sometimes,” says Cong.
“Nobody wants to get up at six in the morning, especially in October when it starts to get cold,” says Cong’s teammate, Theo Theobessiou. “There are 20 that come to every race, but some only make it out for one or two.”
Practices begin in September and the season includes four competitive events.
“There are four different courses — one every weekend at different locations,” says Blues biker Ana Komparic.
The four competitions are part of the University Cup. There’s an A group and a B group for both the male and female athletes. The more skilled bikers ride in the A group, while the less advanced bikers compete in the B group. Each athlete accumulates points when they compete at an event and at the end of the season these points are tallied to determine the rankings of the athletes and of each university team. In the 2010 season, which was from September to October, Queens and Guelph tied for first place with 1861 points, U of T came in second with 713 points.
Ana Komparic pulls ahead of a competitor. VARSITY BLUES MEDIA CENTRE
Individually, Chris McNight was the best U of T male biker in the A division, finishing in 11th place, while Theobessiou finished second in the men’s B division. Next year Theobessiou will be advancing to the A division.
“It was my first year racing so it’s great to do that well… I’m going to aim to be in the middle of the pack in the A group. It’s pretty competitive,” says Theobessiou.
None of the female bikers competed in the A division, but Ana Komparic was the top U of T female athlete, placing seventh in the B division.
