Vanderbilt hosts SECCC

The 2005 USA South Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC) on March 19 and 20 will be hosted by Vanderbilt Cycling. The race is the third of an eight-stop series of conference road biking events. It is the club's first ever attempt to put on a cycling race.

The weekend is set to draw collegiate teams from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and of course Tennessee. In addition to individual honours, teams will compete for points to qualify for the National Championships in May. The racing begins on Saturday morning with the Road Raceón the same course than the loop used for the TBRA state championships, featuring several assents of the Fernvale climb.

Racing continues on Sunday morning with the First Annual Bowtie Classic (the name pays tribute to Vanderbilt's Chancellor Gee and his rumoured 1,000+ collection of bowties). A 1-mile, four corner criterium will be set up right on Vanderbilt's campus. Team tactics will be decisive in what is sure to be a fast race on the wide-open course.

Of special note is the running of an "Open" category for charity. All revenue from this portion of the event will be donated to Habitat for Humanity through the Habitat Bicycle Challenge. Club member Paul Jabour has committed his summer to join 90 other students to ride their bicycles 4,000 miles crossing the entire width of the country. Their goal is to raise over $300,000. The club is confident that Nashville's recreational cyclists will step forward to help Paul reach his personal goal of raising $4,000 by participating in this event.

For more information about the collegiate and charity race please visit the club website: www.vanderbilt.edu/cycling