With the Little 5 criterium races just a few days away, the Steering Committee Heads, sophomore Ben Kusber and junior Ellen Tinder, are crossing their fingers that the day runs according to plan.
Not much is expected to change with regards to the structure of the Little 5 races this year, with the exception of the route, which will now run along College Street, Indiana Street, Hanna Street and Olive Street due to the potholes on the road by the Hoover Hall construction. Kusber said this was a necessary move because rider safety is a high priority on race day.
“The most heart wrenching thing to observe is watching someone go down,” Kusber said. “[So] for the safety of the riders, we decided to move the [criterium races] over.”
While rider safety is a top concern for the steering committee, Kusber’s main worry right now is the forecast for Saturday.
“[I’m concerned] about weather right now, because there’s a good chance it’s going to rain,” he said.
Professor Kent Menzel will make the final call as to if the race will continue on as planned, based on how heavy the storm is. If there are light showers, the race will most likely occur, but if showers become too heavy to bike in safely then the races will be moved to Sunday.
There are currently 13 teams registered for the race: six from Panhellenic sororities, six from Inter-Fraternity Council fraternities and one independent team. Each team can have up to four riders, though not all teams have four riders. Every student organization that has a team registered is required to have a member of that organization on the steering committee. The committee members have been planning for the day since mid-February, but Kusber and Tinder started working on the logistics last semester, and Kusber can’t wait to see how all of his hard work turns out.
“I’m excited to see how the race goes and see who’s going to come out on top,” he said, “because we know a lot of people have been training hard this year and we might get some surprising results compared to years past.”