Success in cycling depends on the cooperation of others – usually teammates – to “pull through” and share the work.
So, it’s a remarkable thing when a solo rider can establish himself on a national level.
Steven Hopengarten ’09 did just that this spring when he qualified for the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships in Fort Collins, Colo. Hopengarten, a mechanical engineering major who hails from Lincoln, Mass., was the first Union cyclist to compete in the national road championship.
With most of Union’s cyclists competing in the fall mountain bike races, Hopengarten was the lone Union qualifier, securing his spot at nationals by finishing 19th at the Dartmouth Road Race in April 19. Forrest Clifton ’10 qualified for the national mountain bike championships last fall but was unable to compete at the national event.
At nationals, Hopengarten finished 73rd in the short course 75-minute criterium (a series of laps around a closed course). He dropped out of the 71-mile road race at mile 40 after an exhausting early solo break attempt.
The president of the Union College Cycling Club was cited for his off-the-bike skills, too. In May, he received the Most Valuable Volunteer Award from the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference at its annual banquet in State College, Pa., in recognition of his work on social media, race promotion, Web offerings and organization.
At the national championships in Fort Collins, he was an invited panelist for the ECCC leadership conference, speaking on the blogosphere he created to promote the ECCC.
“I can honestly say that I never expected to be competing at the national championships just three years after starting road racing and the Union Cycling Club,” he said. “I owe a lot to my friends and family for their support of my racing, and to Union’s Student Forum and Office of Student Activities for their support of Union College Cycling.”