Robin Carpenter '14 Wins Podium Spot in National Cycling Championships
Robin Carpenter '14 Wins Podium Spot in
National Cycling Championships
by Maki Somosot '12
6/20/11
Robin Carpenter '14, a cycling enthusiast from Philadelphia, Pa., recently participated in the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships in Madison, Wis. Student-athletes from 100 Division I and Division II academic institutions (Swarthmore is Division III) competed in three categories: road race, criterium (a multi-lap race), and the individual omnium, which tallied points from the first two races. Carpenter finished second in the road race and fifth in the criterium, resulting in an overall third in the individual omnium.
"I was very happy to have have managed the results that I did, but still a little disappointed that I didn't bring home a national championship jersey," Carpenter says. "I came into the races fairly confident that I could get a top five in either one or both. The real question was if I could pull out a win."
For Carpenter, who has raced professionally since 2008 and hopes to continue after Swarthmore, the most memorable moment of the nationals was at the end of the road race. That was the point where he "attacked off the top of the finishing climb to take the uphill battle for second place."
To qualify for the nationals, Carpenter first had to earn points during various race weekends for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference. Recent wins in Philadelphia and at the Nittany Classic in State College, Pa., got him in.
"Collegiate racing is incredibly fun," he says. "Everyone seems to have a great time whether they are winning and tearing everyone's legs off, or getting dropped behind the peloton."
