Favorites look to home advantage in USA Cycling Collegiate Championships

Three of the women named as favorites to win USA Cycling National Collegiate Championships in Madison this weekend will look to ride the advantage of racing in their home state.

Kaitlin Antonneau, Ashley James and Natalie Klemko will be among more than 400 riders representing 103 collegiate racing teams in the championships, hosted for a second consecutive year by the University of Wisconsin cycling team.

"It's a big event, a huge event, and it gives our team an opportunity to showcase our school and our riders and our city," said Ken Huxtable, president of the UW Cycling Club.

The competitors will be chasing 18 national titles for teams and individuals, with racing starting Friday on the road course outside Blue Mound State Park and finishing Sunday with the criterium in the University Research Park. The team time trial on Saturday will be based at the Trek Bicycle Co. headquarters in Waterloo.

USA Cycling polled the coaches from 11 collegiate cycling conferences to handicap the field heading to Madison and they put the trio of Wisconsinites in the mix to match the performance of Milwaukee-native Jennifer Purcell. Racing for Midwestern State University, based in Wichita, Texas, Purcell won the criterium on the capitol square in 2010.

One of her teammates, Natalie Klemko, from Bristol, Wis., will be a contender in 2011.

"She won the 2007 Collegiate National Championship criterium in Lawrence, Ks., and proudly wore the National Champion's jersey the following season," USA Cycling reported. "Natalie has the experience to be in the mix in both the road and criterium in Wisconsin, not to mention that she will be racing in her home state for the first time in her Midwestern State kit and looks to close out her collegiate career in high fashion."

Antonneau, a Racine Horlick graduate, will be racing for 2010 national team champion Marian University. Antonneau has won national titles in cyclocross and track racing, and the freshman will have a solid shot in the criterium.

James, from Dousman, was the only woman to beat Antonneau at the Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals last year, and she claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference Cycling championship last month. With a solid showing in the in the Tour of the Redlands, she has shown good form on the roads in 2011.

All three women are expected to play key roles on teams fighting for the coveted omnium title, the combined championship including both men's and women's divisions.

In the Daily Peloton, Marian Cycling Coach Dean Peterson also touted three riders from the University of Wisconsin team. Kelly Hess, Holly Mathews and Lindsay Durst all raced well throughout the season.

"I expect they'll be better on their home turf in May," Peterson said. "Hess will be good in all races, but I expect she'll be looking for the podium in the criterium on Sunday. Everyone should respect her strength and craftiness."

In the men's preview, USA Cycling listed Maxwell Anderson, from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, among the favorites in the challenging, 72-mile road race on Friday morning.

Racers found challenging conditions in the 2010 road race. Photo by David Stluka/USA Cycling

The course centered in Blue Mound State Park was designed to host the Olympics, as part of Chicago's bid for the 2016 games. Spectators can expect a race of attrition, according to the preview from the Collegiate Cycling News.

"As one would expect of an Olympic caliber course, this race will not hold any punches," Scott Rosenfield wrote. "It is full of vicious climbs that will put even strong climbers into difficulty. North of the park there are plenty of open farm fields that make wind a major factor in the race. The climb to the finish in Blue Mounds State Park is one that will surely separate the field and favor a strong gutsy climber who can escape the group and finish alone."

The criterium on Sunday, set on a one-mile loop in the research park, is likely to be the best event for spectators and fans.

As the last event of the weekend, it could be the deciding race for the overall team titles, and is likely to produce a spectacle of speed and teamwork.

Racing starts with the Division 1 men's road race at 8:30 a.m. Friday. Click here for the full schedule.