Cyclists Bound For Nationals

For President Renee Covi of the Harvard Cycling Club, it's old news, but for Claire Farley, it's a new experience that may make her wheels spin.

Both Covi and Farley qualified for nationals by finishing third and fourth respectively this weekend at the Eastern cycling championships at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The top five out of more than 50 competitors at this weekend's two-day, three-event competition qualify for nationals.

The pair also helped the Harvard women's team to finish first overall and the club to finish sixth out of 25 competing squads.

The three events include the criterion, which is 15 laps for the women and 25 laps for the men's A squad around a one-mile loop with embankments. The second event is a team time trial consisting of the best times over a 15-mile flat course. And the third event is a 36-mile individual road race for the women and a 72-mile road race for the men's A squad.