Katie Gasser won the Women's B Conference Championships in the criterium, and it was only her first year racing. "Compared to the other teams, we are very small. So as we increase in numbers we should be able to do very well," said club president Taylor Hansen. "Most other teams are putting 10 to 15 guys in each field compared to the 10 we had for all fields."

The men's team finished fourth in its division last spring. Hansen and Alex Kopko upgraded and earned a lot of top-10 finishes in the Men's B field. Reilly raced in the ultra-competitive Men's A field with Justin Grisham — the team's founding president — all season even though it was only Reilly's second year racing.

Training consists of many miles on the bike. Riders also have team time trial workouts once a week, where they race along the outer road of I-80 leading to the Great Salt Lake marina.

Greg Steele of Wattage Training, a local coaching company, also ran skills days for the team throughout the winter. He taught pack-riding skills, cornering and tactics.

Cycling is a team sport, but it is also an individual sport. "Some are focusing on climbing faster, and others are working on sprinting," Hansen said.

Grisham rues the lack of funding support. "Most of the spring 2006 road season costs came out of our pockets," he explained. "To truly be competitive, though, we need a bigger budget."

The team offered to wear the names and logos of businesses who supported it on its riders' jerseys, and local companies have come forward. Blackbottoms Cycleware, which provided the team uniforms, is the primary sponsor for the next three years. Cyclesmith, a bike shop near campus, provides maintenance support. Big brand companies like Ritchey (components), Tifosi (sunglasses), Maxxis (tires) and Pro Bar (nutritional products) also support the team.

Riders said the team has been a positive experience.

"I've had a lot of help from people in the cycling community in Salt Lake," said Holmes. "Everyone is so great about wanting to see people, especially women, excel in the sport."

The team's biggest goal is to get people excited and join.

"We don't want to just focus on the highest levels of racing," said Grisham, who hails from Missouri. "We want our team to help develop riders and bring people who had never raced before, or never seriously raced, and show them the sport and help them move up through the ranks."

Steele agreed, saying that among the long-term goals is establishing a scholarship program for the team.

Riders are already setting their sights for the upcoming season. "We're looking to be in third place in the conference standings by the end," Hansen said.

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E-mail: schakraborty@desnews.com