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University of Florida
Cycling Club
Predecessor	Gainesville Cycling Club
Formation	1985
Founded at	Gainesville, Florida
Website	Team Florida

The University of Florida Cycling Club (also known as Team Florida during competitions) is a cycling club and student organization of the University of Florida. The club was established in 1985. The organization has won numerous Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference and National Collegiate Cycling Association championships.

History

The first known Cycling Club at the University of Florida was started in the late 1970s by a group of students who began meeting informally for recreational rides. By 1981, they were still meeting, but since almost all had graduated, they changed the group's name to the Gainesville Cycling Club.^[1]

In Fall 1985, students of Richard Beck's Cycling Class and other racers organized a separate, university sanctioned bicycle racing sports club, Team Florida.^[2]^{[non-primary source needed]} From 1986-1988, with significant funding from student government, and sponsor support from various local and national brands and organizations, the team's top riders competed in pro-am United States Cycling Federation (USCF) races throughout the United States, but primarily within the Southeast. Team Florida joined the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC) of the National Collegiate Cycling Association (NCCA) in 1989 and began racing in both USCF and NCCA races.

Team Florida's first participation in an organized race was a Primo Bike Works' 10 mile time trial starting and finishing at the Hopewell Baptist Church on Wacahoota Road Southwest of Gainesville in late 1985 or early 1986. The first Team Florida win was achieved by Paul Chludzinski in a Citizen's Class criterium in Cocoa Beach in spring 1986. The team's first USCF licensed win was secured by Michael Franovich in a Category IV road race on the Sawgrass Expressway, prior to its July 3, 1986 opening. The first collegiate race win was accomplished by Geoff Rogers in a “B” Category Race at the University of Georgia in 1989.

Although bike races had been held on campus as early as the 1950s, the first race hosted by Team Florida was held in Fall 1986.^[3] The six turn USCF sanctioned criterium ran clockwise. It featured a start/finish in front of the Florida Gym on Stadium Road, turned right onto North South Drive (now known as Gale Lemerand Drive) pass the stadium, turned right onto East West Drive (turn no longer exists due to North stadium stands construction), from East West Drive right onto Fletcher Drive, left on what was a road between Pugh and Dauer Halls, right onto Buckman Drive which becomes Stadium Road, and past the Hub before returning to the start/finish. Andy Woodruff, who would eventually ride for Team Florida in the early 1990s, won the Men's Pro, 1,2,3 race. Team sponsored circuit races around Lake Alice were held in 1987 and 1988. The first Stage Race was held in 1989 and featured a downtown twilight criterium and a road race on Dungarvin Road.

In 1992, a Team Florida cyclist, Tom Hayes, was killed in an accident while cycling through Paynes Prairie. Team uniforms the following year included a memorial black armband in the cyclist's honor.

Team Florida was recognized as the University of Florida's Sports Club of the Year for 2015-2016. In 2017, with student interest in racing declining, Team Florida leadership chose to have the club focus on noncompetitive recreational riding, the team lost its standing as a sports club, and stopped participating in SECCC events. As of October 2019 however, the team had regained its status as a UF Sports Club. Following a lengthy delay associated with the pandemic, Team Florida began competing in SECCC collegiate races again in Fall 2021. In 2022 Team Florida returned to the top of the SECCC Standings with a conference win for Tyler Austhof in Cyclocross.

Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Championships

Road

1989 Team Time Trial (Phil Huckabee,Tim Hefner, David Suro and Geoff Rogers)
1990 Women's A (Julie Maupin)
1994 Men's A (Jamie Bennett)
1994 Men's C (Dennis Angelo)
1996 Team
1996 Women's A (Marjon Marik)
1996 Men's B (Eric Gerolstein)
1996 Men's C (Dave Daniel)
1997 Team
1997 Women's A (Marjon Marik)
1997 Men's A (Saul Yeaton)
1997 Men's C (Rob Murray)
1998 Team
1998 Women's A (Marjon Marik)
1998 Men's B (Paul Brushwood)
1998 Men's C (Chad Mallory)
2000 Team
2000 Men's C (Philip Thompson)
2001 Team
2002 Team
2003 Team
2004 Team
2005 Men's B (Rob Newsom)
2006 Women's B (Courtney Dehon)
2007 Team D1 Non-varsity Champs
2012 Men's A (Neal Shepard)
2013 Team
2014 Team^[4]^[5]

Mountain Bike

1999 Team
1999 Women's A (Karen Kolinski)
1999 Men's B (Victor Gonzalez)
1999 Men's C (Javier Barrio)
2000 Team
2000 Women's A (Karen Kolinski)
2000 Men's A (Cody Ward)
2001 Team
2001 Women's A (Andrea Martin)
2001 Men's A (Erik DeKold)
2001 Men's C (Austin Gregorzek)
2004 Men's A (Ryan Fisher)
2004 Women's A (Teresa Garcia)
2004 Men's C (Eric Oppenheimer)
2005 Team
2005 Men's A (Jason Codding)
2005 Women's A (Teresa Garcia)
2005 Women's B (Natalia Shelton)
2005 Men's C (Ian Knabe)
2006 Team D1 Non-varsity Champs
2006 Women's A (Tracey Wallace)
2006 Women's B (Stephanie Sherril)
2006 Men's C (Konstantinos Charizanis)
2007 Team D1 Non-varsity Champs
2007 Men's A (Chris Janiszewski)
2007 Men's B (Ian Knabe)
2007 Men's C (Brian Fane)
2008 Team D1 Non-varsity Champs
2009 Team D1 Non-varsity Champs
2012 Men's A (Victor Alber)

Cyclocross

2012 Men's A (Dustin White)
2013 Men's A (Dustin White)
2013 Men's B (Justin Runac)
2022 Men's A (Tyler Austhof)
2023 Women's A (Mollie Brewer)
2023 Team

National Collegiate Cycling Championships

Road

1998 Women's A Criterium (Jody Radkewich)
2005 Women's A Overall (Rebecca Larson)
2005 Women's A Criterium (Rebecca Larson)
2006 Women's A Overall (Rebecca Larson)
2007 Women's A Road Race (Rebecca Larson)
2009 Men's A Overall (Bobby Sweeting)

Track

1997 Women's A Points Race (Marjon Marik)
1998 Men's A Point's Race (Dan Larson)
2003 Women's A Sprints (Rebecca McClintock)
2003 Women's A 2K Pursuit (Rebecca McClintock)
2003 Women's A Overall (Rebecca McClintock)
2003 Women's A Italian Pursuit (Rebecca McClintock, Lori Palmer)
2003 Men's A Italian Pursuit (Dan Larson, Steve Heal, Marco Verwijs, David Suarez)^[6]

Notable alumni

Karen Bliss - Team Coach (US Bicycling Hall of Fame inductee, Multi time US National Champion)^[7]
Jacquelyn Crowell (Multi time US National Champion)
Phil Gaimon (World Tour Rider and former Everesting world record holder)
John Lieswyn (US Professional ITT and TTT Champion, represented the United States 5 times in the UCI Road World Championships Elite Men's Road Race)
Bobby Livingston - Team Coach (US Olympian)

Club Presidents

1985-1986 Thom Cerny
1986-1987 J.C. Conte
1987-1988 Tony McKnight
1988-1989 Kevin Claney
1989-1990 Chris Furlow
1990-1991 Sean Gregoryck
1991-1992 Chris Putman
1992-1993 Mike Gann
1993 Basil Moutsopolous
1994 Phil Weber
1994-1995 Jamie Kreminski
1995-1996 Matt Mercer
1996-1997 Doug Zerbarini
1997-1998 Jared Zimlin
1998 Dan Larson
1998-1999 Eric Gerolstein
1999 Chad Mallory
2000 Angelo Matthews
2000 2001 Erik DeKold
2001-2002 Alex Rodriguez
2002-2003 Steve Heal
2003-2004 J.D. Herlihy
2004-2005 Brad Davis
2005-2006 Elizabeth Heal
2006-2007 Phil Bailey
2007-2008 Eric Shields
2008-2009 David Reich
2009-2010 Thomas Tran
2010-2011 Kristin Donahue
2011-2012 Derek Schanze
2012-2013 Dustin White
2013-2014 Chistian Trucco
2014-2015 Tony Cofrancesco
2015-2016 Maria Hyde
2016-2017 Benjamin Matalon
2017-2018 Blake Norman
2018-2019 Andrew Marques
2019-2020 Akram Weheba
2020-2021 Akram Weheba
2021-2022 Sofia Rodriguez
2022-2023 Manuel J Hernandez
2023-2024 Tyler Austhof
2024-2025 Noah Adelson

References

^ "Early History of the Gainesville Cycling Club". Gainesville Cycling Club. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
^ "UF Cycling". Team Florida. 2001-01-24. Archived from the original on 2001-01-24. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
^ "Bicycle race on the University of Florida campus". University of Florida. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
^ "UF Cycling". 2001-01-24. Archived from the original on 2001-01-24. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
^ Writer, Erika Oakvik, Alligator Contributing. "UF cycling team rides to win". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved 2019-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "UF Cycling". 2001-01-24. Archived from the original on 2001-01-24. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
^ "Karen Bliss inducted into US Bicycling Hall of Fame". US Bicycling Hall of Fame. August 29, 2019.

Gallery

1985 Original Team Florida Jersey (sleeves removed/missing)
1986 Team Florida Jersey (Bicycle Club Apartments logo was accidentally printed upside down)
1986-1987 Team Florida "Colorado Summer Road Trip Special" Jersey (includes Plaza at Wood Creek Logo)
1987 Team Florida Jersey
1988 Team Florida Jersey. (First time UF logo was used - sleeves)
1989 Team Florida Jersey
1990 Team Florida Jersey
1990-1991 Team Florida Jersey
1992 Team Florida Jersey
1993 Team Florida Jersey (Note black armband in memory of Tom Hayes who was a student in the College of Health and Human Performance. Hayes was killed while cycling across Payne's Prairie.)
1994 Team Florida Jersey
1995 Team Florida Jersey
1997 Team Florida Jersey (blurry)
1998-1999 Team Florida Kit
2012-2013 Team Florida Jersey
2015-2016 Team Florida Jersey