In a state where gears turning and tires on pavement are a familiar sound, the Colorado State University cycling team highlights the sport as a way of life.

Each year, the team hosts an annual race around The Oval on CSU’s campus, and on April 18, the Rams celebrated the 60th Oval Criterium.

“It means a lot to the history of CSU’s campus,” CSU Cycling Vice President Isabel Naschold said. “CSU does focus a lot on cycling infrastructure, and I’d say it’s part of, like, a Colorado identity to have bikes around, and it’s such a bike-friendly campus.”

As one of the longest-standing events on the Rams’ Rocky Mountain West collegiate calendar, the chances of winning in this criterium holds value to all who race.

Naschold said the race draws a crowd larger than just CSU.

Because cycling is so ingrained in the culture of Fort Collins and the greater Northern Colorado region, the travel for many riders is worth it to compete.

“We’ve got over 500 people registered for today, and we have all the Colorado collegiate schools: Colorado Mesa, Fort Lewis, Boulder, Denver University, Air Force Academy and then we’ve also got Montana State University, (which) came all the way down from up there,” CSU cyclist Jorge Zapata said. “We combine our collegiate race with our regular categories, too. So we have all of our local, domestic elite and regular club teams out here as well.”

The growing crowds every year have given the Rams the chance to expand their reach, with Red Bull, TrainingPeaks and Formula 369 sponsoring the race, Zapata said.

And as their events grow, so does the team.

“I feel like cycling has changed a lot over the past six years, but to be able to have the turnout that we’ve had and just be at The Oval in the first place is just a really unique experience,” captain Ella Zimmerman said. “And to be able to share it with our community is really cool, too.”

Naschold said 20 of the team’s 60 members are women. Traditionally, cycling has been a male-dominated sport; women’s cycling was first introduced to the Olympic Games in 1984, 88 years after men’s cycling was.

“This is very important to me,” Naschold said. “Growing up in cycling, sometimes I was the only girl in, you know, high school and whatnot. And then to come here — I know a third doesn’t sound like a lot, but for me, it was. Wow. I have so many girls to ride with now. Like, a third of 60 is still 20 people.”

Fostering strong friendships and a collective presence on and off their bikes is the key for growing, as the Rams hope to show prospective college students that CSU is a positive place for women cyclists.

Time will tell if the Rams can hold onto success as they face the approaching Collegiate Road National Championships May 7-10 in Madison, Wisconsin.

But the team is well equipped for the challenge, being skilled at disciplines like road and gravel biking in the spring and track, cyclocross and mountain biking in the fall.

“I don’t think a lot of people really know about track, but that one is my personal favorite,” Zimmerman said. “So we have two velodromes in Colorado, which is really unique to the state. One is the Olympic Training Center and one is in (Erie), so we train at those as well.”

While mountain biking is strongly associated with Colorado, the Rams grew out of that box and said they aim to thrive in every discipline.

This growth has followed them throughout their collegiate cycling careers, expanding beyond CSU.

“Oh, I love this team so much,” Zapata said. “So I came here as a freshman last year, and I had, like, the greatest first two semesters ever thanks to the team. So I’m super happy and proud to represent this school. … Also how involved we are with the community as well also says a lot, and I’m really proud of that for the team.”

When it comes to a sport so embedded in the culture of the university and surrounding community, exercise becomes more than just an outlet; it turns into a teaching lesson. Sixty years’ worth of riders have raced The Oval before this year, reminding riders why they keep getting back on the bike.

“As far as, like, personal growth, this is a hard sport, and you mess up a lot,” Zimmerman said. “You crash, but you keep going.”

Reach Sophia Schaller at sports@collegian.com or on social media @sophschaller.

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