PU sophomore is national champion
By: Justin Feil
Tyler Wren has his wardrobe picked out for the next year of road racing. It’s a Stars and Stripes racing jersey, the one worn by all American champions.
The Princeton University sophomore won the right to don the patriotic jersey by winning the National Collegiate Cycling Association men’s cycling championship May 20 at the Air Force Academy road course in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"This was my first year in it, and I was looking at it as a jump start for my junior year," said Wren, who completed the 63-mile course in 3 hours, 3 minutes, 48 seconds for an average of 20.66 miles per hour. "It was a pleasant surprise."
Wren came to Princeton University from Ardmore, Pa., originally as a runner. But shin injuries forced him down a new path. As a freshman, his primarly cycling focus was on a mountain biking. He started the mountain biking club team at Princeton and quickly was hooked.
"I didn’t like road at all," Wren said. "I bought a road bike to train for mountain biking. Now, I’m a total roadie."
The mountain bike racing season is in the fall, the road racing season is in the spring. As a freshman mountain biker, he wasn’t even in the top 100 for his first nationals race. That spring, he didn’t race in the nationals for road racing, but his interest in road racing had already been piqued.
"I changed when I got to school," Wren explained. "I was training for mountain biking and riding with the team. I learned a lot about the tactics. There was so much more to it than I thought. I just sort of fell in love with it, largely due to members of the team."
There were 15 total riders 13 men and two women on this year’s Princeton team. Only Wren and senior Pat Zahn, who finished 31st, represented the Tiger team at the road racing nationals. Wren didn’t even compete in the mountain biking national last fall because he didn’t have enough races to qualify. Instead, he’d begun devoting himself to road racing.
Wren trained this year by riding anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to six hours a day for an average of 250 miles per week. On weekends, he went to races and built up points with his finishes. Wren went to nationals as the top points winner in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference in which Princeton competes. While it was his first road racing nationals, his win certainly couldn’t be labeled beginner’s luck.
"I knew my form was right on and I was riding very well in the past few races in our conference," Wren said. "I won the season-long points race in our conference. That gave me confidence. I was sort of expecting a top 10 (finish) and it was a dream for top 5."
Seventy-five riders began the race. Only 42 were able to finish the seven laps of the nine-mile loop. Wren was in front of them all.
"Once the race was underway, I could see it was panning out in my favor," he said. "I knew the way it was shaping up would help and I was getting more and more confident."
Wren rode off with an initial breakaway pack of nine riders with 27 miles to go. With 18 miles to go, he and two other riders one from Emory and another from Air Force started another break. Within one nine-mile lap, they put four-and-a-half minutes on the initial breakaway pack.
"We knew the race was right there," Wren said. "My strength is definitely climbing. I have a good sprint, too. I finished well in field sprints this year. They looked kind of skinny, so I thought they were probably just good climbers. I thought I could outsprint them. I’m sure we all wanted it."
It worked out perfectly for Wren. With three miles to go, the first three remained in their positions the Emory rider first, the Air Force rider second and Wren third, the perfect position to make a move. with 250 meters to go, both looked back for a quick glance and when they turned back to look ahead, Wren made his move and then a bit of luck did come into play.
"I jumped out to the side and took off," he said. "I turned back to see where they were and saw they had crashed. My heart just jumped out of my throat. I had time to zip up my shirt and raise my hands up as I road across."
The win gave him the stars and stripes jersey to wear for a year. Wren has returned to his home in Ardmore, but will continue a busy racing season this summer. It’s part of what helped him evolve quickly into the top collegian racer.
"I raced all last summer and into the fall on the road just because I loved it so much," he said. "With each race, I saw myself getting better, learning tactics and getting stronger. I think I progressed pretty fast. Most of the guys who have been riding with me have been riding since they were nine or 10. My base of running carried over well, I think.
"I’ll race pretty much every weekend," he said of this summer, "Hopefully the same thing will happen. I just want to keep getting stronger and gaining experience. I’m devoting myself to it as much as possible without sacrificing anything major."
The most major sacrifice may be mountain biking. While he will continue to use it as a tool for training, it’s definitely taken a back seat to his road bike. Wren’s dream is to be on the pro cycling tour, but he won’t push it. He’s focusing on school, but keeping an eye on an enviable future.
"It’s in the back of my mind," he said. "It’s a goal of mine. Who wouldn’t want to ride their bike for a living? I’m just not quite ready yet."
But with the jersey of an American champion, Tyler Wren is well on his way to reaching that goal. All he was looking to do was jump start his junior year. Wren may just have jump started a career.