After eight years of hiatus, the Tufts Criterium in the Boston Beanpot Classic returns to campus on Saturday. This cycling race will take place largely on the Residential Quad, where cyclists will participate in a variety of races throughout the day.
The races will include both collegiate athletes as well as cyclists from Boston and around New England. The racers will range from beginner cyclists to top college and some professional athletes, Henry Eastburn, Tufts Cycling Club president and criterium race director, explained.
He expressed his excitement at being able to include so many cyclists from different levels.“We try to get opportunities for everyone to race,” Eastburn said. “It’s super exciting; everyone’s super supportive.”
Races will range from 30–60 minutes, depending on the level of competitors. These relatively short races are unique in the world of bicycle racing. The races usually have courses ranging from 0.5–1.5 miles long, which means athletes do many laps throughout the race. This makes criterium racing especially exciting for spectators who can see the racers often throughout the race.
“Criterium racing is uniquely American, for the necessity of not being able to shut down long roads for road races,” Eastburn explained. “It became something new and unique. … I describe it as Formula One but on bicycles. … It’s super fast-paced, super technical and super exciting for fans.”
Another hallmark of criterium racing is the short courses with high numbers of laps. The Tufts criterium course is about 0.4 miles. The course takes place on the Residential Quad, looping behind Carmichael Hall, going in front of Houston Hall, traveling behind Olin Center and finally passing in front of Miller Hall. The path crosses through an incredibly visible and well-traveled part of campus, which will likely increase the number of spectators.
“[The course] is right in the center of campus,” Eastburn said. “It's super accessible for a lot of fans. People can just watch from their dorm rooms, which is super cool.”
Along with this visibility, the race also contains many corners and is a short racecourse, even for criterium racing. Eastburn explained that this makes racing more exciting overall.
“We have a couple of technical features … [like] a lot of corners, which I think provides for a more interesting and dynamic race,” Eastburn said.
Bringing back the Beanpot to Tufts after a long hiatus is exciting for the cycling club as well as the Tufts community.
Alex Bobroff, course director and previous cycling club president, also explained that this race is exciting for the cycling community in the Boston area as a whole.
“The majority of [people who are involved in bike racing in New England] raced [at a collegiate level] at some point, and a very significant amount of them [participated in] the Tufts race when it existed,” Bobroff said. “They've all been telling me how important this is to them. It’s really cool seeing the whole community invested.”
Bobroff expressed that one thing he enjoys about criterium racing is how technical it is. There is a lot of strategy that goes into the racing. Along with the skill that goes into making the tight corners of short criterium courses, there is also lots of strategy centered around where to place oneself in the peloton of a cycling race. The wind that is usually present throughout a race, especially on a flat criterium race like the one at Tufts, makes it important to stay in the group to reduce air resistance.
“Because of drafting generally, it’s not the strongest person who wins. It’s the most tactically astute person and the person who times it right,” Bobroff explained.
He also explained that cycling is a strong team sport. Many teams work together in order to help one of their racers finish first.
“With a lot of these teams, they might be working just for one person. They have their one sprinter,” Bobroff said. “Let’s say it’s a team of five; four of those people, [for] the entire race, [share a] goal, [which] is to make the race as easy as possible for [the] sprinter.”
Many members of the cycling club hope that the return of the criterium to Tufts will increase appreciation for criterium racing and bike racing in general. They hope that by being able to easily watch the races, Tufts students can learn more about bike racing.
“Bike racing is something people have to watch to understand. …Criterium racing is one of the most exciting sports to watch. … It’s super dynamic and also has this energy that I don’t think other sports provide,” Eastburn said.
Eastburn expressed his hope that Tufts students have an open mind about watching cycling even if it’s something they haven’t experienced before.
“Through experiencing a sport that most people haven’t seen and to try watching something new, I think people will find it really rewarding and exciting,” Eastburn said.
Editor’s note: After this article was published, the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference notified participants on April 9 that the race was canceled, citing “unforeseen resource concerns” on the part of the university.
