Elk Lake graduate Sean Morahan, a former cross country runner and basketball player, has discovered a passion for a new sport at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a part of the school’s cycling team.
BY KEVIN WOODRUFF
Elk Lake graduate Sean Morahan, a sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), started following cycling when he was in high school watching the Tour de France.
Morahan, 21, has now taken his passion for watching the sport and turned it into his main sport.
“I started following the sport in high school, and I thought it would be cool to actually race,” Morahan said. “And when I found out IUP had a team, I contacted them before going to school in my freshman year.”
He said that prior to competing with the cycling team, his previous experience in cycling came from mountain biking near his home.
“I did buy a road bike before I went to college, but I never really got to use it much,” Morahan said.
The team at IUP is still young, and is entering its first year of competing in the National Collegiate Cycling Association in Division I.
Last year, the team competed in Division II.
The Crimson Hawks will compete in their first race on April 1, in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference.
Last year, the team has only four members, but are up to 10 for the 2011 season.
Given that Morahan was new to the sport last year, he didn’t see much competitive time with the team, but is looking forward to making an impression this season.
“I pretty much trained all of last year,” Morahan said.
In his first competitive season, Morahan hopes to place in the top five of some races, and would love to take a gold medal at some point.
Morahan said that he loves the sport because of its demanding nature.
“It demands physical fitness,” Morahan said. “And the races get adrenaline flowing.”
When he and his teammates go out on the road to train, they take between 25 and 50 mile rides each time.
“It’s great to be out there on our bikes,” Morahan said. “And all of us are really good friends.”
At first, Morahan had a little trouble with the endurance aspect of the sport, and said it was tough getting into a regular training habit.
“Especially during the winter months you are on stationary bikes,” Morahan said. “It is pretty tough.”
He said that in the beginning there is a lot of muscles that need to be strengthened in the core.
“You need to build up your torso for balance,” Morahan said.
Now that the team is getting the chance to be outside on their bikes, Morahan said that a lot of the training revoles around timed rides and hill repeats.
For more information on IUP’s cycling team, visit iupcycling.blogspot.com.
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