Coming around the fourth turn during her Qualifications run, Ski cyclist Natalie Laser saw a familiar and calming face on the infield — that of her brother Tom.
Tom, a former rider (and champion) with Beta Theta Pi, had come down from John Marshall Law School in Chicago to provide support for his sister and her first-year team during Qualifications.
Prior to the run, he had worked to keep them loose, but had given one major bit of advice that stuck with the team. He told them that coming around the final turn in preparation for an exchange, they should stop pedaling and glide to the pit for their exchange.
“That’s what we did,” Natalie said. “He stood in turn four and just told us ‘smooth, stop pedaling, calm down,’ and it worked. We just floated in, did the exchange and took off.”
The bit of advice served as a small contribution to a surprisingly fast qualifications run of 2:51.29, which has Ski starting in the seventh position. When Natalie and her teammates race at 4 p.m. Friday, Natalie’s family will be cheering on one of their own for the fourth year in a row.
In 2011, Tom and his older sister Jen rode for Beta Theta Pi and Delta Sigma Pi, respectively. Jen also participated in Little 50, and even with an injured hip, finished both Little 50 and the women’s Little 500 race.
In 2012, Tom and his team bounced back from a disappointing 2011 race during which he crashed multiple times. The following year, the team won the race, with Jen happily in attendance.
None of the three of them came to IU with the explicit intention of riding in the race.
“Coming in, I knew it was a big event that everybody parties for,” Tom said, “but it wasn’t until I really got into the riding community that I understood that it’s something people work very hard for and it’s really its own community.”
Both Tom and Jen were involved in running when they were on campus, but it wasn’t until friends convinced them to participate in the race that they did. After running in Little 50 for her first two years and studying abroad as a junior, Jen rode in only her senior year.
Natalie, currently a junior, had given thought to joining or helping to create a team in previous years, but as she stood in the stands at Bill Armstrong Stadium last year and watched Tom’s team claim victory, her outlook began to change.
“After watching my brother win last year,” Natalie said, “it was kind of motivating for me to start something. Ski Club seemed like the perfect opportunity. They’ve never had a team, it seemed like something we could do.”
Jen said Natalie’s decision to start riding wasn’t necessarily a surprising one, with her athletic background and family history in the event. For a team that didn’t even have bikes a few months ago and has had to learn the ins and outs of the race this past semester, Ski has exceeded their own expectations. The team of Alex Benigni, Megan Huibregtse and Ashley King has competed well in all of the spring series events, and is entering Friday with high spirits.
Tom and Jen have offered small bits of advice and support, but Tom gave the vast majority of the credit to the riders.
“They’ve got four good athletes that have really become a team,” Tom said. “They’ve shared good times and they’ve shared some bad times, and they’ve worked really hard the last couple months.”
Those months lead up to Friday afternoon, where all of the Lasers except Tom, who has a presentation for class, will be in attendance. He plans on driving down later that day to celebrate with his family and attend the men’s race the next day.
For Jen, Friday will be the first women’s race she has attended since the one she rode in. She has been unable to come due to the race being on a workday, but will be in the Ski section cheering a sibling on from the stands for the fourth year in a row.
It’s important, Jen said, to stay focused on the task at hand, but also appreciate the moment for what it is.
“Before the race starts, obviously you’re going to be nervous,” Jen said. “You should be, because it means you care, but just take a step back from it a little bit and think about how cool this is, how many people are out here on the track, riding, and not think of it as a pressure, race situation, but for a few minutes, step back and say, ‘This is pretty cool. My work’s paid off, here I am, and from here, the work is done, and you just have to go out and ride as fast as you can.’”
Alex McCarthy
