BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Every April since 1951, the Little 500 at Indiana University has marked the beginning of spring and the coming end of another academic year. This year is no different. The men's and women's bicycle races are scheduled for April 20-21 on the Bloomington campus.The women's Little 500 will begin at 4 p.m., Friday, April 20, and the men's race will start at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 21. Both races will take place in Bill Armstrong Stadium, located off Fee Lane, just north of its intersection with 17th Street.
The races are patterned after the Indianapolis 500 with up to 33 teams lining up for the start in 11 rows of three. Start positions are determined by qualifying times, with the fastest team nabbing the pole. As many as four riders can compete on a team. When one rider on a team is tired, he or she exchanges the bicycle with a teammate. The women's race is 25 miles -- 100 laps on a quarter-mile cinder track. The men's race is 50 miles -- 200 laps on the same track.
Any full-time undergraduate student at IU Bloomington can ride in the Little 500, and most riders have never competed in any other cycling race.
-Indiana University Media Relations
(Click on the picture to see more of Little 500, 2007)
