In their first season as a club sport, the UM-St. Louis cycling team has grown to 12 members.

The club was started this year as a result of many cyclers attending UM-St. Louis.

"I knew a lot of people who went to school at UM-St. Louis who really liked to ride," team member Tim Ranek said. "We just spread by word of mouth that we had a team and it has grown from there."

Growing has been something the team has done over the past semester. With seven athletes making trips to meets the team has preformed well, but they are looking to grow in their next session.

The Fall session will begin in September and go through October with the events aiming towards Mountain Bike racing.

"We are looking to grow," Ranek said. "We currently have an A program which is for really fast racers. There are categories for all types of levels. There are also B and C divisions."

A main focus for the team next fall will be to expand to having women on the team.

"Any women that want to join the program are more than welcome," Ranek said. "They have women's divisions and hopefully with getting more team members we will be able to place several people in each event we are in."

The team had placed several athletes in the races during the road race events in the Spring secession. In the Regional Championship, Joe Hill finished 6th in the class A road race.

The team competes against 26 teams in a seven state area. Events are held throughout the midwest and the Regional Championship was held at St. Louis University.

Ranek said an event should return to St. Louis for the team next season.