Jetblach’s four cyclists had a plan mapped out for the 50-mile, 200-lap Little 500.
Trent Hohenstreiter and Braden Clements are the "lap eaters," so they would do more than 50 quarter-mile laps apiece because they are strong endurance guys.
Rob Krahulik is a sprinter, so they wanted to conserve him, and Josh Herbst is the rookie who’s good at short sets and good burns off of the front.
The recent track cycling race at Indiana University’s Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington came down to a sprint, and Jetblach took advantage of four strong racers and won the sprint.
Hohenstreiter, a Seymour native and a junior at IU, said they wanted to make a breakaway and not have a close race, but it didn’t play out that way.
At one point, Phi Kappa Psi managed to lap the field, but Clements, a senior, caught up and accidentally wrecked out one of the leading team’s cyclists, putting Jetblach down by three-quarters of a lap.
Krahulik, a senior, had to run his bike to the other side of the track and did a six-lap set, putting Jetblach a half-lap back. That’s when Hohenstreiter told their coach, Courtney Bishop, to put him on.
"I ended up making up, I think, 20 seconds in five laps, a completely insane set for me, but I knew I had it," Hohenstreiter said. "I knew I had to do that because if we didn’t catch them quick, then it was going to be a struggle to catch them the rest of the time."
Despite feeling spent at that point, Jetblach came up with a strategy.
"It came down to a sprint, which we said that was the last thing we wanted, and Krahulik finished it off," Hohenstreiter said. "He was an animal there at the end and wasn’t going to let anyone pass him."
After crossing the finish line, Krahulik rode his bike into the Turn 2 pit and ran toward his teammates and coach to celebrate the 2021 Little 500 title.
Victory celebration
Spectators weren’t allowed inside the stadium due to COVID-19 pandemic regulations, but Jetblach’s family members, friends and alumni watching from the outside hopped the fence to congratulate them.
"I was so happy to see all of them get over," Hohenstreiter said. "My parents (Dwayne and Kathy Hohenstreiter) both jumped the fence. It was just crazy. It was just surreal for so long."
The team received red and white leis to wear and hoisted the Borg-Warner Trophy, which is a replica of the award given to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 auto race. The Little 500 was founded in 1951 by Howdy Wilcox Jr., who modeled it after the Indianapolis 500.
A couple of days later, each team member received a ring with "Little 500 champion" inscribed on it. After the race, alumni gave their rings to the newest winners since they didn’t have theirs yet. Fellow Seymour native Luke Tormoehlen, who won the Little 500 in 2016 with the Delta Tau Delta team, gave his ring to Hohenstreiter.
"He means so much to me and got me involved in this," Hohenstreiter said of Tormoehlen. "He has been there to mentor me every step of the way, and I was so glad I got to see him there and be a part of the program with him and now share a ring with him and get to talk about all of that. I’ve been so grateful for Little 500. He brought me to that and showed me what it was all about. I’m forever indebted to him."
Hohenstreiter said he’s also forever indebted to his parents.
"They’ve supported me for as long as I can remember," the 21-year-old said, noting they were hesitant when he transferred from the University of Indianapolis to IU.
"They got me a bike. They got me some kits and stuff to wear on the bike," he said. "They were still supporting me, and they wanted the best, and I think after (winning), they saw, too, they were like, ‘Wow! He went to IU, he made a list of what he wanted to do and he has gone and done all of that.’ I know they are so proud of me, and I’m just so thankful for them, for sure."
His younger brother, Trey Hohenstreiter, a freshman at IU, also was there. He counted laps for Jetblach.
"I was just excited that he could be there and get to share the experience with him," Trent said.
The Borg-Warner Trophy was among eight awards won by Jetblach during the season. Others included the pole position and team pursuit trophies, Krahulik for being the first person to cross the finish line, placing third in the individual time trials and being an all-star rider and Hohenstreiter and Clements for Rookies of the Year.
Competitive nature
Before college, Hohenstreiter had spent six years competing in cross country and track and field, including all four years at Seymour High School.
After graduating in 2018, he was in his first semester at UIndy when he realized he wanted to be done with running and move on to a different school. He decided to stay the full school year but meanwhile applied to IU and got accepted.
When Tormoehlen found out Hohenstreiter was transferring to IU, he put him in contact with a cycling coach.
"I knew I still wanted to do something competitive because that’s just my nature," Hohenstreiter said. "I need to have something to train for. I just can’t imagine if I went to IU with not something like that. I would have so much free time, I don’t know what I would do with all of it."
Tormoehlen wanted him to join Jetblach because it used to be connected to Delta Tau Delta. Hohenstreiter was set on joining Sigma Phi Epsilon since his grandfather was in that fraternity in college. His grandfather’s death in the summer of 2019 solidified that choice.
"I had my goggles on at that point. I said, ‘I’m going here,’" he said. "I met with their coach, went on a ride with their team but also was still riding with Jetblach."
In the end, he went with Jetblach.
"Jetblach made me feel extremely wanted," Hohenstreiter said. "They took me out on rides, they were pretty much in my ear every day and I realized at that point, my papaw was going to want whatever was going to make me happy."
On the first 35-mile ride, Hohenstreiter made it up a tough hill, and the team averaged just under 21 mph. He knew he made the right decision.
"That was exactly what I needed," he said. "I needed somebody to kick my butt and put me in my place."
It helped that he had been training eight to 10 hours a week during the summer with Tormoehlen. Then for the remainder of the fall semester, he rode five to six times a week for 200 to 250 miles.
In the spring semester, Jetblach worked up the intensity to prepare for the Little 500 in April.
They, however, were disappointed when the race was canceled due to the pandemic. Hohenstreiter said with five seniors, the team was in the running for the title.
He and two teammates wound up going to Georgia for a cycling trip, and that summer through December, he rode 18 to 20 hours a week.
"I think I averaged 280-some miles a week with a couple of 300-plus weeks thrown in there," Hohenstreiter said. "I was so hungry. I wanted to win. It comes easy when you find something that you really want. For me, it was just easy. I had another year to prove myself, and I knew I was a strong guy."
Worthwhile miles
This spring, he went to Utah for a cycling trip that helped him gear up for the Little 500 qualifier, which changed from a four-lap time trial to a 15-lap team pursuit.
Jetblach won that to earn green jerseys for the Little 500 and then won the spring series and received white jerseys. On race day, they wore the white jerseys and green socks.
Typically, the men’s and women’s Little 500 races each have 33 teams, but due to the race being pushed back a month, there were 24 and 17, respectively.
Looking back, Hohenstreiter said the 11,000 miles he spent on his bike in the last year were all worth it when he was holding the trophy in his hands and celebrating with family and friends.
"The experiences that I get with my teammates throughout the year on the training and the nights I get to spend with these guys and trips I’ve taken, winning the race has been incredible," he said.
"It was a great day, great week celebrating with them, and I’ll remember that, but it’s the times off of the bike that we’re going to talk about," he said. "The experience is something that I want anybody to experience because there’s nothing like it. … To be a part of that and get to share it with three of my best friends, that’s what it’s all about."
Hohenstreiter said he will train this summer and into his senior year so he can help Jetblach win again. Hohenstreiter and Herbst will return, and some newcomers will join the team. They also will have a new coach since Bishop accepted a job at the University of Nebraska.
"I’m so excited because I truly think we have a team that could win it again," Hohenstreiter said.
He plans to graduate from IU in May 2022. He’s majoring in neuroscience and minoring in math and chemistry. He then wants start a graduate program for sports psychology.
"I’m still looking at the possibility of med school. I’ve finished all of my premed requirements, so that’s still out there," he said. "I think right now, my eye is on sports psychology. … It has kind of come along with a lot of this idea toward mental illness lately and the importance of figuring all of that out. This is a newer field, which that’s really exciting in itself."
If he chooses IU for grad school, he can still compete in the Little 500 for another year.
"We’ll see what happens there," Hohenstreiter said. "If it ends up working out, I ride Little 500, great. If it doesn’t, it has been a great experience already."