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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, April 12, 2007

Little 500 tradition pedals ahead at IU Bloomington on April 20-21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2007

EDITORS: A credentials request form for media wishing to cover race activities is included below with this release. IU students from your communities are competing in this year's men's and women's bicycle races and are available to talk with you for feature stories. A spreadsheet with state/country, home city, e-mail address and other information for all riders participating in this year's Little 500 is available at https://iusf.bloomington.com/little5/pressinfo.html.

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.

The Little 500 bicycle race began as a way to raise scholarship money for working students. To date, the event has raised more than $1 million for that cause. The race also has been the subject of an Academy Award-winning film, Breaking Away, and numerous news reports, magazine features and sports broadcasts.

Once again, both races will be presented live nationally in high-definition television by HDNet.

Since 1988, IU women have competed in the same two-wheeled Little 500 bike race as the men and have thoroughly established themselves as part of the larger Little 500 tradition. Teter edged out Kappa Delta for the pole during qualifications on March 24. Teter's team finished 12th last year and was the winner in 2005, while Kappa Delta came in second last year.

In the 57th running of the men's race, Phi Kappa Psi has the pole, while last year's winner, Alpha Tau Omega, failed to qualify.

Tickets for Little 500 races are $20 for adults and $5 for children aged 12 and under. Single-event adult tickets are $10 for the women's race and $15 for the men's race. They are available at all Ticketmaster locations -- including the IU Auditorium Box Office and the Indiana Memorial Union Student Activities Desk. Go to https://www.iusf.org for more information.

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LITTLE 500 MEDIA CREDENTIALS:

Editors and reporters: Media credentials and infield passes are required for the following 2007 Little 500 events: the Women's Little 500 Bicycle Race (Friday, April 20, at 4 p.m.) and the Men's Little 500 Bicycle Race (Saturday, April 21, at 2 p.m.). Credentials and infield passes will be issued only to working members of the media. Please fill out the attached form for your newspaper, magazine, radio station or television station. List, if possible, the names and assignments of those who will use the passes.

To secure credentials, complete the form and return it to George Vlahakis at the IU Office of Media Relations. You can do so by e-mailing a completed version of the attached form to gvlahaki@indiana.edu. You also can fax it to 812-856-4265 or mail it to the following address: Indiana University Office of Media Relations, 530 E. Kirkwood Ave., Suite 201, Bloomington, IN 47408-4003.

The deadline for credential requests is noon on Friday, April 20. We reserve the right to limit the number of passes issued to any one organization. Call 812-855-0846 during normal business hours or 812-345-1500 on race days if you have questions.

Media credentials will be sent by U.S. mail to those who request them early. Otherwise, they can be picked up at the Office of Media Relations -- located at the corner of Kirkwood and Indiana Avenues in Carmichael Center, Suite 201 -- until noon on April 20.

After noon on April 20, credentials will be available only at Bill Armstrong Stadium on days of the Little 500 races in the 90 minutes prior to the races. The media credentials tent will be located in the parking lot of St. Paul's Catholic Center, 1413 E. 17th St., where media parking also will be available. We suggest that you bring a copy of your completed credentials form or other media identification in order to park in this lot without charge. Please contact George Vlahakis if you will need help with access after the race starts.

This lot is adjacent to the south side of Armstrong Stadium, which should help electronic media organizations who are filing live reports from the races. This lot also is used by handicapped fans, so please cooperate with parking personnel.

Only those who have submitted written requests will receive credentials. Please be prepared to show identification when you pick up the passes.

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REQUEST FORM

Organization:__________________________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________________________________

Phone:__________________________ Fax:_____________________________

Number of credentials needed:

Men's race:____________ Women's race:_____________

Number of infield passes needed:

Men's race:____________ Women's race:_____________

Names and job titles or assignments of those attending from your organization:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Your signature:_________________________________

Your title:______________________________________

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