Little 500 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Little 500

Race details
Date	Third weekend of April
Nickname(s)	Little Five
Discipline	Track cycling
Organiser	Indiana University Student Foundation
Race director	Peter Schulz
History
First edition	1951
Editions	74
First winner	South Hall Buccaneers (Collins)
Most wins	Cutters (15)
Most recent	2025: Black Key Bulls (4th win)

The Little 500 (also known as the "Little Five") is an exciting track cycling race. It happens every year in April at Bill Armstrong Stadium. This stadium is on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. More than 25,000 fans come to watch this popular event.

History of the Little 500 Race

How the Race Started

The Little 500 race began in 1951. It was started by Howard S. Wilcox, Jr.. He worked for the Indiana University Foundation. Howard got the idea from the famous Indianapolis 500 car race. His father, Howard S. Wilcox, Sr., had won that car race in 1919.

Race Format and Teams

In the Little 500, teams of four riders compete. They race in a relay style. One rider from the team is on the track at a time. The race is 200 laps long, which is about 50 miles. It takes place on a quarter-mile (440 yard) cinder track. Thirty-three teams are chosen after special tryouts. The money raised from the event helps students at Indiana University pay for college.

The Movie Breaking Away

The Little 500 race was featured in a movie called Breaking Away. This movie came out in 1979 and won an Academy Award. It tells the story of a group of local students from Bloomington. They call themselves the "Cutters." This name comes from the local stonecutters who work with Indiana limestone. In the movie, they race against the favorite college teams and win.

The Real "Cutters" Team

After the movie Breaking Away came out, a very successful cycling team from a college group decided to become independent. They took the name "Cutters" in the early 1980s. Their first race as the Cutters was in 1984, and they won! These students are often locals from Bloomington. They have been very successful, winning fifteen races. They have never finished worse than 12th place.

Women's Little 500 Race

The first Women's Little 500 race was held in 1988. Before that, in 1987, four women from a college group tried to qualify for the men's race. They didn't make it into the top 33 teams. So, in 1988, the university started a race just for women. Thirty-one teams competed in that first women's race. A team called Willkie Sprint, made up of all first-year students, won. The Kappa Alpha Theta team has been the most successful women's team. They have qualified for every race and won ten times.

Recent Races and Changes

The Little 500 races in 2020 were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The race returned in 2021, but no fans were allowed in the stadium. This was due to health guidelines. Fans were finally allowed back at Bill Armstrong Stadium for the 2022 races.

Events Around the Race

The Little 500 is known as "The World's Greatest College Weekend." It has grown into a week of fun activities.

Women's Race and Other Fun Events

The Women's Little 500 race is 100 laps long, which is about 25 miles. It is held every year. Other events include the Little Fifty Running Relay Race and Alumni Races. These events add to the excitement. In 2008, then-senator Barack Obama visited the women's race. By 2019, the Little 500 had raised over $2 million for student scholarships.

Rules of the Race

Riders compete in the Little 500 in 1977 at the Tenth Street Stadium

The Little 500 has special rules to make the race fair and safe:

• All riders must use the official Little 500 bike for that year. No extra parts like toe clips, kickstands, or water bottles are allowed.
• For safety, riders must always wear and buckle hard helmets. Biking gloves are also required.
• Each men's team must complete 10 rider changes during the race. Women's teams must complete five changes.
• Near the end of the race (lap 198 for men, lap 98 for women), riders not on the lead lap must move to the back. This helps the leading teams compete for the win. Teams that don't follow this rule might get a penalty or even be disqualified.

Little 500 Bikes

The bikes used in the Little 500 are all the same. They are single-speed racing bikes with special coaster brakes. They have 700c wheels, 32mm tires, and flat rubber pedals. This unique design comes from the old AMF Roadmaster bikes used in the 1960s and 1970s. The men's and women's bikes only differ in frame size.

Every year, new bikes are bought for the race. Each team gets two bikes. Teams can choose to keep their bikes at the end of the season or return them for a deposit. Bikes that are returned are kept at the track. They can be rented by teams that need bikes that meet the race rules. State Bicycle Company is the current supplier of these special bikes.

Who Can Race?

Students who want to ride in the Little 500 must meet certain requirements:

• They must be full-time undergraduate students at Indiana University Bloomington Campus. This applies to both the fall and spring semesters of the race year.
• Students must have a good academic record, with a GPA of 2.00 or higher.
• A student can only race up to four times within a five-year period.
• Riders must be amateurs. This means they cannot be professional cyclists.
• They cannot have certain high-level cycling licenses or experience in national junior events.
• Students with high-level experience in speed skating, mountain biking, or triathlons cannot race.
• If a student starts with no experience and then becomes a high-level cyclist after two years in this event, they can only race one more year.
• For a team to be allowed to race, at least one member must attend all important meetings. They also need to turn in the final list of their team's riders.

Spring Series Events

The Little 500 includes four other events before the main race. These are Qualifications, ITTs, Miss-N-Out, and Team Pursuit. They are called "The Spring Series." The team that wins the Spring Series gets a special white jersey to wear during the main race. These events also let all team members, not just those in the main race, participate and compete.

2024 Spring Series Winners:

• Men's: Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Women's: Kappa Alpha Theta

Qualifications (Quals)

Qualifications, or "Quals," is the first and very important Spring Series event. It's a four-lap race around the track. Teams try to get the fastest total time. These times decide if a team can race in the Little 500. They also determine where the top 33 teams will start in the main race. Teams line up in 11 rows of three. The fastest team starts at the very front. Teams also choose their pit areas and jerseys based on how well they qualify.

Each team gets three chances to qualify. This is helpful if a team makes a mistake during a rider change. A team can use two, three, or four riders to qualify. However, the number of riders they use to qualify is the fewest they can use for the main race. For example, if a team qualifies with four people, they must race with four people. The team that gets the fastest time (the "pole winner") wears a green jersey for the race.

In 2021, qualifications were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The starting order was decided by the Team Pursuit event. JETBLACH started first for the Men's race, and Alpha Xi Delta for the Women's race. Qualifications returned in 2022. Kappa Alpha Theta started first for the Women's race, and Phi Kappa Psi for the Men's race.

2025 Pole Sitters:

• Men's: Black Key Bulls
• Women's: Delta Gamma

Individual Time Trials (ITTs)

An Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a four-lap (one mile) sprint around the track. Unlike qualifications, riders compete alone. It tests a rider's speed and endurance. Up to four riders can be on the track at once. One rider is placed at each turn. An official holds the bike steady at the start line. Riders begin from a stop and race around the track. Riders are not allowed to ride closely behind another rider to gain an advantage (called "drafting"). If a rider is caught drafting, they are disqualified. In 2025, Libby Lewis from Alpha Chi Omega became the first first-year student to win ITTs.

ITTs All-Time Records:

• Men's: 2005 Hans Arnesen (Alpha Tau Omega) - 02:15.78
• Women's: 2018 Brooke Hannon (Melanzana) - 02:33.083

ITTs 2025 Winners:

• Men's: Luke Naas (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) - 02:19.47
• Women's: Libby Lewis (Alpha Chi Omega) - 02:39.22

Miss-N-Out Race

Miss-N-Out is a type of elimination race in track cycling. Each race usually has five to eight riders. After the second lap, and every lap after that, the rider in last place is eliminated. Riders keep racing until only three are left. These three riders move on to the next round. This continues until the final race with eight riders. In the final, riders are eliminated until only three remain. Then, they do a one-lap sprint to decide first, second, and third place.

2025 Miss-N-Out Men's Finals:

• 1st: Luke Naas, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• 2nd: Judah Thompson, Cutters
• 3rd: Isaac Baker, Sigma Nu

2025 Miss-N-Out Women's Finals:

• 1st: Evelyn Morris, Melanzana
• 2nd: Sophie Boller, WSR
• 3rd: Bailey Cappella, Kappa Alpha Theta

Team Pursuit Race

In Team Pursuit, two teams of four riders race around the track. The race is 15 laps long (6,000 meters). A team's time is recorded when their third rider crosses the finish line. The two fastest teams race against each other in the final. Until 2021, the women's event was 10 laps (4,000 meters).

Team Pursuit All-Time Records:

• Men's: 1986 Cutters - 08:38.81
• Women's 10 Lap Record: 2011 Teter - 07:50.11
• Women's 15 Lap Record: 2024 Kappa Alpha Theta - 10:16.95

Team Pursuit 2025 Winners:

• Men's: Cutters
• Women's: Alpha Chi Omega

Fall Series Events

The Indiana University Student Foundation and the Riders Council also offer fall events for students. They also have clinics to help students improve their cycling skills. Fall Series events include ITTs, Street Sprints, CycloCross, and the Tuesday Night Race Series. The results from the Fall Series do not count towards the Little 500.

Tuesday Night Race Series

Each Tuesday night has three different cycling events:

• Scratch race: Men race ten laps, and women race eight laps.
• Points race: Men race twenty laps, and women race fifteen laps.
• Elimination race heats.

Media Coverage

In 2009, a half-hour documentary called Ride Fast, Turn Left was made. It followed four teams as they got ready for and competed in the race. In February 2015, a movie called One Day in April was released. It showed two men's and two women's teams preparing for the race.

A Bollywood movie from 1992, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, was based on the Little 500. It was also inspired by Breaking Away.

Highlights of the 1981 race were shown on ESPN. The first big TV coverage was by CBS Sports Saturday for the 1982 race. The races have also been broadcast live on the Indiana University student radio station WIUX. Since 2002, they have been shown on television on AXS.tv.

List of Winners