Bobby Lea, a Penn State cyclist, claimed the omnium title at the 2005 Collegiate Road National Championships held May 13-15 in Lawrence, Kan. Lea rode his bicycle to the overall title in the Men's Division I category by placing first in the 84.6-mile road race and second in the just under 1.5 hour-long criterium.
"It's so exciting to finally win this one for Penn State. I've been aiming for it the past few years. It's not just for me, but also my Penn State coach and friend, Jim Young," Lea said.
The omnium champion is crowned through addition of points placings from the two events for male riders in the Division I category. By winning the road race and placing second in the criterium, Lea was able to win the omnium over second-place finisher, Jake Rytlewski of Marian College.
At the Collegiate National Championships, Lea competed for Penn State. Having competed for the University the past six years at the championships, he was ecstatic to add the nation's most prestigious collegiate road title to his list of collegiate track national championships.
Looking ahead, the Penn State Lehigh Valley senior will continue competing throughout the summer at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown and throughout the country at national and regional road and track cycling events.