While biking down McKinley Avenue, sophomore exercise major Cody Woods was about to enter his pit to tag another member of his team into the race.
Woods pedaled hard in the final stretch because his team was behind by about 100 meters, he said.
Upon entering the pit stop, he didn't slow down in time and crashed.
"I hit the brakes and beefed it," he said.
Despite the accident, Wood's team was able to regain the lead and won Ball State University's McKinley Mile, which returned after a four-year hiatus.
Cyclists hoped that the race would continue as a spring tradition at Ball State.
The event was founded by the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity about 50 years ago, but stopped in 2004 when the fraternity left campus.
Lynda Wiley, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of student life, said about 550 students came to the event and set a good benchmark for the future of the event.
In LaFollette Field, there were four inflatables and a rock wall for students who were not racing.
The university spent $7,000 on the event, Wiley said, and it was worth it because it allowed students to participate in something they enjoy.
Student Life promoted the event through newspaper and Facebook advertisements, all student e-mails, poster and fliers, which is the usual procedure, she said.
John Huber, graduate assistant for Student Center Programs, said the attendance for the event was good because this was the first year of the event.
The plan for the event was to make it a spring tradition that would be similar to Indiana University's Little 500.
"How cool would it be if Ball State could have an equivalent of Little 500," he said.
The cooperation between Student Life and University Programmers Board was a great chance for programmers to get additional experience, he said.
The students at the event also enjoyed it, Huber said.
On McKinley Avenue, the racers from six different teams lined up at the starting line.
Wiley stood with a gun at the starting line and fired into the air, starting the race.
"I never shot a gun before, so I didn't know what to expect," Wiley said.
Before the race began, sophomore Sigma Gamma Delta fraternity member Pat Henderson said his team had a strategy to finish the race strong.
"Don't die, that's our strategy," he said.
Wiley said Student Life would work with the BSU Cycling Team for future races to help assist with the race and make it seem more doable.
Senior architecture major Kyle Perry who was the last member of Woods' team to cycle in the relay said it felt good to finish the race off strong.
The team of BSU cycling members completed the 27.2-mile race in one hour and 10 minutes.
"We just had a goal to win and that's what we did," he said.
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