Great article written by the Lakeland Ledger on how the local Lakeland racers kicked it up a notch to represent Florida in the USACycling Cross Country Mountain Bike Nationals.

 

 

Cyclists Ride Out Heat for Success At National Event

By Brady Fredericksen
THE LEDGER

Published: Monday, July 29, 2013 at 11:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 29, 2013 at 11:27 p.m.

It wasn't the steep hills or rocky terrain that affected local mountain bikers the most at the USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships earlier this month.

It was the 100-degree temperatures in Bear Creek Resort, Pa.

"Surprisingly, the biggest challenge for most everybody out there was the heat" said rider Steve Bent. "There was a heat wave … that's just impossible. Even us from Florida were out there thinking, ‘holy crap it's hot.'"

Nine local riders, including Bent, took to the course in the four-day event July 18-21 showcasing the top mountain bikers in the country. Competition is divided into four levels — professional, along with amateur levels of Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3 — and the four levels raced throughout the weekend, highlighted by the professional races Saturday and Sunday.But for the Polk County contingent, the action began with Cody Burnett racing for Cycle Youth in Lakeland. Racing in the 15-18-year-old age group Thursday, the George Jenkins student finished No. 17 overall in the cross-country race with a time of 1 hour, 46 minutes and 8 seconds. Also racing was Chris Collins, who finished eighth in the 19-29 age group with a time of 1:59:01.

"The guys worked really hard; this is a hard sport," Bent said. "The bar is high. The course was ridiculously difficult and challenging. Somebody who's going to do this is somebody who's really serious about the sport, and spends as much or more time than some professional sports require of their athletes."

The team of riders from Bent Cycling and Fitness in Lakeland put together a strong showing. Though its owner, Bent, crashed Friday, he was helped by teammates Mose Howard, Dwyane Allgire, Travis Brown, Alex Meucci and Brent Hall.

Howard put together a fourth-place finish in the 40-44 age group cross-country race with a time of 2:08:02 on Saturday, and came back the next day to finish eighth (9:11.1) in the Super D event, which is a shorter, downhill race.

In that race, Allgire put together his best finish. After finishing 14th (2:18:35) in the 40-44-year-old cross-country race, Allgire put together a second-place finish (8:28.4), just seven seconds behind the champion, Michael Yozell.

"The main thing I wanted to go for was the cross-country race," said Allgire, who lives in Palm Harbor but trains in Polk County. "It was fun to have a big group of people from Florida, from the Lakeland area, to represent racing for the U.S."

As for the other area riders, Brown finished 13th (3:14:16) in the 19-24 age group cross-country race, Meucci got a flat tire in his race and did not finish, Brent Hall finished with a time of 2:08:26 in the age 19-24 race and 15-year-old Sam Connell placed eighth in the junior cross-country race with a time of 9:32.8.

"It's really cool and it's really big. I love that I got to go up with my friends and coaches (Howard) and (Allgire)," said Connell, a sophomore at McKeel Academy.

2013 USAC Cross Country Mountain Bike Nationals - Bear Creek Resort, Pennsylvania

 

 

Mose Howard gets 4th!!!!

Nationals was probably the coolest experience I have ever had. Being able to ride, visit with all my mountain biking friends, and making new friends, I had an awesome time! I wasn't able to make to the Nationals in time to race my Cat 2 15-16, but I was totally ok with that. Just having the opportunity to go and experience what Nationals is all about was so worth it. Before we left I decided I would go a head and race the Super D so that I could get some race experience on this type of course. I flew out of Tampa early Friday morning with three of my teammates: Mose Howard, Dwayne Algire, and Brent Hall. Got to Philly and made the drive to Bear Creek Resort. Wow, the area was just beautiful! As soon as we got there we got to our hotel and got our bikes ready to pre-ride. We pre-rode the cross country course and realized that it was extremely technical! The entire course was filled with huge, jagged rocks that were just ready give riders a big mechanical at every turn. Made it through the course without any problems, but this course was really unforgiving and we were very lucky! Afterwards, we hung out at the Velodrome with other riders and watched racing in the arena. Then we moved on to a local Italian restaurant to continue our carb loading.

I was really looking forward to Saturday's cat 1 race and cheering on Mose, Dwayne, Brent, Alex Meucci, and Travis Brown. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on anyone's side and it dumped a ton of rain on the course. Saturday morning as my teammates stood at the line up we knew it was going to be a wet, muddy, messy course. Mose, Dwayne, and Alex all got the hole shot in their classes and it was looking good for them. I waited at the feed zone handing out water bottles for my team. I was hearing about a lot of crashes and mechanicals on the course in the cat 1 race. According to my friend, Shawn Smith, it seemed as if "a mechanical bomb was dropped in the middle of the course and anyone in the blast radius had a mechanical". Last I heard, there were over 72 racers who weren't able to finish due to injuries or mechanicals. That's how technical this course was - the most difficult one I have ever been on. When it was all said and done on Saturday, Team Bents pulled through some great finishes. Mose Howard made a podium finish in 4th place, Dwayne Algire finished 14th, Brent Hall finished 4th, and Travis Brown finished  13th. Outstanding racing by all the Team Bents racers!! After a short break we were able to get a feel of the Super D course. This course was super technical, but so much fun! I knew I would have to ride smart in order to keep from crashing or having any kinds of mechanicals.

Dwayne Algire on the course

Sunday morning came and I had a call up time of 8:45 for the Super D. I was so excited to finally be racing. I had decided that instead of going all out on the course I would play it smart and ride fast, but cautious. It wasn't worth an injury that would potentially keep be out of the Florida State Series. The countdown started and I shot out of the gate. The very first section was extremely technical. Being on such a stiff hardtail made it pretty uncomfortable. I felt like I was bouncing all over the trail. There were several times where I had to catch myself from endo-ing over the handlebars...and I was riding cautious!! I felt like I had lost some time in that first section. Then the trail became smooth and flowy with fewer technical sections. This allowed me to pick up the pace and try to gain back some of my lost time. I managed an 8th place finish and felt really good about how I raced. Great finishes in the Super D for Dwayne Algire placing 2nd and Mose Howard placing 8th.

Had such a great time racing and seeing all my old friends! I want to thank Steve Bent and Bents Cycling and Fitness for their support and encouragement and getting me to Nationals! Thank you Mose Howard and Dwayne Algire - what a blast I had hanging with you guys! Thanks to Travis Brown for getting my back to Florida. Shout out to my other sponsors: TwinSix, Spy Optics, and SockGuy! As always my TwinSix kit kept me looking cool, my Spy Optics glasses kept the sun and dirt out of my eyes, and my favorite SockGuy socks kept my feet dry and comfy. And a super thank you to my parents for giving me the opportunity to experience Nationals without them!!!

 

Got to meet Lea Davison!

 

Pics from USAcycling.org

Had a great day today! There was lots of sunshine and thank goodness NO RAIN!!! The trails are starting to dry out and should make for some great riding. Went out on the trails today at Carter Road Mountain Bike Trails with my mom and other ladies from Biker Chicks of Lakeland to do some trail maintenance. With all the rain that we've had in Florida the trails have really taken a beating and need lots of TLC to get them back into riding condition. So off we went and got trashed picked up and a lot of overgrowth trimmed back. Plus I got some community service hours that I need for school. Also, I took my bike to Bents Cycling & Fitness to start packing up to be shipped to Nationals. Big thank you to Bents Cycling & Fitness for taking care of my bike and getting it to Pennsylvania for me. Kinda bummed that I can't ride my Niner until Nationals, but I will be taking advantage of the time by pedaling away on my road bike. Looking forward to racing in the next few weeks and the upcoming FSC season and hanging with some of the coolest people ever!!

I am proud to announce that my brother and I are now riding for Bent's Cycling & Fitness! We are excited to be a part of Team Bent's and are training hard for the upcoming race season. Bent's is located in Lakeland, Florida and has been providing road and mountain bikes for 49 years. They specialize in Cannondale, Specialized, Giant, Lynskey, and Schwinn bikes for riders and racers at all levels. Check out their website:  www.bentscycling.com

So, what's going on in my race world? Getting ready to head to National's in Pennsylvania in a few weeks. Instead of racing my race this year at National's, I have decided to focus all of my efforts on training for the Florida State Championship series. I will be traveling with Team Bent's to National's to cheer on my fellow teammates and be a part of this very cool race. I am tossing around the idea of actually racing the Super D. Not quite sure yet, want to do a pre-ride to see if I'm up for it. Looking forward to a fun weekend with some great people! Thanks mom and dad! This is the best birthday present ever! Once I get back I will be racing Trail 2 Trail with my good friend (and awesome recumbent racer!) James! Next the FSC will be on us starting with a fun race in Tallahassee. This year I am going to race the Cat 2 Junior Sport class and I am super stoked! Made some great friends last year at the FSC races and I can't wait to see them again and support everyone as they race their hearts out!