Embedded Files
What a season!
What a season!
Some really impressive results from Saturday October 10th from everyone. I think, on the whole, our team has shown a lot of resilience this season. I'm just thinking through things that happened yesterday: hurt ankles, wrists, pedals falling off, crashes, illness, various other things I probably don't know about and still finishing races with impressive results.
Now, that's not to say that I don't want to you quit if you're hurt, it's good to know when you can't or shouldn't continue, but at the same time I've rarely heard anyone tell me at staging that they are feeling great. In fact, most of the time some of the best results I see are after you've told me you aren't 100%. Case in point is Jack Thomas who was coming into the race recovering from a cold and put up his best result of the season.
So good work pushing yourself when things weren't 100% perfect, that's a big part of this bike racing stuff.
So good work pushing yourself when things weren't 100% perfect, that's a big part of this bike racing stuff.
We had some really good performances. Middle School on the whole continued to crush it. We had JP, London, and Henry D take podium spots in MS Boys C. Jack Childers pulled off 2nd in a stunner of a race, Lauren grabbed 3rd, and James finished off the morning just behind the winner with a close 2nd place.
Kent (6), Tristan (7), and Viana (6) finished just off the podium all with top 10 finishes.
Those efforts were enough to put us squarely in 1st overall, winning by 142 points over CRC, well done!
This is the first time I've ever seen our team take 1st overall and I was happy to see them all crowd together on the top step, awesome work, Stars!!!
In high school, we had some stiff competition, but Rachel (4) and Sophia (3) grabbed podium spots while Chloe (7), Lila (9), Jack (7), and Jackson (10) placed in the top 10.
In the overall standings, we had some exceptional results:
Middle School
James Thomas - 1st
Jack Childers - 3rd
JP Price - 3rd
Lauren Yates - 3rd
Viana Garland - 4th
London Merchant - 4th
High School
Rachel Reynolds - 3rd
Sophia Black - 4th
Very cool to see so many Stars with hardware around their necks yesterday.
Podium results don't really tell the whole story, though. I'd like to also focus on how well everyone improved as a team.
Podium results don't really tell the whole story, though. I'd like to also focus on how well everyone improved as a team.
For every podium that we have, there's a whole team of racers who pushed each of those people in practice to ride harder and faster than they thought they could.
Looking at our trends overall, the team improved significantly across our race series. Our median percent off the winner went from 16% to 12% to 11% across the races, and our median position went from 35% to top 25%. We peaked at Monticello, which was the plan, with 15 top 10s, 8 top 5s, and 13 negative splits, which means that our pacing and our race craft skills improved overall. Worth also calling out some of our riders who had some of the biggest improvement in their times compared to their category winner from the beginning of the season to the end. This includes:
Milo Joy (20%)
Henry Dumond (19%)
Sophia Black (18%)
Tristan Hines (15%)
Rick Gerner (12%)
Ryan Vann (12%)
Nolan Hall (11%)
The rest of the team improved or maintained their speed relative to the race leader and those who didn't were because of mechanicals or injuries. These metrics aren't as fun as getting podium, but they matter because it shows improvement, which is what we work for.
But stats aside, maybe the more important things are the stories in these races. James Thomas lost a close overall in MS boys B last fall, moved up to A this past spring and then put in some serious work over the summer, including an impressive Nationals showing, to finish 1st overall this fall. If you've ridden with a Thomas you know they don't quit and James has shown again and again that he doesn't give up.
Sophia Black just joined the team this year and showed some serious tenacity yesterday. We watched her come across the line in 3rd with an injured ankle. She'd been in 1st place when the crash happened, which was disappointing, but seriously impressive pulling off 3rd regardless. Her teammates quickly surrounded her, gave her a hug, and took her to the med tent. I'd take a team that cares for their teammates like that over a podium any day.
Felix Dalton crossed handlebars at the start of the race and quickly dropped to the back of the pack. When I saw him at the 1 mile mark his face said, "leave me alone, I'm racing." That head down, hard work paid off as he passed a couple dozen racers to eventually take 12th place.
Missing the first race is tough because your starting position suffers the rest of the season, Thijs, Alex, and Henry T all started at the back of the pack at the beginning of each race but battled to the front each time, passing 25-40 kids each race. Passing that many is not easy, but each of them battled it out making the assertive moves they had to in order to get toward the front. Impressive work that often goes unseen.
Lila Nicely doesn't like the spotlight, but she is one of the hardest workers on the team. After a disappointing result at Stokesville she went to work putting in regular, steady effort to get back into the top 10 at Monticello and it paid off with 9th place overall.
Really proud of everyone this season, it's been impressive to watch. I've got a story about each and every one of you, but this is already long enough, so we'll save it for the team party. My favorite thing to see, though, has been the support and camaraderie that you've supplied each other. I have seen you cheering for each other, checking in on each other, welcoming new racers, and that's really what this is all about. Thanks for making it a great season.
Rest up, you've earned it. Way to go Stars! - Coach Justin
Rest up, you've earned it. Way to go Stars! - Coach Justin
Page updated
Report abuse