MARS HILL COLLEGE CYCLING

Crystal Kalogris flies over the final jump to win the women's four cross event. Photo courtesy of Thornhill Photography.

After a nearly decade-long hiatus from hosting races, Alexander Mountain Bike Park returned to action last week with collegiate and open racing that included both endurance and gravity events. Mars Hill College hosted the collegiate racing on Saturday and Sunday, and over 20 schools attended, including out-of-conference schools Lindsey Wilson College (MWCCC) and Appalachian State (ACCC), which made for some action-packed racing and spectating.

Saturday was crammed full of racing with three events scheduled: downhill, short track cross country, and four cross. With unseasonably cool temps blowing through the top of the park, many DH riders shivered in wait for their turn down the short but technical course. Wes Lamberson (Union) had the hottest run of the day to win the men’s A race by an impressive four seconds. In women’s A competition, Kate Weisenfluh (Brevard) was quickest but just barely; Crystal Kalogris (Lindsey Wilson) finished within a second.

Next up was the short track, which featured spectacular starts to each event as riders negotiated a patch of boulders before hitting the first single track section of the course. Lap times were fast on the short loop, which included a wider, steep finish straight and a technical single-track backside. In the men’s A race, Mars Hill’s own Tim Jenkinson took the hole shot and finished a strong 4th. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae) won in convincing fashion, after recovering from a mid-field start. In women’s A action, Mars Hill again proved fastest at the start with Klara Rossouw taking the hole shot. After sticking with Erica Zaveta (Lees McRae) for several laps, Rossouw hung on for an excellent 3rd while Zaveta won and Eva Wilson (Warren Wilson) claimed 2nd.

Saturday’s final event was the four cross, featuring a newly built course on the site of an old dual slalom course that hadn’t been used in many years. With big berms, jumps, and vertical drops, there was plenty of action for riders and  spectators alike. In men’s A racing, Logan Collins (Lindsey Wilson) won the final heat, and his teammate Crystal Kalogris handily won the women’s A final.

After some much needed rest, racing resumed on Sunday for the cross country events. Held on flowy and technical singletrack with constant, punchy elevation changes from 2300-2800ft, racing required constant focus. Following up on their short track wins from the day before, both Werner and Zaveta proved strongest on the longer courses as well.

Full results for all categories can be found HERE.

Additional pics of the action can be found on our Facebook page.

We want to thank Asheville Bicycle Racing Club (especially Marios and Steve), Craig of Ski Country Sports, David Ross of Falcon Development, and Jon Marsden for use of their tools and equipment (from shovels to Bobcats) in helping get these courses in shape. However, we appreciate even more the sweat equity they invested in renovations made to Alexander Mountain Bike Park. Because of them and the hard work of Mars Hill College students, the park is witnessing a renaissance, so get out there and ride and see what great shape the trails are in. And let’s host more races sometime soon!

Klara Rossouw, Corey Davis, Maitland Jones, Sebastian Scherf, and Tim Jenkinson in the Coed Team Sprint. Lacey Douglas had just pulled off after completing the first lap.

Eight Mars Hill riders competed at track nationals last week and thoroughly enjoyed learning a new discipline. Here’s a report from one of those riders, freshman Corey Davis:

Last week the Mars Hill College cycling team competed at USA Cycling’s collegiate track nationals. The team sent an eight person roster to compete at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis.  The men performed well in the 4k individual pursuit and kilometer time trial despite the lack of aero equipment or prior race experience on the track. Tim Jenkinson and Sebastian Scherf faced tough wind conditions during the flying 200 meter but still put up respectable times. In the Co Ed team sprint Mars Hill performed well despite a less than stellar start. The men’s team pursuit squad was happy with their performances the next day as they were not far off podium pace despite lack of equipment and practice. Sebastian Scherf qualified for the points race finals and finished the race against stiff competition.  Klara Rossouw and Lacey Douglas finished well in the 3k individual pursuit, flying 200 and 500m time trial, their first time in each events.

The Southeast had a strong showing at this year’s track nationals with a podium finish for Lees-McRae in D1 and Cumberland University in D2.  For it being the team’s first time racing on track we are already looking forward to next year. With another year of track experience we plan on improving on this year’s sixth place finish to a spot on the podium. We would also like to thank and congratulate Marian University for hosting this year’s race and winning the team omnium again. We also want to thank the Asheville cycling community for letting us use their bikes and equipment.

Full results can be found HERE.

More photos can be found on our Facebook page.

Maitland Jones takes the lead in Saturday's short track event.

Mars Hill Cycling raced to strong results at Georgia Tech mountain bike races over the weekend, including short track and dual slalom events on Saturday and a cross country event on Sunday. Centrally located in the Southeastern Conference, the Georgia Tech races drew riders from across the conference for a well-attended and competitive weekend of racing. Both days were held outside of Conyers, GA, at the Georgia International Horse Park, which hosted events for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in equestrian, modern pentathlon, and mountain biking.

The short track was held on a figure eight style course that included a flat, grassy starting stretch that narrowed to wooded single track before looping back around on hard-packed grass. The B men’s short track gave Mars Hill its first victory of the season. Maitland Jones infiltrated the lead group and demonstrated that he was the strongest by fending off a last lap attack and coming across the line unchallenged. Jones will now move up to the A category. Mars Hill’s Chad Capobianco rode to a strong 10th after starting last and fighting his way through the field the entire race.

Mikey Keith, Tim Jenkinson, and Corey Davis represented Mars Hill in the men’s A race. Jenkinson got the best start, and after a big effort, made his way into the leading group of four. Keith soon bridged up to give Mars Hill two riders in the lead group of five. The race exploded on the last lap when previous efforts took their toll. Keith and Jenkinson finished in 4th and 5th. Davis claimed a top 15.

The A women’s race developed in a similar way with four riders in the lead group including Mars Hill’s Klara Rossouw. That number was reduced to three when Rachel Millsop, last year’s D2 individual omnium national champion, crashed in the single track. The three carried on with Rossouw sitting second wheel and looking strong. Millsop chased but never regained contact with the leaders. With one lap to go Rossouw lost contact but still managed to hold on to a strong 3rd place.

Laura Rice represented Mars Hill in the B women’s race and looked strong from the beginning by taking the hole shot into the first section of single track. In her first bike race ever, Rice showed determination by fighting all the way to the end and earning a spot on the podium in 3rd.

Klara Rossouw rails a berm in the dual slalom.

Later in the afternoon, Rossouw, Davis, and Marco Liubenov competed in the dual slalom. Rossouw looked to be the fastest of the A women but settled for 2nd after a bobble in the last race. Liubenov set the 3rd fastest qualifying time among the B men and won his first heat before being knocked out in the next heat by a crash. Davis, in his first gravity race as an A, failed to qualify after misjudging the finish line.

In Sunday’s cross country racing, Mars Hill suffered from too many mishaps and mechanicals to name but still had strong finishes from Keith (6th, A men), Rossouw (4th, A women), and Rice (6th, B women).

Next up for the team is Collegiate National Track Championships in Indianapolis this week on September 15-17. We return to mountain bike action on October 1-2 for home races the the team will host at Alexander Mountain Bike Park.

For more photos of the Georgia Tech races see our Facebook page.

Tim Jenkinson rides to an excellent 6th place in the Short Track.

The 2011-2012 collegiate racing season started for Mars Hill Cycling at ETSU last weekend, giving the team its first opportunity to see how it stacks up to the competition and how it fares in defending last year’s #1 national ranking in Div II.  The Southeastern Conference is one of the most competitive in the nation, and some of our new riders were impressed by the speeds, realizing that there’s plenty of work to do. Looking back at last year’s season opener, however, which was also at ETSU, reveals that we’ve made a  step up in overall performance, realizing one of the team’s primary goals: continuous improvement. Every rider that competed last year at ETSU improved upon their placing this year.

Short track events started the weekend, and we had riders competing in three categories:  Men A, Women A, and Men B. The course was an undulating and fast two minute lap, punctuated by a small jump and a rock garden, both of which could be opted out of by taking a longer route. In one of the larger fields of the weekend, Maitland Jones and Chad Capobianco rode strongly to 5th and 15th place finishes in the Men’s B race. Jones improved upon his 7th place from last year. Klara Rossouw earned a fine 4th place finish in the Women’s A race, also improving on last year’s 7th place finish. The Men’s A field was very fast with two riders (Union and UF) setting the pace off the front. Tim Jenkinson had a great start and held on to 6th place, a much better result than last year’s 28th place in the same event. Mikey Keith came back from a last place start to finish about 10th, while freshman Corey Davis finished a respectable 15th.

In the afternoon, Marco Liubenov and Corey Davis competed in the gravity events: downhill and dual slalom. In the downhill, Liubenov had a couple of strong runs and finished in the top half. In the dual slalom, Davis made it to the quarterfinals before having to withdraw due to a mechanical, finishing a solid 4th despite.  Liubenov had a solid qualifying run, making it into the final round of sixteen but had troubles competing after an injury sustained during practice runs. Last year, Liubenov raced in the C category but is now finding good results in the B category.

On Sunday, the cross country race took place on a challenging figure eight course. The Mens’ A race was once again won by Victor Fastguy(?) of UF over Brad Perley of LMC, who everyone thought rather unbeatable. Tim Jenkinson and Mikey Keith, longtime friends and rivals, and now teammates on Mars Hill Cycling, finished in 9th and 10th. Last year Jenkinson finished 26th. Corey Davis finished in the top 20 in his first collegiate cross country event. And Klara Rossouw replicated her short track placing from the day before with another strong 4th. And Maitland Jones (despite “getting passed by everyone all the time”) finished 4th in the Men’s B race, which had 49 starters. Chad Capobianco did well to earn a top 20 in only his second mountain bike race ever.

In all, a great start to the mountain bike season. Returning riders showed marked improvement over last year, and new riders demonstrated that they will be a force for years to come.

Find more photos at www.facebook.com/marshillcycling.com.

In a raffle starting today, Hops & Vines, a longtime supporter of the team, will raffle off two tickets to the sold-out Brewgrass Festival with proceeds supporting the team’s trips to track and mountain bike nationals this fall.

In case you don’t know, Brewgrass is a festival in Asheville that gathers over 40 American breweries and showcases over 120 different beers. In addition, they assemble regional and national bluegrass acts to perform. Proceeds from the festival benefit Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Western North Carolina. Bluegrass Festival is a notoriously hard ticket and always sells out. This year it sold out in seven hours.

Raffle tickets are 1 for $5, or 5 for $20. The winner will receive both tickets. You can purchase tickets via credit card by calling Hops & Vines at 828.252.5275. You can also purchase raffle tickets during the store’s customer appreciation event this Friday from 4-8pm, which will include free appetizers, beer, wine, and even hop candy. They’ll also have a sale on homebrew equipment and a 20% sale on wines. The winner of the raffle will be announced at the end of the evening.

We’re appreciative of Hops & Vines including us in their event. We think they’re the best beer and wine shop in town, so in the Best of WNC competition we’re going to vote them “Best Beer Shop” and “Best Wine Shop” in the Hunting and Gathering category. We think you should too! Click here to VOTE.

Spin-Tech Training, the premier cycling performance center in Asheville, North Carolina, will join Mars Hill Cycling’s sponsorship team for the 2011-2012 collegiate racing season. Riders on the team will have access to Spin-Tech’s state-of-the-art tests, including power, VO2 max, lactate threshold, and basal metabolic rate. Tests will be repeated during the season so riders can chart their progress and learn how best to increase performance over the long term. Located just a few miles from campus, Spin-Tech’s fleet of CompuTrainers will give riders ample opportunity to train with power in a controlled environment and monitor weekly progress throughout the season. In addition, Spin-Tech has made a generous donation to the team’s operations budget and will provide a travel trailer for transporting bikes and equipment to the races.

Dedicated to the growth of youth cycling, Spin-Tech will assist in organizing a development camp hosted by Mars Hill College, tentatively scheduled for next July 15-20 and ideally situated between two of the region’s finest cycling events, the Hot Doggett 100 on July 14 and the French Broad Cycling Classic on July 20-22. Camp attendees will receive performance testing and evaluation,  instruction by USAC certified coaches, and opportunities to both train and race in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Spin-Tech has also made a strong commitment to women’s cycling, showcased by a trio of women-specific training camps held this summer and fall. On August 1 (next week!) Robin Farina, current US national road champion, will host a women’s clinic at the Mellowdrome in Asheville’s Carrier Park at 6pm. Cost is only $10. In September, Marla Streb, a multiple-time national mountain bike champion, will host a women’s mountain bike camp. And then Robin Farina and Tina Pic (six-time national criterium champion) are expected to host another women’s road camp in October.

For more information about Spin-Tech Training, visit their website at www.spin-techtraining.com, “like” them on Facebook, or call them at 828.484.9607.

Mars Hill Cycling is pleased to announce the commitment of Jake Dixon. Jake joins the team this fall and will initially focus his efforts on road racing. Jake is a senior at Cox Mill High School in Concord, NC. While at Cox Mill, Jake was a member of the varsity cross country, track, football, and wrestling teams.

Jake discovered a new passion in cycling about a year ago and currently works at the Trek Bicycle Store in Charlotte, from which he leads weekend group rides.

Welcome to the team, Jake!

The Lions secured the #1 ranking by winning the team omnium at road nationals.

With consistent performances at both track and mountain bike nationals last fall, the team claimed a tenuous #1 ranking last December with a 2nd place at cyclocross nationals. After winning road nationals in May, the team secured it’s #1 national ranking for the year. Five teams in the SECCC ended up in the top 15, demonstrating the quality of collegiate racing in the southeast.

The team looks forward to defending the #1 position starting at track nationals September 15-17 in Indianapolis. Read the full article from USA Cycling HERE.

Kyle Knott celebrates his national criterium championship. - Photo by Casey B. Gibson

Mars Hill captured its first national championship last weekend at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships held in Madison, Wisconsin. Along the way, senior Kyle Knott picked up two additional national titles.

Knott, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, took first place in Sunday’s criterium, coming off a strong leadout by fellow senior Paul Webb of Omaha, Nebraska. Combined with his strong finish in Friday’s road race, the win placed Knott at the top of the Division 2 individual omnium competition. Strong performances from the rest of the team added to Knott’s performances to give Mars Hill 428 points in the coveted Division II omnium team title race, besting second place Mesa State College with 416, and third place Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with 413. Duke University finished fourth with 211 points, and the United States Military Academy took the final podium spot with 200 points.

Though Knott shined, there were several other outstanding performances for Mars Hill which figured in the total team points to claim the team omnium national title. Klara Rossouw of Cape Town, South Africa, finished sixth in the women’s criterium on the way to a twelfth place spot in the individual women’s omnium. Stephanie Bunnett of Naples, Florida, finished 21st in the women’s omnium. Sebastian Scherf of Germany finished ninth in the men’s criterium and seventh in the individual omnium. Paul Webb placed 31st in the men’s omnium and Michael Robinson took 39th place in the criterium.

Hugh Moran, Mars Hill College cycling coach, told USA Cycling that he had come to nationals competition hopeful that the Lions could maintain their first-place national ranking and come away with the top podium spot in the team omnium, but after the first two days of competition (which included the team time trials on Saturday), that goal appeared to be almost out of reach.

“Today, we thought it was nearly impossible to win the team omnium,” said Moran said on Sunday. “We knew our women had to do very well; they ended up second in team points and that gave us a shot. We had to come from behind and beat MIT and stay ahead of Mesa. Everything just worked to perfection. All of the women rode well and with Kyle (Knott) winning the crit and the individual omnium — I couldn’t be happier.”

See more at USA Cycling’s Collegiate Road Nationals website

DII Team Omnium Results
1. Mars Hill College 428
2. Mesa State College 416
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 413
4. Duke University 211
5. United States Military Academy 200

DII Men’s Criterium
1. Kyle Knott (Mars Hill, N.C./Mars Hill College) 1:14.29
2. Gregory Alexander (Woodbury, Minn./Brown University) 1:14:42
3. Ian Crane (Bellingham, Wash./Western Washington University) 1:14:30
4. Maxwell Anderson (Waukesha, WI/University of Wisconsin-Platteville) 1:14:30
5. Conor Mullervy (Littleton, CO/Mesa State College) 1:14:30

DII Men’s Individual Omnium
1. Kyle Knott (Mars Hill, N.C./Mars Hill College) 267
2. Maxwell Anderson (Waukesha, Wisc./University of Wisconsin-Platteville) 250
3. Robin Carpenter (Philadelphia, Pa./Swarthmore College) 248
4. Andrew Baker (Easley, S.C./Furman University) 240
5. Nicholas Boulle (Dallas, Texas/Southern Methodist University) 161

DII Women’s Criterium
1 Laura Ralston Cambridge, MA 1:00:31 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 Elle Anderson Lebanon, NH 1:00:31 Dartmouth College
3 Kimberley Turner Seattle, WA 1:00:31 Seattle Pacific University
4 Kimberly Flynn Hixson, TN 1:00:31 University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
5 Traci Kroll Richmond, CA 1:00:31 Humboldt State University
6 Klara Rossouw Marshill, NC 1:00:31 Mars Hill College

Mars Hill Cycling is extraordinarily excited to announce our latest addition to the team. Lacey Douglas, a senior at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa, will join our growing women’s team this fall. Lacey is an accomplished road racer, placing 3rd overall in the Iowa women’s Pro/1/2/3 rankings in 2010.

Lacey started riding at age 11 when she rode with her family in RAGBRAI, a 472 mile ride across Iowa. That experience motivated her to try racing and she’s been competitive ever since. Lacey also spent four years running cross country in high school. Outside of sports she enjoys fellowship with her church youth group. Lacey will likely make her debut with the team next fall during cyclocross season.

Welcome to the team, Lacey!