Joyride

The Mines Cycling Team pedaled their way to victory this fall. From October 20-22, 2017, the team competed in the USA Cycling Collegiate MTB National Championships in Missoula, Montana. The competition consisted of several races, divided into two disciplines: cross country and gravity. The cross-country competition consisted of a short track (a 25-minute race within a half-mile circuit), a long-distance race over 10-20 miles and a team relay. The gravity competition is a timed downhill course. The Mines team ranked second overall as a Club D2 team out of 18 schools, fifth overall in all 40 club cycling teams and 15th out of all 61 club and varsity teams in the country.

“I am proud of the improvement I have seen in all our racers and their performance, because that is what got us on the podium at the end of the day,” said Laura Leonard, president of the Mines Cycling Team. “All the support from our team members who did not attend Nationals, our local sponsors and Mines allowed us to get to Nationals and put all we had out into a sport we love.”

The photo above shows student Caleb Reese competing in the cross-country short track.