Snowy success
Two weekends in Warwick, Rhode Island proved to be successful for the Killington Mountain School Cycling team. NBX, the Vittoria Northeastern cross series finale, races took place the first weekend of December. Despite the cold temperatures, the team enjoyed the always exciting course held at Goddard Memorial State Park. The first race of the day on Saturday for the team was the Cat 3 women in which Elli Clark and Aliza Tobias competed. Elli had a fantastic race riding in the lead group, finishing in a strong third. Sunday was an even better day for Elli as she bridged the gap to many riders in front of her and found herself in first place. What a great weekend for Elli! Also in the race, Aliza had a fun time pushing her technical skills as she was battling a sickness that weekend.
Tyler Clark's 15-18 Juniors race combined with the master men proved to be an exciting race, with the top three juniors ruling the field. On Saturday, Tyler rode in that front group through the many obstacles, beach running, barriers, and root filled turns to finish in third place. Sunday was another exciting race with a similar group of four riders controlling the field throughout the race. Tyler finished the day in a strong fourth place on Sunday.
When the KMS team returned to school, they were greeted by new falling snow. Drills in the snow proved to be helpful as the Ice Weasels course the following weekend was covered in white. While the day started off in the rain, by the time Elli and Aliza raced, it was almost hard to see past all of the falling snow. The Jedi women field was a fast and fun one, with many racers choosing to stay warm by wearing their holiday spirited costumes. Choosing to stay warm in her KMS jackets, Aliza had a great race staying upright in slippery corners and chasing down riders throughout the race. Both Elli and Aliza had a bit of a tough time clipping in before the steep and bouncy descents as the snow seemed to love to cling to the bottom of shoes. Although clipping in was a struggle, they both made it down the descents safe and fast every time. Elli and Aliza finished in 13th and 17th, respectively. The snow continued to fall during Tyler’s race with the Jedi men. It was another fast race with a previous national champion battling at the front for the win. Hopping barriers and riding the steep climbs almost everyone else was running, Tyler established a gap to win the race.
With snow falling and temperatures dropping, the end of the 2017 cross season is close to its end in the northeast. While it may be ending up north, US nationals in Reno, Nevada are fast approaching for Turner Ramsay as is Tyler’s flight to Europe to compete in World Cups and the Cyclocross World Championship. Best of luck to both athletes!
