KMS Cycling finds success in the midwest
The Killington Mountain School Cycling team was earning their Thanksgiving turkey the weekend of November 18th and 19th at the Major Taylor Cross Cup. The course was situated in the heart of Marian University's Indy Complex, a facility that features a velodrome and a BMX track. After inspecting the dry course, everyone knew which lines to take and where they could attack. However that night, a major storm blew in and completely changed the course. The first race on Saturday featured Aliza Tobias racing with the U19 women. After working her way through a course that was entirely covered with thick mud, Aliza crossed the line in 14th.
Leo Kirkpatrick-Baird raced next in the Cat 2 Men’s field. Although much younger than some of the men in his field, Leo still showed his strength as he finished seventh on this very tough course. A two hour rain delay was placed after Leo’s race, due to a storm that featured a great deal of lightning. This gave Tyler Clark extra time to get pumped up for his race! The extra time worked in his favor, as he rode with a very strong group of 17-18 boys and finished in the third place spot. Elite women and juniors were combined due to the rain delay, so both Turner Ramsay and Tyler were racing at the same time. Turner excelled through the mud and finished in 16th in the Elite Women’s UCI race.
Day two brought even more mud and giant puddles. Half of the course was slippery mud, while the other was a giant puddle. Most of these puddles, which some people swam in, were so deep that racers were pedaling with their feet submerged in water. Aliza’s U19 Womens' race was first of the day again. Most of the Marian University women cyclists were also in this race, so it was full of great competition. Aliza finished mid-field again, and learned many new skills while riding in this tough terrain.
Once again, the next race was the Cat 2 Men. Leo braced the cold and finished third in a field full of the men’s Marian team members. Tyler had a breakout day on Sunday in his Canadian National Champion jersey. While riding an off chamber section, the other two boys in his group made a single mistake and Tyler saw an opportunity to go. His small break grew and grew each lap and he eventually rolled into the finish winning the UCI 17-18 elite men’s race. The team’s final race of the day was Turner’s Elite Women’s race. Finishing in 15th, Turner rode with a strong group of women, and showed much skill on this tough course.
Tyler and Aliza will be heading to Warwick, Rhode Island the first weekend of December to race in the final race of the Victoria Series at NBX. Turner will be flying to Tulsa to chase after those UCI points for the upcoming junior nationals in Reno, Nevada.
