The first three big weekends of racing have come and gone! Fontana, Bonelli, and Sea Otter were a lot of fun; managing class while traveling and racing has been difficult but rewarding.
On that front, I'll be graduating from UNC-CH this spring. With only two weeks left, it has been a bittersweet realization that this is the end of my time as an undergraduate. On the other hand, I'm excited to dedicate more time to training and racing and hopefully realize untapped potential on the bike. The next block of racing will be in Europe with USA Cycling - I'll be spending three weeks abroad, heading to Austria, the Czech Republic, and finishing up in Germany for an UCI HC race and the first two rounds of the World Cup circuit. With a strong results at Fontana and Bonelli especially, I'm looking forward to carrying momentum into the next couple of races.
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The 2016 Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships will be a weekend to remember. I had been dreaming of sweeping the cross-country, short-track, and omnium titles, but winning all three this past weekend was a truly humbling moment. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my time racing with UNC.
To top it off, the weekend was spent in phenomenal company. I can't thank my dad, mom, and brother enough for making it out to support and experience the ups and downs of the weekend with me. I couldn't have done it without them. Looking forward to some time off the bike before jumping into training for 2017! From the top: cross-country podium, omnium podium, downhill qualifying. A little bittersweet to say that last weekend marked my last conference mtb race as an undergrad. The past few years have been fantastic; I've thoroughly enjoyed racing with Carolina in ACCC and hanging out in the collegiate atmosphere. To say that I'll miss the collegiate scene would be an understatement, but I'm motivated pass the torch on to the younger guys.
For now I'm focusing on finishing out the collegiate season with a bang at Nationals in Snowshoe, WV. Looking forward to racing and hanging out with the collegiate mountain bikers one last time. Photo captured during the conference championship weekend at App State. I am very excited announce Bear Development Team as my team for 2017!
The roster is stacked, the management is stellar, and I can't wait to get to training camp in CA come this winter. The roster for the team can be found at http://beardevteam.com/the-all-new-2017-bear-roster/. With a new team, new teammates, and some sweet bikes, I'm already thinking about what 2017 will bring! Although the team does not currently have a race calendar cemented, it will be published as soon as the U.S. event dates have been determined. Classes at Carolina have reached their rhythm by now. It feels good! Fall seems to be on the verge of arrival, the scantrons are flying off the shelves and, for me, there are a lot of things bidding for my attention! Classes, collegiate racing, training, and most recently, team negotiations and job applications have been at the top of my to-do list.
Beneath the countless résumés, the cover letters, and the constant worry that I won't be able to nail the next workout, I've been excited. I know 2017 holds a lot of potential for me, not only as an athlete and last-year u23, but also as a professional. With graduation looming and the job market on the horizon, this month has been a hectic, and productive, couple of weeks. Stay tuned for the official release of my team for 2017! My last year at UNC-Chapel Hill has started, and it feels strange!
This past summer was one for the books. From early summer, when I started my road trip to CA for Nationals, to the day I moved back in to my house, a week before classes, I spent 24hrs at home. There was a lot of driving involved, quite a bit of riding, but most of all, a ton of fun! Over 10k miles, 6-7 major races, and more gas tanks than I care to tally up later, I am back in the college grind and have my eyes set on graduation in May, followed by my last year of racing as a u23 over the summer. New sponsors and team are in the works, so I'll try to get a post about that up as soon as the details are finalized. Okay.. So to the plethora of people that live by my blog, I'm going to make a concerted attempt to maintain some kinda activity. I made a bunch of updates to the website, so enjoy for now. More blogs certainly on the way.
For now, I'm in the center of base-season, my least favorite time of the year, and am looking forward to warmer days, and especially racing. I'm just trying to use the good times I had last season to motivate me through the cold, long miles! Heres a picture to keep things interesting. --When life gives you lemons, just hold 'em in your mouth until you can put them back safely-- Off season has finally arrived and I'm pretty excited. Two silver medals in Collegiate cross country and short track nationals and a handful of points from dual slalom, I came out of the Division 1 omnium on top in the last racing weekend of the calendar year. Thanks to all who have supported me through the process, I couldn't have done it without the help. I'm looking forward to some down time and maybe some midterms!
I'm also excited to announce that I will be staying with Champion-System/Cannondale for the 2015 season! Hopefully ProXCTs and World Cups are on tap! My first blog-
I am now on the tail end of my mountain bike season heading into my last big race - collegiate nationals. The picture above is from Windham, NY. My race report went something like this: "First U23 World Cup was a tough one! The course in Windham, NY was dusty and the pace was fast. I started the race in position 54 out of 55 racers. Not the best position, but given the passing options on the course, I was optimistic. As soon as the race began, I started picking riders off, and by the second lap I had advanced significantly and settled into a rhythm. I lost a spot or two towards the end of the race to cross the line in 29th. Hopefully some collegiate racing to follow this fall!" Thanks for reading! |
AuthorLuke Vrouwenvelder - Coach and Semi-Pro Cyclist based in North Carolina Archives
November 2017
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