Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Whole Athlete/Specialized Goes Big at Bonelli

Bonelli Park hosted the third round of the ProXCT and second US Junior UCI cross country this past weekend. Graced by Spring rain and world-class competition, the event treated riders to challenging conditions and top notch racing...and the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team came ready to play. Six top-3 finishes, including two wins capped off a fantastic race camp for the team. 

Christopher Blevins
Blevins attacks the Pro Short Track. (photo: Simmons)

Anders Johnson
Johnson wins the Junior Short Track with late race solo attack. (photo: PB Creative)

In as many weeks, Christopher Blevins won his second Junior UCI cross country, followed by an impressive 2nd place finish in a very deep Pro men's short track race. Meanwhile, Anders Johnson took a bold solo victory in the Junior short track event.

Christopher Blevins
Blevins has three Junior XC wins and three top-3 Pro STXC finishes (photo: PB Creative).

Kelsey Urban showed excellent Spring form with her third top-3 Junior 17/18 finish in three consecutive XC races.

Kelsey Urban
Urban is no stranger to the Junior Women's podium (photo: PB Creative).

14-year-old Quinn Simmons had a breakout weekend, with a strong 2nd place in the hotly contested Junior 15/16 XC, then set up his teammate's victory in the short track with the penultimate attack.

Quinn Simmons
Simmons on the attack in the Junior STXC (photo: Wehn).

In his first year as a 17/18 Junior, Jason Rowton had yet another solid and consistent pair of races with 11th in the international Junior UCI XC and 3rd in the Junior short track. 

Jason Rowton
Rowton has shown impressive progress all Spring (photo: PB Creative).

Carson Beckett faced his first Pro UCI HC event as a U23 and moved from a 61st starting call up to 30th by the end of a wet, muddy, internationally competitive race. He followed the XC with a strong 11th place finish in the talent-deep Pro short track on Sunday. 

Carson Beckett
Determination on the face of Carson Beckett in the Pro Cross Country race. (photo: Wehn)

Carson Beckett
Beckett graceful in the muddy conditions (photo: PB Creative).

Chris Blevins
(photo: Simmons)

Check out all the team's top-10 results here.
Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Phenomenal Fontana for Whole Athlete/Specialized

The second stop of the ProXCT series and first US Junior UCI event for 2016 in Fontana, CA saw the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team come away with six podium finishes among nine top-10 results. Christopher Blevins went two for two with the win in the Junior UCI cross country amid a highly competitive international field. Anders Johnson and Jason Rowton both hit the top-10 as well, earning critical UCI points toward their international rankings. Kelsey Urban followed suit in the Junior Women's UCI race with a strong 2nd place finish, while at only 14 years of age, Quinn Simmons landed on the Junior 15/16 podium in 3rd.

In the short track races on Sunday, Blevins followed his win the week prior with another impressive result in the Pro field with 3rd. Rowton and Simmons landed on the Junior podium in 2nd and 5th followed by Johnson in 6th, while Urban finished out a solid weekend with a top-10 in the Pro Women's race.

Christopher Blevins
Blevins on his way to victory in the Junior UCI XC. (photo: PB Creative)

Kelsey Urban
Urban with yet another podium finish in the Junior Women's UCI Race. (photo: PB Creative)

Anders Johnson
Johnson had strong rides in both the Junior XC and STXC.(photo: PB Creative)

Jason Rowton
Rowton on track in the Junior UCI race. (photo: PB Creative)

Quinn Simmons
Simmons hits the podium in both the cross country and short track races. (photo: PB Creative)

Christopher Blevins
Blevins in the Pro short track breakaway group on his way to a podium finish.

Next up for the Whole Athlete / Specialized Team:
04/09/16 Bonelli Park ProXCT (Junior UCI)
Stay tuned for more exciting news!