Racing in four countries on two continents over the past few weeks,
Whole Athlete p/b DNA riders have had an impressive start to the 2018
season with multiple international podiums.
At the first North American Junior UCI Series race in British Columbia, Kevin Vermaerke kicked off his 2018 World Championship quest with his first of three consecutive podium finishes. First-year U23 Savilia Blunk and Kelsey Urban
also featured at the Canada Cup, both landing in the top-10 of a strong
Pro women's field. Vermaerke followed his solid Canadian ride with two
more podiums at the Fontana-Bonelli Junior UCI Series double these past
two weekends in highly competitive international fields, while Finn Gullickson rounded out the top-10 at the Fontana XC, showing his building form as well.
Vermaerke doing the national champ jersey proud. (photo: PB Creative)
Meanwhile on the cobbles of Northern Europe, Quinn Simmons and Nolan Jenkins
jumped in the deep end of the world-level road racing pool, taking on
Junior Gent Wevelgem and Paris Roubaix for the first time. Simmons
surprised and impressed many with a breakthrough podium finish at Gent
Wevelgen, followed by 3rd overall at the highly competitive Belgian
stage race Ster van Zuid Limburg, and then a hard-fought 7th place
finish at Paris Roubaix -even after being taken down in a crash and
suffering a flat tire in the final sections of pave'. Simmons then rode
to another podium finish at the Bonelli Junior UCI XC after flying
back to the US just days prior.
Simmons thrived on the cobbled roads of Northern Europe.
Not
to be outdone by her teammates, up and coming 16-year-old Gabbi
Richardson was equally impressive with four podium finishes in four
national-class races at the Fontana and Bonelli ProXCTs, including a
breakout win at the Bonelli Short Track in the 15-18 field.
Richardson finished on the podium in every race entered at Fontana and Bonelli. (photo: PB Creative)
Simmons' podium finish at Gent Wevelgem auto-qualifies him for the road World Championship Team.
Vermaerke and Simmons land a hard-fought, international podium at Bonelli.
Check out all the team's top-10 results here.
Next up for the Whole Athlete p/b DNA Team:
04/21/18 Sea Otter ProXCT #3 - Monterey, CA
05/06/18 Soldier Hollow ProXCT #4 (Junior UCI Series) - Soldier Hollow, UT
06/09/18 Missoula ProXCT #5 (Junior UCI Series) - Missoula, MT
05/06/18 Soldier Hollow ProXCT #4 (Junior UCI Series) - Soldier Hollow, UT
06/09/18 Missoula ProXCT #5 (Junior UCI Series) - Missoula, MT
Stay tuned for more exciting news!