Courtney Wins Pan American Mountain Bike Championships

Earning her second international victory, Kate Courtney won the Pan American Junior Women's title today in Tucuman, Argentina with a dominant ride that saw her take the early lead and never look back.

The Pan Am MTB Junior Women.

 

Teammate Lucas Newcomb also rode well with a solid 5th place finish in the Junior Men, even after an early race crash required him to overtake the majority of the field by the finish. Both Courtney and Newcomb will be heading to Europe next month to race the first two rounds of the World Cup in Abstadt, Germany and Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. 

In the meantime, the next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Sea Otter Classic on April 18-21. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

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Phenomenal Fontana for Whole Athlete/Specialized Team

The Fontana ProXCT marked the third stop on the US Pro Cross Country Tour and the Whole Athlete/Specialized Cycling Team came ready to play. The young riders showed their class at the national event earning victories in both the Junior Men and Women, a 1-2-3 sweep by the Under 23s, and the Under-15 top honors.

Zach Valdez, Casey Williams, and Jacob Albrecht make it an all-Whole Athlete/Specialized U23 podium.

Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton on the top two podium steps. (photo: Max Houtzager)

 

Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton led the charge, going 1-2 in the Junior 17/18 race while Kate Courtney took a convincing win the the Junior Women's race. The U23s faced off against the country's top Pros, with Zach Valdez in 8th, Casey Williams 10th, and Jacob Albrecht 18th, finishing as the top three under-23 riders amid a national-class field. The following day, Valdez and Albrecht earned two more Pro top-10s with 6th and 9th in the short track. Cole Avery and Dylan Fryer finished out the team's successful weekend with 1st and 2nd respectively in the Cat 2 and Cat 3 under-15 races. 

Kate Courtney on top in the Junior Women's race.

Cole Avery earns his third consecutive win in as many races.

At only 12-years-old, Dylan Fryer hits the podium in his first race with the team.

 

The Junior Men's field ready to rock.

 

Casey Williams on his way to his first top-10 finish in his first pro season.

Zach Valdez takes his second 8th place ProXCT finish this spring. (photo: Max Houtzager)

Kate Courtney takes the win.

Teammates Shane Skelton and Lucas Newcomb happy with their 1-2 finish.

 

Fontana ProXCT - Top-10 Team Results

Junior 17/18 Men
Lucas Newcomb 1st
Shane Skelton 2nd
Sean Bennett 6th
Marcus Segedin 10th

Junior 15-18 Women
Kate Courtney 1st

Junior 15/16
Steffen Andersen 4th

Junior Under 15 Cat 2
Cole Avery 1st

Junior Under 15 Cat 3
Dylan Fryer 2nd

 

Pro Men XC
Zach Valdez 8th (1st U23)
Casey Williams 10th (2nd U23)
Jacob Albrecht 18th (3rd U23)

Pro Men Short Track
Zach Valdez 6th
Jacob Albrecht 10th 

Pro Men Super-D
Casey Williams 5th
 
Next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Sea Otter ProXCT on April 18-21. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Another Successful Weekend for Whole Athlete/Specialized Juniors at NorCal High School Race #3

A good sign of early season form, every Whole Athlete/Specialized rider competing this weekend finished on the podium at the Granite Bay NorCal High School race. Kate Courtney started things off with a convincing win in the Varsity Girls, while Tyler O'Neal followed suit with a solo victory in the Sophomore race. 

Kate Courtney goes two for two, with her second win in as many races.

Tyler O'Neal wins the Sophomore race and takes over the series leader's jersey.

 

Lucas Newcomb had the Varsity Boys race in hand, but a wayward lapped rider inadvertently took him down, forcing Lucas to settle for 2nd. Jacob Albrecht also battled back from an early race crash to a solid fourth place finish, while Ben Spurr landed on the podium for the third consecutive race, finishing in fifth. Steffen Andersen also showed his consistency with a strong second place in Junior Varsity. 

Lucas Newcomb, Jacob Albrecht and Ben Spurr on the Varsity podium.

Next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Fontana ProXCT on March 30-31. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Juniors Lead Bonelli XCT Charge with Wins in Short Track and Cross Country

The Whole Athlete/Specialized Cycling Team headed down to Bonelli Park in SoCal this weekend for the second stop on the ProXC-Tour. With victories in both short track and cross country events and multiple podium finishes, it proved to be another successful weekend for the team.

Cole Avery leads out the first climb on his way to winning the Under-15 XC race.

Cole Avery took his second consecutive win of the season in the Under-15 XC race, while Shane Skelton followed his 2nd place finish in the cross country on Sat with a convincing overall win in the Cat 1 short track on Sunday. 

Shane Skelton on the top step of the STXC podium.

Casey Williams battles the afternoon heat in the Pro short track.

Cole Avery tops the U15 XC podium.

Awaiting the podium.

 

Bonelli ProXCT Top-10 Team Results:

Shane Skelton - 1st Cat 1 Short Track
Cole Avery - 1st Under-15 XC
Dario Fredrick - 1st Cat 1 40-44 XC
Shane Skelton - 2nd Cat 1 17/18 XC
Sean Bennett - 4th Cat 1 17/18 XC
Steffen Andersen - 5th Cat 1 15/16 XC
Tyler O'Neal - 6th Cat 1 15/16 XC
Matt McCourtney - 9th Cat 1 35-39 XC
Marcus Segedin - 10th Cat 1 17/18 XC

See all the team's top-10 race results here>

Next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Fontana ProXCT on March 30-31. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Courtney & Newcomb to Continental Champs; Skelton, Albrecht, and Andersen Victorious in NorCal and SoCal Races

Whole Athlete/Specialized juniors Kate Courtney and Lucas Newcomb were recently honored by their selection to represent the US at the 2013 Pan Am Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Tucuman, Argentina, from April 3-7. The Continental Championships will see riders from across the Americas - from North, Central, and South - competing for the Pam American title.

Kate Courtney.

Lucas Newcomb. 

 

Meanwhile, in the fast and furious NICA high school leagues, Shane Skelton went two-for-two with another convincing Varsity win in SoCal, while Jacob Albrecht followed suit with his second consecutive win in NorCal Varsity South.

Shane Skelton tops the SoCal Varsity podium.

Jacob Albrecht on top of the NorCal Varsity South podium. 

Steffen Andersen also took the win in NorCal Junior Varsity South, while Tyler O'Neal was second in the Sophomore Division. In NorCal Varsity North, Lucas Newcomb and Ben Spurr matched their strong finishes from the last race with 2nd and 4th.

Steffen Andersen prepares for his 2013 season.

 

Lucas Newcomb and Ben Spur on the NorCal Varsity North podium once again. 

Next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Bonelli Park ProXCT in San Dimas, CA on March 16-17. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

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Whole Athlete/Specialized Juniors on Podiums from California to Texas

Whole Athlete/Specialized's newest young recruit Cole Avery kicked off the team's weekend results with a convincing win in the Under-15 category at the Vail Lake US Cup Race in Southern California.

Cole Avery on his way to winning the Under 15 race.

Meanwhile in Dripping Springs, Texas, a few Whole Athletes were contesting the first stop of the ProXCT national series, landing both Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton on the Junior Men's podium in 2nd and 3rd, after Zach Valdez earned an impressive 8th place and the top U23 rider in the UCI Pro men's race.

Lucas and Shane lead the charge in the Junior 15-18 race. (Photo: Tyler Frasca)

Zach Valdez gives his all toward an impressive top-10 finish amid a stacked pro field. (Photo: Tyler Frasca)

Casey Williams rode from a 63rd place call up in the back of the Pro field to finish 20th in his first-ever ProXCT. (Photo: Tyler Frasca)

Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton had their hands full with the on-form Mexican National Champion Jose Ulloa in the Junior Cat 1 race. Despite both suffering crashes on the loose, technical course, Newcomb and Skelton fought back to contest the podium. 

 

Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton flank Mexican National Champ Jose Ulloa.

Next stop for the Whole Athlete/Specialized Team is the Bonelli Park ProXCT in San Dimas, CA on March 16-17. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

2013 Team Video