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<\/a><\/p>\nMarch has been an amazing month for the Reno-Tahoe Composite team. It started out with the first of the famous NorCal series. These 6 races host the fastest kids not only in California, but on the west coast. So, for the second year in a row the Reno-Tahoe Composite team made the commute to the first race of this series in East Garrison, Fort Ord. The goal for everyone was podium and we proved that a small team from Reno, Nevada is a force to reckon with.<\/p>\n
The race was on Sunday, so the entire Reno-Tahoe Composite team packed into the team Suburban and headed down to pre-ride on Saturday. The drive, however long, was definitely fun. We don\u2019t call ourselves teammates or friends. What we are is a family. We had no trouble sharing a cramped car, or making embarrassing jokes with each other because of the bond that this team shares. Even when we finally got to the race, the jokes didn\u2019t stop. They didn\u2019t stop until it was time to pre-ride. This is when it got serious.<\/p>\n
Along with riding the course to get a feel for it, we also had training to do. We started out riding together for the warm up, but we all knew the different speeds we have in our group. When everyone had completed their training, we met back at the Pits, drank our GetReal Nutrition active recovery mixes, and headed off for the hotel. The team met for dinner later on that night. We normally try to eat as healthy as we can in order to maximize our performance for the next day. Our coaches have taught us about the consumption of carbs as our main food group, not just before races, but all of the time. A good source of carbs is the gluten free pasta we all ate for dinner that night and it showed the next day.<\/p>\n
The team car picked everyone up from their hotels early in the morning so we could drive to the race and watch our youngest rider, Aubrey Milner, race in the freshman category. Being her first race in a high school league, no one knew what to expect out of her so the pressure she had was very minimal. However, now she proved to us that she can race competitively in the front group.<\/p>\n
Aubrey pulled out a strong 4th<\/sup> place in a stacked category of 24 girls.<\/p>\n \u00a0 In the sophomore category, we had three racers: \u00a0Austin Smith, Zach Waymire, and Tate Meintjes. They also exceeded the expectations of our coaches as well as parents.<\/p>\n Austin Smith powered himself into a 6th<\/sup> place out of 54 riders.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Zach Waymire pedaled himself into a 5th<\/sup> place podium finish.<\/p>\n Tate Meintjes had a strong race getting first place and receiving the leader\u2019s jersey.<\/p>\n \n In the heavily competitive Varsity category, we had Ian Meintjes racing against some of the fastest kids in California. Ian wasn\u2019t feeling well because of breathing issues, but he still had a great race.<\/p>\n Ian Meintjes secured 23rd <\/sup>place in the stacked varsity category.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The second NorCal race of the series took place in Granite Bay, California. Theses trails were much more familiar to us because we have ridden and raced there previously. We all had high expectations going into this race because we were comfortable with the course. With that being said, it was a record setting 85 degrees come race day. After a 6th<\/sup> place call up at the starting line, Austin Smith maintained that same position with another 6th<\/sup> place finish. Aubrey Milner moved up a podium spot to take 3rd<\/sup> place in the freshman category. Tate Meintjes ended with a strong 2nd<\/sup> place finish. Sophomore racer, Zach Waymire, and varsity racer, Ian Meintjes, were unable to finish the race.<\/p>\n On March 28, 2015, the team loaded into the team Suburban to make another trip to the 3rd<\/sup> NorCal race at the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey. We drove down all day Saturday to make it in time for pre-ride. After we rode the course and did our workout for the day, we headed to our hotels. Our coach, Trevor DeRuise, made time out of his busy race schedule to come down and cheer us on. The next day was full of excitement. We got to the venue early to set up our Silver Sage Sports and Fitness sponsored tents and banners. The first race of the day was the girl\u2019s freshman category that Aubrey Milner was racing in. We went to cheer her on. After her race everyone else got ready for their own race. One of our team moms planned a lunch which was well needed after our hard races. The finishes were very impressive by everyone. Since our team had such great placement, we went home with a 3rd<\/sup> place in team points.<\/p>\n Camille Syben and Aubrey Milner finished with a 1st<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup> place, respectively.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Zach Waymire and Austin Smith finished with 3rd<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup> place finishes, respectively, out of 49 racers.<\/p>\n Tate Meintjes finished with a solid 8th<\/sup> place out of 49 racers.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Ian Meintjes finished with a 14th<\/sup> place out of 22 racers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n