Sea Otter and Boggs Race Report

Contributed by Ian Meintjes, Reno-Tahoe Junior Cycling Team Member and Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab sponsored athlete.

Sea Otter Classic

Here it is: the race that every mountain bike racer from Downhill to Cross Country dreams of, the Sea Otter Classic hosted by Subaru. This is the place that the beginners see the professionals and all the new products at the venue, but what is most important is the racing. Reno- Tahoe Junior Cycling took on the 23 mile course with 3,200 feet of climbing and fierce competition from all over the country. We had all fourteen riders representing our sponsors and maybe coming out of the event with a new one! Upon arrival on Thursday night, the team rested for a long day in the venue getting the team’s name out there on Friday. All of our racers went to tents in the venue talking about the team and showing them how amazing this team really is. Bollé Eyewear was particularly impressed with our team and decided to sponsor us saying, “These are the kind of kids that we want to be involved with. They are nice and respectful.” After a successful day in the venue, we all took the Saturday to rest and prepare for the storm that was going to hit on race day. We had six racers in category 1, one racer in category 2, and seven in category 3.

Category 1 Racers

Tate Meintjes takes 11^th out of 20 in the Cat 1 15-16 Men age group

Zach Waymire takes 38^th out of 45 in the Cat 1 17-18 Men age group

Ian Meintjes takes 39^th out of 45 in the Cat 1 17-18 Men age group

Nelson Bedient takes 42^nd out of 45 in the Cat 1 17-18 Men age group

Meghan Kelley takes 5^th out of 17 in the Cat 1 15-18 Women age group

Kate Kelley takes 14^th out of 17 in the Cat 1 15-18 Women age group

Category 2 Racer

Dylan Syben takes 2^nd out of 50 in the Cat 2 15-18 Men age group

Category 3 Racers

Austin Smith takes 6^th out of 54 in the Cat 3 15-18 Men age group

Matt Nugent takes 10^th out of 34 in the Cat 3 13-14 Junior age group

Jackson Miers takes 32^nd out of 54 in the Cat 3 15-18 Men age group

Drew Swall takes 39^th out of 54 in the Cat 3 15-18 Men age group

Camille Syben takes 3^rd out of 11 in the Cat 3 15-18 Women age group

Aubrey Milner takes 4^th out of 11 in the Cat 3 15-18 Women age group

Boggs Mountain NorCal Race

Boggs Mountain is the ultimate destination for riding in general, but Reno-Tahoe Junior Cycling had the privilege to race this technical terrain for the NorCal Regional Championships. This race is everybody’s favorite and it really fits into our style of riding. The course was full of rocks and slippery roots that could easily throw your tires in the air and you to the ground. Our high school racers excelled on this race course because the terrain was very similar to that of our Reno/Tahoe local trails that we train and ride on every day. Boggs is the NorCal race that favors more the technical riders and a little bit less the extremely fit riders. Good thing Reno-Tahoe has both of those characteristics in their riders!! Having two boys in the Varsity division, three in the Sophomore division, and two girls in the freshman division, it made for a very busy day of racing.