CHS mountain bike team hits the trails

By Submitted by Mark Jespersen

In their inaugural season, the Carbon High Mountain Biking Team began the season at Powder Mountain Resort Saturday, Sept 16.
Riders race against their grade class and gender: freshman, sophomore, JV and Varsity. The Carbon Team has three sophomores (Brandt Adams, Sam Carpenter and Ethan Daniels) and 1 JV Girl (Raquel Worley). Mark Jespersen and Fuzzy Nance are the team’s coach/director.
In their first race, Ethan Daniels placed 35th with a time of 1 hour 5 minutes, Sam Carpenter placed 43rd with a time of 1 hour 10 minutes and Brandt Adams placed 51st with a time of 1 hour 21 minutes. Raquel Worley did not race due to injury. The race course was an 11.6 mile cross-country style race, nearly 500 feet elevation change and predominantly single track trails at over 9,000 feet above sea level. The next race with be Sept. 30 at Sno Basin Resort.
The Utah High School Cycling League (a 501(c)3 nonprofit) was organized in 2011 and is an affiliate league of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. They facilitate the development of interscholastic cycling teams/clubs for grades 7 – 12 and provide the education, training, licensing and insurance for coaches and volunteers. They also provide a high-quality mountain bike racing experience, while emphasizing the value of each participant (no bench) and placing camaraderie, positive sporting behavior and the cultivation of health over competition.
Mark Jespersen and Fuzzy Nance wanted to share their passion for cycling and formed a team in Carbon County. They recruited potential students back in the Spring via sign up at Carbon High and when the final registration deadline approached there were 5 students ready to participate. They hope that future years will see more students joining the team and potentially hosting a race in Carbon County. If interested to join, volunteer or sponsor please contact Mark Jespersen at Bicyclewerks (637-BIKE)