Weekend of April 12-13: Volunteering and Racing

The WCU Cycling Team had a busy and productive time this weekend in Georgia. On Saturday, the team departed at 4 a.m. from Western Carolina to volunteer all day at the Warrior Dash in Mountain City, Georgia. We had 15 members and friends out working hard to bring home a big payday to supplement the team budget next year. Collegiate mountain bike season is the focus of the team and we intend to make our biggest presence in history next semester!

The WCU Cycling Team came out in full force to volunteer at the Warrior Dash race in Mountain City on Saturday.

WCU Cycling Team member Shayla Nicholson’s Dad, Jeff Nicholson came out to race and finished 8th overall.

 

On Sunday, two WCU Cycling Team members headed down to Clayton, Georgia for a very hilly Tour of Georgia Gran Fondo. The race featured 12,000 feet of climbing and 108 miles with 4 timed sections- the final section being the infamous Hogpen Gap as featured in the immensely popular Six Gap century ride. Thanks Smoky Mountain Bicycles for the free entries for the team!

Andrew Nicholson post-ride, 10th overall and 2nd in Collegiate Male Category

Troy Adams finished in 5th place overall, behind  Reid Beloni of Greenlife-Suburu Cycling Team. Troy decided to ride the last 50 miles solo as he was tired of going slow (only the timed sections affected the standings). Andrew Nicholson placed 10th overall, after volunteering all day Saturday! This was Andrew’s longest ride to date and on an extremely arduous route.

 

On Wednesday, a few members of the team are headed to Carrier Park in Asheville to race in the Ring of Fire crit series. The WCU Cycling Team has two more century rides on the calendar- Issaquena’s Last Ride and the Tour de Cashiers to finish up the semester. The very qualified Nick Lacombe intends to work as a bike mechanic at Smoky Mountain Bicycles this summer in addition to racing nearly every weekend wearing the Smoky Mountain Bicycles jersey. Best of luck to him and the rest of the team, as we will continue to ride hard all summer and come into mountain bike season as strong as ever!