Did you know that mountain bike racing/cycling was a sport here at Roanoke College? Neither did I, until I started writing for the Brackety-Ack. Many young athletes are on our teams and enjoy being outdoors while also getting exercise. Though, cycling isn’t just on flat terrain. Two weekends ago, the Maroons went down to Charlottesville–hometown for the University of Virginia–and competed in the first Mountain Bike race of the season. The few athletes who specialize in rocky or hilly terrain geared up and went to the start line excited to represent Roanoke College.
One athlete in particular was nervous, but excited. Aidan Snow, class of ‘29, would be competing in his first collegiate cross country mountain biking event. Although during a portion of his race he was in a distant 8th place, his steady pacing helped him secure a spot on the podium with a third-place finish. 10 miles of brutal leg workouts, and even pacing was what led to Snow’s success on the course. Maybe we should take the “Tortoise and the Hare” story into consideration and say: “slow and steady” does win the race after all.
On Sunday, September 7th, Aidan would again be racing, but this time in a shorter time of 30 minutes. Other athletes such as Gus Lynott would also be participating in this race, however in different categories. After 30 minutes of repeated pedaling, both athletes placed third in their individual categories.
One other athlete also had a podium finish in his event, Samuel Lang. Lang had a tough week here at RC due to illness, but he got better just in time for the weekend. His work helped propel him to a second-place finish within the Category A men’s race. Many more events will be happening this fall and winter for these talented young cyclists, so stay tuned to hear more about their season in the future!
Lauren Price
Staff Reporter
