Alta riders celebrate a first place finish at last weekend’s race in Price.
The Alta Mountain Biking Season will close out with St. George Race
As fall slowly comes to an end, the Mountain Biking sesaon does as well. Last weekend the team had their 4th race in Price, Utah and was the riders last chance to make state. Alta won the D2 category for race four and ended with a third place finish over all.
Ride Leader Seth Bradley is proud of the teams growth and accomplishments and he’s looking forward to seeing what Alta riders can do. “Our region is very strong,” he said. “We have riders who have a very good chance at a state championship win.”
The Mountain Biking league began 10 years ago and it has grown every year since its inception. “The sport has really taken off in Utah,” Bradley said. “It’s fun to be part of it all.”
Our region is very strong. We have riders who have a very good chance at a state championship win.
— Seth Bradley, Ride Leader
Twenty-five riders from this year’s team will be competing in the state race in St. George October 22 and 23. This race course also contains one of the longest laps the riders will run; each lap is about 7.2 miles long. Depending on the category students ride, they may have to race four laps!
One of the team captains, Jessica Law, said she’s excited for the state race because it brings her high school race days to a close. “Its crazy to think that the state race will be my last time racing,” she said. “I’m excited to train hard this week, get out on the course, and make it my best one yet.”
Sophomore Jon Ketcheside likes the competitive atmosphere of bike racing and the friendships he has made because of it. Speaking of the Price region meet, he said, “Everyone was trying to qualify for state, so it was more intense than the other races.”
For now, the racers are gearing up to race their best and represent Alta on the podium at the state race.