Junior Nationals in Orange County, CA wrapped up this weekend.  Montana had four riders mixing it up with the best young riders in the country.  All in all it sounds like the week was a success.

 I don't mean to say that all the riders ended up on the podium.  That would have been spectacular.  Rather I mean that all the rider who participated found a little bit in their racing to be happy about.  It is easy to scan the results of a race and see who the winners were and see who the also-ran's were.  What you cannot see from the result sheet are the small, measured gains that many of the riders achieved.

Two of the Montana riders at this year's Nationals were first timers.  Being at a national level event can be intimidating.  Before the road race I spoke with Joel about the intimidation factor.  I tried to keep him calm and remind him that these were kids with a heart like his and desire to match.  When race time came Joel told me that when he looked around he started getting nervous.  "I looked around at these kids and realized that one day one of these kids might be racing in the Tour de France."  That is when he started getting nervous.  It didn't stop him from giving it his all.  He made some strong efforts but in the end some of the other kids were stronger and faster.  No worries, Nationals has a way of helping grow as a person.  It can teach you to overcome adversity.  So after the race Joel decided that next year he was going to come to this race with a new attitude and better preparation.  After all they are just kids like me.

Luck is a major factor in bike racing.  Sometimes you make your own luck and sometimes you are the recipient - whether it is good or bad.  Coming into Nat's Willy was well prepared.  He had made great gains as a rider and an individual this year.  He started the year wanting to upgrade to a Cat 3 in order to qualify for nationals in the 15-16 age group.  Most of us around him knew he had the engine of a winner, we were just waiting for his confidence to catch up to his physical ability.  There was even one point in late spring where Willy, without saying he didn't think he could manage an upgrade, started looking around for other races that were taking place during the time of Nat's.  But slowly and surely Willy came around.  A few small successes turned him back in the right direction.  There was one race where I told him that he was close to earning an upgrade but I would not recommend his upgrade if I did not see him take charge of his race and take some big chances.  He took the advice to heart.  I watched him perform in races the way I knew he was capable of.  He went of to a big stage race in Oregon where he helped his teamate, 17 year old Marshall Opel win the overall.  Willy, at 15 did this not by being pack fodder and hanging in the back, but by taking charge of the peloton, chasing when he needed and following wheels when he needed.  Unfortunately at Nationals (bad) luck took over for preparation and desire.  Two riders in front of him crossed wheels during a high speed portion of the race.  It was random but unavoidable.  It didn't stop Willy from giving it his all to try to catch the leaders. Willy and his group of chasers were unable to regain contact with the fast moving peloton.  On the phone after the race the disappointment was palpable.  But this year Willy's success came from his development as a rider.  Even if he had made the podium I still believe that the journey was more valuable than the result.

Marshall came into this year with high expectations.  He was on the podium at Nationals last year as a 16 year old.  This year was a different story, he would be a the bottom end of the 17-18 year old age group.  In local races around Montana Marshall showed that his strength and fitness were developing nicely.  Strong finishes against 1st and 2nd category riders helped his confidence.  Marshall travelled to a big race in Tennessee where the winner would receive an automatic invite to the Junior World Championships.  Marshall didn't win but he did finish in the top ten.  After the race we talked and he said I can't beleive I finished in the top ten against the top Juniors.  I was a bit taken aback.  "Marshall," I said, " don't you realize you are one of the top Junior racers in the country right now?"  He had not come to that realization.  I had not mentioned it to him earlier because I did not want him travelling to races filled with over confidence.  Instead he had gone off to the races perhaps a bit lacking in confidence due in part to my not saying anything to him.  All of that shifted when he and Willy went off to the Cascade Classic Stage race in Oregon.  Marshall, who is admittedly not a strong time trialist, won the opening time trial - by a large margin.  He then went on to dominate the road race (with a bit of help from Willy) which gave him the overal stage race victory.  At 17 years old Marshall was beating riders that were twice his age.  At Nationals Marshall knew what he was capable of.  A little bit of luck some well timed and well thought-out tactics found Marshall in the lead group of six at the end of the road race.  Marshall missed the final move which he says was due to a moment's hesitation but he still ended up on the podium as the third place finisher- outstanding!  I think that now Marshall realizes that for him cycling holds a lot of promise and those of us around him know he has the desire to back it up.  I am looking forward to seeing how this young man's future plays out.