With a focus on skills, fitness and fun, the New Hampton Mountain Bike Team trains at various local trail networks during one of the most spectacular times of year in New England. The terrain ranges from dirt roads and smooth flowing single track to very technical and rugged trails with steep climbs and rocky descents. These trails help riders of all ability levels to develop and sharpen their skills and build confidence while having a lot of fun. We also ride and maintain our ever-improving home course on a regular basis.
The team competes in the Lakes Region and Northern New England Race Series against public and private schools and clubs. “Cross-country” style races are held throughout the season at various schools, with each race having three different levels for boys and girls. All riders compete against others with similar ability, from experts to beginners. We welcome all adventurous riders to join us in one of the most exciting life sports.
In our final race at Holderness School, Caleb Palowich had his best result in B class and Eli had his top result in C class. Ben Hamson got stuck in a pile up which held him back in the results while a few other riders had some bike issues during the race. On a cold day, our team had fun and worked hard to finish the race. The coaches are proud of the work and their accomplishments this year!
In the second race of the season, riders raced on a 4.5 mile trail that consisted of some single track and a lot of double track at the start and end. Riders started with a 1/2 mile accent up a hill that led into the woods. Caleb Palowich finished in 3rd place! Eli Palowich was came in 25th place. Coaches have seen significant improvement thus far this year in our riding ability.
Cardigan Mountain has some of the best trails to race on including some flow trails. Caleb Palowich finished 28th which put him 8 minutes out of the lead. Ben Hamson, Eli Palowich and Jakob Ahern finished 27th, 28th, 29th. Other members of our team continue to improve each week. I look forward to our last race of the year at Holderness
Our home race is always exciting! Our riders know the trails so well and are able to capitalize on it. Caleb Palowich moved up to B class for this race for the first time. Ben Hamson took the lead off the start for the Huskies in C class. Jakob Ahern showed considerable improvement and finished 39th in C class. Despite being tired after this race, all of our riders finished this race.
The Huskies started the year at our largest race of the season at Proctor Academy where there were close to 30 schools. Caleb Palowich came in 5th place for the NHS in C class which was an impressive start to the season in his second year of competitive mountain biking. Captain Ben Hamson placed 82nd. We look forward to our next race at Portsmouth!