Saturday, September 14
Blacksburg, VA
9:00 AM / 8:00 AM
Liberty University Club Sports
at
V-Tech - XC and Short Track Races
James Povolny is a natural mountain biker who has also excelled in road racing the past two seasons.
Cyclists heading for the mountains to cross-train for spring road race season
9/13/2024 5:24:00 PM | Cycling
Liberty will compete in the Brush Mountain Blitz, an ACCC event with a cross country race Saturday and short course showcase Sunday hosted by Virginia Tech.
The mountains are calling and members of Liberty University's men's cycling team are off and climbing, with a trio traveling to Blacksburg to compete in Saturday's cross country and Sunday's short track races of the Brush Mountain Blitz, an Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference (ACCC) event hosted by Virginia Tech.
"It should be a good year," Flames junior Hadden Beykirch said. "It's real exciting to be back … to race collegiate mountain bike and road (cycling). It's been super nice to get out on the roads and train with the guys, and a lot of fun to get back into that team spirit, that cohesive unit that we kind of became last year."
Last fall, Beykirck, junior James Povolny, the reigning ACCC Category A regular-season champion, and sophomore Christian "Leif" Hendrikson qualified for USA Cycling's Collegiate National Race Series Championships. That is their goal again this year, with the races returning to Henderson County, N.C., from Oct. 24-27, "as well as to get some better results," Beykirch said.
"I know I'm looking to try to win the overall for at least the division and … all of the other riders can agree that we're looking for some good national results and overalls in the divisions as well," he added. "As we're looking for those better results, winning some podiums at the races can help grow Liberty's (brand) across cycling."
Next weekend, the team will travel to a dual ACCC and Southeast Cycling Conference event hosted by Lees-McRae (N.C.) College before the regular season concludes with races hosted by the University of Virginia Sept. 28-29 and Appalachian State Oct. 12-13.
Beykirch, who like Povolny came into Liberty as a mountain biker before cross-training on the road in the spring, said the equal emphasis on the two seasons is beneficial for the program.
"Mountain biking is a United States-bred and created sport and it's the biggest cycling discipline here in the U.S. right now," he said. "Liberty becoming a mountain bike school in addition to road really opens the envelop for what our program can offer. Not only does it give us twice the exposure with both the fall and the spring nationals, racing twice the amount of races, both mountain biking and road, but it opens our program to … all of these upcoming cyclists coming through high school and junior development programs to get funneled into the mountain bike and then the road program as well, to really take full advantage of the talent coming through the U.S. right now."
There is a fairly steep learning curve for road cyclists to pick up the mountain discipline, but the cross-training process helps build stronger competitors for the spring road series.
"Mountain biking, obviously you're off on a trail, climbing steep hills, going over rocks, going over roots, so the bikes are a lot different," Povolny said. "The road bikes are obviously like you see in the Tour de France, skinny tires and low bars. It's all about being aerodynamic. When it comes to mountain biking, it does help to have a really nice bike with good suspension, whereas on a road bike, you don't have any suspension. The bike handling skills definitely come into play more on a mountain bike than a road bike, but they are definitely needed in both."
"It's kind of unique where it is a big sport, but it's very niche, but as more people learn about it and watch Tour de France documentaries, they get a little glimpse of what it really is," sophomore Caleb Leach added.
Head Coach Timo Budarz, whose specialties are in track cycling and road racing, is encouraging his 10-man team to make the most of the mountain bike racing season to build momentum for the spring semester.
"All the mountain bikers are strong on the road, though that's not necessarily true the other way around," he said. "I am looking forward to seeing what they can do. We have two really strong contenders, who have a real shot of doing some damage in the conference and at nationals."
Budarz is hoping to add some female mountain and road cyclists to the roster, to build on the legacy left by Bethany (Matsick) Ingram ('22), who was part of a gold medal-winning team pursuit at the Pan Am Games this past April in Los Angeles, where she could potentially compete at the 2028 Summer Games.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Andrew Musser/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
"It should be a good year," Flames junior Hadden Beykirch said. "It's real exciting to be back … to race collegiate mountain bike and road (cycling). It's been super nice to get out on the roads and train with the guys, and a lot of fun to get back into that team spirit, that cohesive unit that we kind of became last year."
Last fall, Beykirck, junior James Povolny, the reigning ACCC Category A regular-season champion, and sophomore Christian "Leif" Hendrikson qualified for USA Cycling's Collegiate National Race Series Championships. That is their goal again this year, with the races returning to Henderson County, N.C., from Oct. 24-27, "as well as to get some better results," Beykirch said.
"I know I'm looking to try to win the overall for at least the division and … all of the other riders can agree that we're looking for some good national results and overalls in the divisions as well," he added. "As we're looking for those better results, winning some podiums at the races can help grow Liberty's (brand) across cycling."
Next weekend, the team will travel to a dual ACCC and Southeast Cycling Conference event hosted by Lees-McRae (N.C.) College before the regular season concludes with races hosted by the University of Virginia Sept. 28-29 and Appalachian State Oct. 12-13.
Beykirch, who like Povolny came into Liberty as a mountain biker before cross-training on the road in the spring, said the equal emphasis on the two seasons is beneficial for the program.
"Mountain biking is a United States-bred and created sport and it's the biggest cycling discipline here in the U.S. right now," he said. "Liberty becoming a mountain bike school in addition to road really opens the envelop for what our program can offer. Not only does it give us twice the exposure with both the fall and the spring nationals, racing twice the amount of races, both mountain biking and road, but it opens our program to … all of these upcoming cyclists coming through high school and junior development programs to get funneled into the mountain bike and then the road program as well, to really take full advantage of the talent coming through the U.S. right now."
There is a fairly steep learning curve for road cyclists to pick up the mountain discipline, but the cross-training process helps build stronger competitors for the spring road series.
"Mountain biking, obviously you're off on a trail, climbing steep hills, going over rocks, going over roots, so the bikes are a lot different," Povolny said. "The road bikes are obviously like you see in the Tour de France, skinny tires and low bars. It's all about being aerodynamic. When it comes to mountain biking, it does help to have a really nice bike with good suspension, whereas on a road bike, you don't have any suspension. The bike handling skills definitely come into play more on a mountain bike than a road bike, but they are definitely needed in both."
"It's kind of unique where it is a big sport, but it's very niche, but as more people learn about it and watch Tour de France documentaries, they get a little glimpse of what it really is," sophomore Caleb Leach added.
Head Coach Timo Budarz, whose specialties are in track cycling and road racing, is encouraging his 10-man team to make the most of the mountain bike racing season to build momentum for the spring semester.
"All the mountain bikers are strong on the road, though that's not necessarily true the other way around," he said. "I am looking forward to seeing what they can do. We have two really strong contenders, who have a real shot of doing some damage in the conference and at nationals."
Budarz is hoping to add some female mountain and road cyclists to the roster, to build on the legacy left by Bethany (Matsick) Ingram ('22), who was part of a gold medal-winning team pursuit at the Pan Am Games this past April in Los Angeles, where she could potentially compete at the 2028 Summer Games.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Andrew Musser/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
Players Mentioned
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Interview with Head Cycling Coach Timo Budarz
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