CB Devo bike team rolling into post-season

“There’s an outside chance we could make the podium as a team”

by Than Acuff

All of the training days, both outside on bikes and inside at the Gym in Riverland, are starting to pay off for the CB Devo high school bike team as they rolled through their third race of the season and are currently ranked fourth overall heading into the regional race this Saturday.

Nineteen riders headed to Nathrop on Sunday, September 16 for the Chalk Creek Stampede with a number of the athletes climbing the leaderboard in their individual races, pushing the team into a fifth-place finish out of 20 teams.

The big story of the weekend came from freshman rider Sarah Bivens. Bivens finished the first two races of the season in second place but in Nathrop she took the lead at the start and held it the entire race for the win.

“That was the first time ever that we’ve had someone on top of the podium,” says coach Torrey Carroll. “It’s an impressive way to win a race, leading the whole way.”

Bivens will now slip on the leader’s jersey at the next race and will be riding with a target on her back for the rest of the season.

Varsity rider Olivia Gordon continues to gain ground with each race. After opening the season with a 20th-place finish, she followed with a 15th-place finish and then gained two more spots in the third race to finish in 13th.

“She’s learning a lot about pacing, endurance and fueling and had a great race,” says Carroll.

Lily Hanna and EmmaJean Lovett proved equally strong in their races to maintain the girls riders’ momentum. Hanna finished the sophomore race in eighth place with Lovett just two spots behind in 10th place.

“EmmaJean’s goal was top 10 and she made it,” says Carroll.

Sophomore Otis McLoughlin is on a similar track as he has been nipping at the rear wheels of the top 10 riders and finally cracked into the top 10 with a 10th-place finish out of 132 riders.

The JV race is the largest field typically and Gus Bullock put in a solid effort to place 16th out of 144 racers while other CB Devo riders also moved up in the standings.

The day wasn’t without a little carnage though, as both Nate Ball and Dylan Alagna suffered midrace crashes. But the two riders have since dusted themselves off and will be lining up once again for the next race.

“Overall it was a good weekend,” says Carroll. “They all raced their hearts out, which is all I can ask for.”

The team will head to Eagle on Saturday, October 6 for the regional race and are looking to step up onto the podium as a team if all goes well.

“There’s an outside chance we could make the podium as a team,” says Carroll.

The team then has two weeks of preparation as they ready themselves for the state championships on Saturday and Sunday, October 20-21.