It was an exciting first race of the year in Frisco for the Nederland High School Mountain Bike Team.

In their first mountain bike races ever, freshman girl standouts Amika Begin came in fifth, Maddie Perry grabbed twelfth place, and Finn Fitzer took thirteenth for boys. Halley Peiffer came in ninth for sophomore girls.

Nederland has two juniors riding varsity this year. This is a big step up in mileage and competition. Laila Waldron who raced JV last year put in a big effort to get herself on the podium coming in fifth. While Grayson Shurr, who raced sophomore last year, endured the fast field to come in 29th.

Mountain bike racing sometimes comes with a level of uncertainty. Reports of lightning pulled the JV boys off the race mid-ride, impacting Nederland junior Grizzly Steuck. The weather shortened the sophomore girls’ race to just one lap. Sophomore Halle Peiffer said the race felt more like a sprint, making it even more challenging.

The high school team has grown from 8 to 14 riders this year and the number of upcoming middle school riders has reached an impressive 26.

Coach Alison Powers said, “I’m so excited about the growth of the program and what it means for the Nederland community.” When she started coaching the team four years ago, the team had only three riders and this weekend they could barely fit under one tent when it started raining.

The Nederland High School Mountain Bike Team took third place in the Division 3 Teams in the Yampa Region.

Sam Harkness - Sophomore Boys – 24th place – 1:02

Grayson Shurr - Varsity Boys (3 laps) – 29th place – 1:27

Laila Waldron - Varsity Girls (3 laps) – 5th place – 1:33

Grizzly Steuck - Junior Varsity Boys – 88th place - 21:22 (race shortened due to lightning)

Halle Peiffer - Sophomore Girls – 9th place - 35:20 (race shortened due to lightning)

Finn Fitzer - Freshman Boys – 13th place - 1:07

Amika Begin - Freshman Girls – 5th place - 1:14

Maddie Perry - Freshman Girls – 12th place - 1:18