Avondale Criterium #1

Today kicked off the criterium racing season in the valley.  The juniors race was first off - bright and early at 7:30am.  We had 3 riders out today for the juniors 9-12...Barrett, Liam, and Emma.  After some warm-up laps - which in the chilly morning air was needed - they were off!  The pack stayed close together for the first 2/3 of the race.  Liam was out front with Luke, who was riding in the category just above his.  Barrett was locked in a tight battle for 2nd with 2 other riders.  Emma, riding unopposed, stayed with the juniors boys for most of the race.  After 10 laps, Liam broke away from Luke and kept the lead to the finish.  Barrett came in strong just missing the podium in a solid 4th place for his first ever road race.  Emma also came in solid finishing ahead of some of the boys field.  It was another great race.  These kids are getting fast!!

Getting ready to start

Juniors on the start line ready to go!

Emma was unopposed, but working
hard nonetheless!

The juniors field working hard on course

Liam working with Luke

Barrett locked in a battle for 2nd

Barrett coming in a solid 4th
in his first ever road race!

Liam bringing home the win

Junior boys 9-12 podium

Junior girls 9-12 podium

MBAA Race 1 - McDowell Mountain Meltdown

It was an exciting day of racing yesterday out at the MBAA series opener - McDowell Mountain Meltdown.  There was record breaking attendance and one of the largest junior fields in recent history!  The Dynamix crew had 5 racers out for the day.  Newcomers to our racing team, Karson and Max, went off first for the junior boys 12-14 category.  The field had over 40 racers!  They battled it out for a 20th and 21st place finish respectively, which was impressive considering they were 2 of the youngest racers in the group.

Carson coming in strong

Max finishing his 1st MTB race ever!

Next up was the junior boys 9-11, with Liam and Barrett representing the team.  Both had impressive and explosive starts, with Liam hitting the single track first and Barrett close behind in 4th.  It was a hard fought battle for both boys.  Liam traded back and forth between 1st and 2nd the entire race, just edging the competition at the line for the win!  Barrett came in strong in 6th place for his first ever MBAA race.  In a field of 27 riders, they both did an exceptional job!

Junior Boys 9-11 start

Liam & Barrett charging towards the single track
in an impressive start!

Liam looking to pass one of the junior boys 12-14 riders

Barrett coming in fast and strong
after lap 1

Liam edging the competition on the line to take the win!

Barrett coming in for an impressive 6th of 27
in his first ever MBAA race!

Last up for the day was Emma, racing in the junior girls 9-11 category.  Emma, as the defending MBAA series champion, was looking for a strong showing today.  She was racing against her largest field ever.  She got an excellent start and hit the single track first.  It was all power from there, turning 2 of her fastest times ever on this course to finish for the win 10 minutes ahead of 2nd place!  Amazing job Emma!!

Emma heading out strong off the start

Emma is all business when she is out on course!

Emma coming in for the win!!

Junior girls 9-11 podium:
1st place - Emma
2nd place - Brooklyn
3rd place - Sarah

Junior boys 9-11 podium:
1st place - Liam
2nd place - Cyrus
3rd place - Brighton

Celebratory cupcakes and silly faces!

Emma got to meet Maghalie Rochette, a pro womens racer
and 1st place finisher at today's race.  She was so nice to take
time with Emma and give her a water bottle!  Thank you
Maghalie!!

Pre-rides, Birthdays, and Family Fun!

The Dynamix crew had a great time out at MMP this past weekend.  With the MBAA season fast approaching, this was our last opportunity to practice the comp loops.  But, first we had some birthdays to celebrate!  Liam & Barrett turned double digits recently!  After a yummy BBQ lunch followed by some cyclocross birthday cake (in honor of Liam & Barrett's recent state championship wins), we hit the trails.  A number of kids from the Dynamix team will be racing next weekend with others looking ahead to racing later in the season.  The preride went very well and everyone is tuned up and ready to go.  Stay tuned for all the racing details!!!

Happy 10th Birthday Liam & Barrett!

A fitting cake for 2 of our CX AZ State Champs!

The gang getting ready to hit the trails!  We have an amazing
group of kids AND parents that love to ride!!

Emma is excited to kick off the 2016 MBAA series next weekend!

AZ State Cyclocross Championships - Gilbert, AZ

Sunday marked the final day of the cyclocross season in Arizona with the AZ State CX championships.  We were much better prepared today!  The weather was forecast to be the same.  The kids were properly dressed and well hydrated for today's challenge.  Tensions were high on the start line with everyone anxious to begin the battle.  Both Liam and Barrett had excellent starts.  Liam pulled into 1st place in his category and never looked back.  After yesterday's loss, he was determined and riding in a different realm today.  He was on fire!!  He came in 1st more than 2 minutes ahead of the competition.  Barrett was locked in a battle with Cyrus for 1st in his category on the first lap.  After a cat and mouse chase, back and forth for 1st, Barrett broke away and formed a huge gap!  He crossed the line for his first CX win of the season!

Emma and Avery were racing for the girls and did very well.  Emma was riding unopposed in her category, but still put in an all out effort riding strong the entire race!  Avery, coming off a illness that sidelined her yesterday, also rode strong despite not feeling well.  She rode in for 2nd place overall.  These girls are fierce and an inspiration!

We are so proud of the Dynamix Devo crew for the hard work they put in all season.  This was everyone's first time racing CX, although you would never guess it based on the results.  This season we finished with:

*27 AZ Cross Series Podium Finishes

*2 AZ Cross Series 1st Place Finishes (Boys 9-18 & Girls 9-18)

*1 AZ Cross Series 2nd Place Finish (Girls 9-18)

*3 AZ State CX Championship 1st Place Finishes (Boys 9-10, Boys 11-12, Girls 9-10)

*1 AZ State CX Championship 2nd Place Finish (Girls 11-12)

Congratulations to the team and a huge thank you to our sponsors who have supported us all season:

*Bicycle Haus of Scottsdale

*Four Peaks Family Dentistry of Scottsdale

*Stans NoTubes

*GU Nutrition

*Wolf Tooth Components

*Cuore

*Maxxis Tires

*Biz Core Strategic Online Marketing

Another BIG thank you to all the parents who were committed to bringing out their kids to the events.  We couldn't have done it without your support! We want to give a special thanks to Deanna Young (Barrett's mom) for all of the amazing photos throughout the season.  

We are looking forward to a short break before the start of the MBAA mountain bike race series and the road criterium race series coming up in January.

On the start line anxiously awaiting to take off!

2015 AZ State Cyclocross Champion Boys 9-10
Barrett Belanger
2nd Place - Cyrus, 3rd Place - Axel

2015 AZ State Cyclocross Champion Girls 9-10
Emma Clark

2015 AZ State Cyclocross Champion Boys 11-12
Liam Clark
2nd Place - Randy, 3rd Andon

2015 AZ State Cyclocross Championship
Avery Wortendyke - 2nd Place
Alyssa 1st

Junior Boys 2015 AZ State Cyclocross Champions
Liam, Ty, & Barrett

Juniors 2015 AZ State Cyclocross Champions
Liam, Ty, Barrett, & Emma

All smiles to end a wonderful season!

Arizona Cross Series Finals - Crossroads Park, Gilbert AZ

After battling through 8 races in the season, we finally made it to the AZ Cross series finale!  The forecast called for sunny skies and temps in the mid to upper 50's at race time.  What we got was cloudy skies and temps hovering in the upper 40's.  It was cold!!  Unfortunately, we did not dress for the occasion and the kids were freezing!  With chattering teeth and shivering bodies, the race was off.  Liam was never able to shake the cold and quickly found himself in 2nd place.  Barrett had a great start and battled with Ty all morning.  Emma was off to a quick start, but dropped to 2nd place half way through lap 1.  In the end, it wasn't in the cards for our crew today.  Liam finished 2nd behind Randy, Barrett held strong for 4th, and Emma came in second behind Alyssa.

The AZ Cross Series Awards were handed out today as well.  We fared much better in the overall standings.  In the Boys 9-18, Liam took the top spot, followed by Tanner (absent) and Randy in 3rd.  Barrett finished 5th in the overall series race.  For the girls, Emma got top honors followed by Avery (absent) in 2nd and Alyssa in 3rd.  Avery was home sick, so her dad, Scott (also racing in the series), stood in for her podium!

Girls Podium - 1st Alyssa, 2nd Emma

Boys Podium - 1st Randy,
2nd Liam, 3rd Cyrus

AZ Cross Boys Series Winners Podium:
1st - Liam, 2nd - Tanner (absent), 3rd - Randy

AZ Cross Girls Series Winners Podium:
1st - Emma, 2nd - Avery
(Dad, Scott, stand-in),
3rd - Alyssa