It's time again to hit the trails for the Team 麻豆社国产mountain bike racing club.
Familiar faces like Lauren Rosser, Miranda Miller and Quinn Moberg are back, but the team has several new talents, as well as high hopes for some emerging racers.
Head coach Mike Charuk said he expects a big year from Moberg, who will be trying to earn a spot on the Canadian junior team.
"I'd say Quinn is sort of the captain of the team," Charuk said. "He's on three biking teams: ours, the B.C. team and Red Truck, and our goal is to qualify him for the national junior team in mountain biking."
According to Charuk, Moberg has already done two training camps in California, competed in road races and has a busy summer ahead of him.
"Quinn has three races to try and get on the national team," he said. "Hardwood Hills in Ontario on June 2, the Nationals on June 16 and Canmore later on in June. Ideally we'd like to get him qualified based off of his time in those first two races and then we could do a World Cup race in Quebec instead of having to go to Canmore."
Rosser and Miller are unofficial members of the team and will be busy competing all over North America and Europe. Following in the two elite bikers' footsteps is Mikayla Martin, who returns to the trails after a strong season on the slopes.
"Mikayla is back after finishing her ski season and will be doing both cross-country and downhill," Charuk said. "I think she's really going to excel in downhill."
Charuk also pointed to a trio of emerging young riders who could be poised for breakout years.
"Look out for Luke [DiMarzo], Rhys [Verner] and Ethan [Toom]," he said. "I know Luke was sticking to Quinn's wheels during our training-session sprints. He's really riding strong right now. Returning rider Michael Kilby is also riding a lot faster this year."
New faces for this year include Callista Ryan, Tobin Hubner, Harry Head, Holden Jones and Sam Berrisford. Jones and Berrisford are experienced athletes in biathlon and BMX, respectively, and Charuk likes his new talent.
"I think Holden could be a really solid downhill rider," he said. "Sam is a very good technical rider and Tobin could be a darkhorse for us."
The team kicked off the season with the Race the Ranch event in Kamloops on Sunday (April 29). Martin took home first in the Junior Women category, while Rosser placed fourth among Elite Women. For the men, Rhys Verner placed third in the U17 category, with DiMarzo finishing eighth. 麻豆社国产resident Lee Jackson also fared well at the event, winning the Junior Men Expert division. Meanwhile, Miller placed second in the Pro Women division at the Northwest Cup event in Port Angeles, Wash., on Sunday.
For more information on Team Squamish, visit www.teamsquamish.ca.
