Saturday-Sunday, May 22-23, six NCVC juniors -- Alex Heyman, William Reyes,Steven Gaudaen, Burke Nash, Nathan Wilson and Avery Wilson -- plus four parents made their way to Sussex County, New Jersey, for a three event ominium -- the "2004 Can-Am Junior Challenge," a LAJORS event. This is one parent's summary -- others may fill in detail.

Saturday began with a 12K time trial, riding downhill for 6K through New Jersey's High Point State Park, then turning around for a run back up. Every NCVC'er finished, with times ranging from 25 to 43 minutes. Time trial results are posted at: http://www.skylandscycling.com/canam/ttoa.html. William, our top time trialist, finished 37th of 80. Avery, who just turned 10, the youngest competitor, finished 78th of 80.

Time trials were followed by an afternoon Criterium at Skylands Park, a half mile loop around a minor league ball park parking lot ... Again, all NCVC riders finished. Avery pulled through for the 10-12 age group. Burke-Nathan-Steven finished in that order in the 13-14 race in about the middle of the pack, and William bested Alex in the 15-16 crit. As of this writing, individual crit results have not been posted, but may appear at a later date at http://www.skylandscycling.com/canam/canamr.html. It was a fast four-corner course, with a shallow S-curve in the top stretch. Our juniors showed really good discipline, working together in a pack that formed after the faster and older riders (e.g., the 14 year olds) broke away. It was a hot afternoon, and the guys seemed to catch substantial tongue-hanging and burning legs. All the competitors were way above average quality -- good discipline, team work and form. There were no crashes.

Amazingly, a night out in New York City for some of the juniors and their parents, or a soak in the hotel swimming pool for others, seemed to recharge many of the gang for Sunday's final event, a 1.2 mile circuit race at the beautiful Sussex County Fairgrounds. Avery got shelled in the 10-12 race and pulled-up after a few laps; better, we agreed, to hunt snakes around the fairground pond. Nate, Burke and Steven raced, I think, their best race of the season in the 13-14 circuit. The course was a nice roller, with an uphill start followed by a sharp left to the fore-stretch, a few bends and another corner, into a straight half-mile back stretch (which ran beside an ongoing thoroughbred Gymkhana). The back stretch fed into a 90-degree left and 90-meter uphill push (with some gravel) to a 80 meter downhill easy S, to the finishing/starting uphill stretch of about 100 meters. Steve took a mechanical (broken spoke/new wheel) in about lap 3, and busted other stuff and withdrew in about lap 4. Nate and Burke worked hard in a pack of about 8, trailing the lead pack by a half lap for much of the race. They showed really good pace line work with the pack (thanks Jeff Watts and Pete L), and pushed some coordinated jumps to drop competitors. Coming into the next-to-last lap, Burke crashed on the uphill tack. Nate stopped to aid his teammate, but Burke yelled him onward, and Nate pushed on for a solid NCVC finish. Burke sucked-in and pushed hard for his final lap, still finishing ahead of a couple laggards.

Overall, the NCVC junior men finished 14th out of 19 teams. Team standings are posted at: http://www.skylandscycling.com/canam/teamoa.html ... In 15-16, William finished 14th and Alex placed 16th out of 23. In 13-14, Burke, Nathan, and Steven finished 14th, 16th, and 17th, respectively, out of 18. Avery pulled the back for 10-12s.

Overall, I think it was a great series, with over 80 junior competitors and attractive venues. Some of the competitors were national champions, and hailed from New Hampshire to Louisiana, and a lot of spots in between. TSV had a few entrants. My thought is to do the "Can Am" again next year, maybe pulling in other area juniors (e.g., Artemis). The New York/New Jersey teams are tough, intensively coached competitors. It's a good benchmark for NCVC.

Jim Wilson