Roanoke College Cycling took all three steps of the ACC Conference Championship podium this weekend in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Nathaniel Gervez had a stand-out season, mixing it up with some of the fastest riders in the country and professional level competition. He won all three of the collegiate races he entered and finished just ahead of his teammates in the conference, William Dodds and Gus Lynott. For his accomplishments, he will receive an extremely important front row call up at Nationals in Arkansas.
 
This weekend's course brought a whole new mentality and skillset than any previous courses that we had raced so far this season. It had many European style features- such as a steep grass wall, muddy off-camber sections, and Belgian stairs.
 
Nathaniel chose to compete in the UCI International Elite Men's race on Saturday. He was in a battle with a rider from Marian University for the entire race, fighting for fifth place in a big field of 30 riders. He got slightly gapped off the wheel in the closing meters of the race and finished in sixth place, such an impressive result in a field full of heavy hitters.
 
William Dodds had a spectacular ride in the Collegiate Men's A race. He recalls the race here: "As the race began, I found myself in the lead group of about 4-5 guys. There was never a moment when I was alone either, constantly fighting for position and riding on the absolute limit to not make any silly mistakes, while riding as fast as possible. As the race went on, the group I was in began to get strung out. I then found myself in a battle for the last podium spot. It was a very even matchup between the two of us, while he had better skill hopping the stairs and barriers, I had just enough speed in my legs to stay right on his wheel running. In the end, it came down to a nail-biting sprint. Unfortunately, I had to settle for fouth place, but for me this was an excellent step towards the National Championships in just two short weeks." William had doubled up on races and finished in a solid 12th place in the afternoon Elite Men's Race.
 
In the Women's Collegiate A Race, Ruby Telepak rode to a seventh place overall and gained valuable confidence and experience leading up to her first ever Collegiate National Championships in just a few weeks. Ragan Weigel and Lauren Weigel had fun mixing it up with some of the best schools in three conferences. All three women competed Sunday as well, where Ruby unfortunately flatted out of her race, but was able to enter the single-speed race a little later that day. She won that race easily.
 
In his first ever CycloCross race, Aidan Snow took the victory in the Collegiate C Men's race, riding on pure adrenaline and willpower. He is extremely new to the sport, and this result speaks to his future potential. As cycling goes, there are highs and lows, and they can happen from one race to the next. He flatted out of the race on Sunday and was not able to finish, but he took away a lot of positives from the weekend and looks to improve on his skills for next year.
 
Aidan Goldberg won the Collegiate Men's C Conference Championship with a fourth place finish on Saturday and a second place overall on Sunday.  He was excited to wrap up a fun season with the Conference Title in his first full season of CycloCross racing.
 
"The Collegiate A men's race on Sunday was the highlight of the weekend," said head coach Shelley Olds. "The field consisted of 36 riders, one of which was a professional MTB rider who races in Europe. He won the race on Saturday by over two minutes to second place. Nathaniel, Gus, William, and Jensen Cervati took the start line. Nathaniel got a front row call up and never looked back after the whistle blew. He got the hole shot, attacking the field from the gun to hit the course bike lengths ahead of the rest. He never let off the gas and when he looked back, only the MTB pro rider, Cole Punchard from Brevard College, was able to follow.  Nathaniel and Cole went back and forth trading places on the front and riding away from the field. In the final lap, Cole did everything he could to drop Nathaniel, but he just kept fighting. When they came onto the pavement in the final sprint, Cole was only a few seconds ahead of Nathaniel. This was such an incredible result and performance by the rider representing Roanoke College. Our school name was being called on the loudspeaker for the entire race, as all of the other Varsity programs watched the battle between Brevard and Roanoke. We are officially a force to be reckoned with!"