The Roanoke College Cycling Team competed in the first MTB race of the season this past weekend at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The small but mighty squad captured podiums in each of the categories and both of the disciplines that they entered.

In his first ever collegiate competition, Freshman Aidan Snow had a hard battle in the XC race, but used good pacing and strong legs to move from eighth place all the way up to third over the course of the 10-mile rugged and technical course. Aidan Goldberg also represented in the Category B race, using the event as an opener for the weeks to come and finishing 8th overall.

Coming off a week of illness and unsure of his form, Samuel Lang had an incredible performance in the category A men's race, finishing second on a brutal course with steep, fast descents and over 600ft of climbing in each of the three-mile laps. After one hour and 40 minutes of racing, he finished only a couple of minutes behind the overall race winner. Gus Lynott finished just off the podium in fourth, while William Dodds had an unlucky day of bike racing and finished in 15th.  

Sunday a smaller team competed in the Short Track XC race, which is a 30-minute high-speed race on a very tight course. Aidan Snow finished in third place for a second day in the Category B men's race. Gus Lynott had an impressive ride, moving up one spot from the day before, and capturing his first ever collegiate podium in third.

"The future looks bright for our MTB team this year!" said head coach Shelley Olds. "Next up, CycloCross racing this weekend, followed by the next MTB race of the season at Virginia Tech September 20-21."