Day 1 of #MTBNats Kicks off at Trestle Bike Park

The first day of the 2021 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships kicked off on Monday, with 18 non-championship cross-country events taking the course in the afternoon. The racing gave a preview of what spectators can expect through the remainder of the week. The atmosphere around the course was palpable with excitement, with teams from across the country showing up early to pre-ride the trails and partake in the pre-event festivities.

Talking to Kyle Dixson, coach of the Reno Devo squad out of Nevada, about what he's looking forward to during the event with his squad of 22-riders, he said, "We want to have a fun, safe week. There are just a lot of great experiences out there, hanging out with each other, you know, building friendships and just racing their bikes. That's what they love to do. And, you know, they've all been training hard. They're ready to go out and have their best day, whatever number is next to their name after the race." Reno Devo had a strong showing in all of the Junior races today.

The first wave of the day heard the start gun with clear skies and a gentle breeze, but the weather turned sour halfway through the race, with rain and strong winds challenging riders on the five-mile course. The Junior Men's 15-18 Non-Championship Cross-Country winner, Brooks Wienke (Greenville, S.C.; ONTO p/b Hincapie Racing), was the fastest finisher for all men, completing three laps of the course in 1:13:54. On the women's side, Sarah Horen (Loma, Colo.; Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.) in the Senior Women's 25-29 Non-Championship Cross-Country race clocked the fastest time, completing the race in 1:33:17.

The final wave started at 4:00 p.m. local time, with the inclement weather carrying over. In the Junior Men's 13-14 Non-Championship Cross-Country event, Nathan Troyer (Sparks, Nev.; Reno Devo) finished as the gold standard, finishing two-laps of the course in a time of 44:46. Harper Moore (Bentonville, Ark.; Walmart/BMC Youth Devo) took the podium's top step in a time of 1:01:53.

Racing continues tomorrow with the non-championship Downhill and Dual Slalom events, starting at 11:45 a.m. MDT. You can follow along with the action at the live timing website, or check out USA Cycling's Instagram stories or follow the live tweeting at USA Cycling's Live Twitter account. A full schedule for the week can be found here.

Complete results can be found HERE.