Sea Otter’s Crown Event

Sea Otter Classic is always a great event and the crowning event is the Dual Slalom race. everyone and their grandma come out for the finals and it is always an epic race. This years race did not disappoint, and the KHS Factory team had some of their best racing to date. CHEK IT OUT!

Young Takes Commanding Win in Anniston

Photo Credit: Sara Walker Photography

The Elevate-KHS Pro Team sprinter Eric Young won the Sunny King Criterium, the first criterium on the Pro Road Tour series with USA Cycling. All 6 riders from the team finished in the top 15, with 5 riders finishing in the breakaway.

Photo Credit: Sara Walker Photography

Texan Kyle Swanson, a new recruit to the team for the 2019 season, started the race off with a bang by landing in the first strong breakaway of the day. This move would soon prove to be the break of the race, where he was joined by 5 other riders.

The gap to the field hovered around 30 seconds, while the field decided what the next move would be. George Simpson and Alfredo Rodriguez joined two other riders and quickly bridged across to the break, now having 3 riders up the road.

As the laps wound down, the field continued to dwindle as riders made attempts to join the breakaway. Eric Young was one of the riders motivated to join the break, and eventually rode across solo. He wasted no time in the move, riding to the front and quickly attempting to thin the riders down.

Gavin Hoover eventually joined his teammates in the move, creating the perfect scenario for a textbook leadout for sprinters Young and Rodriguez. His recent time spent racing on the velodrome for the US National Team for Individual and Team Pursuit, have forged him into powerhouse for the final laps.

Young and Rodriguez come across the finish line in 1st and 2nd with room to spare.

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Sea Otter Dual Slalom Podium

This years Sea Otter Classic ended with a bang! KHS Factory riders Nik Nestoroff & Steven Walton fought of some of the biggest names in the Mountain bike world, Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, just to name a few. Nik was able to finish in 2nd place while Steven took 4th over all.

The day started with some fog and the track was a little wet, and the boys were able to qualify in 2nd and 3rd heading into the finals.

In the finals the track dried out and the winds picked up, as well as the dust. Many riders went down in the dry conditions, but Nik and Steven were able to hold out for one of the most epic finishes is Sea Otter Dual Slalom history!

Congratulations to Nik & Steven at this epic race! Sea you next years Sea Otter.

photos by: John Shafer & Cade Hahn

Piccoli 2nd Overall at Joe Martin Stage Race

Photo Credit: Danny Munson

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team traveled to Fayetteville, AR to race the Joe Martin Stage Race. This event is the first stop on the UCI America’s Tour, as well was a pillar of the Pro Racing Tour. With a strong 7-man roster, the team was poised for 4 days of excellent racing.

The first 2 days of racing brought challenges, however. With misinformation on time gaps to breakaways up the road and the team miscalculating the time and work needed to reel the moves in, 4th places finishes were the top honors for the team on both stages. The team put all their resources behind Piccoli on stage 1, which had a steep uphill final sprint for the finish.

The 3 mile uphill time trial on stage 3 also suited Piccoli, where he finished a close 2nd by 0.6 seconds to eventual overall winner Stephen Bassett. His performance in the time trial placed him 2nd going into the 4th and final stage, a technical criterium that also finished on a steep climb which the racers had to travers each of the 30 laps. With the time gap to the yellow jersey 14 seconds, the team knew they had to try everything possible if Piccoli were to overtake the lead. In the end, Bassett proved resilient and maintained the jersey while Ulises Castillo sprinted to 2nd place on the day to finish out the tour.

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Sweep in San Dimas

Photo Credit: Danny Munson

The Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team made their mark on the San Dimas Stage race this past weekend. Coming off of great showings at both the Tour de Taiwan and Redlands BIcycle Classic, the team was motivated to keep the momentum going and win their first yellow jersey of the season.The San Dimas Stage Race begins with a 4.25 mile uphill time trial on Glendora Mountain Road, an iconic climb in the Southern California mountains. James Piccoli clocked the fastest time of the day by 3 seconds, placing him in the lead going into stage 2. The San Dimas Hospital Road Race is notorious for the technicality of the course, as well as the challenging conditions and strain the combination puts on the field. With strong competitors within striking distance of the yellow jersey and multiple time bonuses up for grabs within the race, the team rode aggressively to place Ulises Castillo in a strong 3-man breakaway. This move lasted to the finish line and Ulises shed the last of his break away companions heading into the long finishing straightaway, winning the stage solo. He had enough of a gap on the field as well as time bonuses from the laps he spent in the break, that he moved into the overall lead for the final stage in downtown San Dimas.

Photo Credit: Above Four Media

The stage 3 Criterium is dynamic with several time bonuses up for grabs, and a course that makes a breakaway hard to catch once they are out of sight. The team was in…
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