It has been a whirlwind Fall season as the response since launching the National Interscholastic Cycling Association has been fantastic. Also: NorCal is still growing, SoCal is doubling, and Colorado is gaining major steam. Meanwhile it's becoming clear that some other new Leagues will happen sooner than later. 2010 is going to be a very exciting year for high school mountain biking. We hope you'll follow the progress in our monthly (at least) NICA News.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy Trails!

Dave Wiens, NICA board member and 6-time Leadville 100 winner, is excited to see high school mountain bike racing come to his home state of Colorado in 2010.

 

The 45-year-old father of three young boys is married to 1996 Atlanta Olympic women's cross-country bronze medalist Susan DeMattei. The family lives in Gunnison, Colorado, a small town of 5,500 near Crested Butte, a town with mountain bike roots dating back to the mid 1970s when the sport's pioneers from northern California connected for rides on the Pearl Pass.

Wiens races part-time for the Topeak-Ergon team. He's best known as the lanky, blonde racer who beat Lance Armstrong in the 2008 Leadville 100 race, an event Armstrong refers to as his catalyst for returning to professional competition in 2009. 

Wiens retired from full-time racing in 2004, when he lead the RLX-Polo Ralph Lauren team. He spent the bulk of his racing career with Diamondback; in fact, he and Susan raced together several years before getting married in the autumn of 1996. Today, the couple raise their sons Cooper, Ben and Sam with a balanced approach of school, sports and family time. Wiens is a trail development consultant, and Susan works as a nurse part-time for the local hospital. Both stay active on the mountain bike, and manage to play co-ed hockey together when not out on a family hike in the nearby foothills.

The couple is very interested in getting involved with the newly-formed Colorado High School Racing League.

"I'd like to spread the word like others, and would like to see something happen here in Gunnison," Susan said during a recent interview on BikeRadar. "There's interest brewing, so it won't be a hard sell here. I think Dave and I could help out doing clinics and promoting the sport; not sure how much hands-on I can do. I love teaching people of all ages. As long as I'm standing upright, I'd love to contribute with some clinics and some talks.

When asked where he might foresee high school mountain bike racing heading in Colorado in five years, Wiens painted a rosy picture for several reasons.

"I think it's going to be really big, because we're hearing from friends in Denver and Durango about how excited they are," he explained. "I think you're going to see Colorado take it and run with high school mountain bike racing. Summit County, Steamboat Springs and others already have leagues, so joining them together will be a big deal.

"The competitive aspect of mountain bike races aren't complex; getting the coaches and riders together and practicing won't be hard here in Colorado; it's already happening in Durango, for instance."