The DCT was back for the first real ECCC race season since 20S in strength. We had a small, but dedicated group of riders show up for mountain bike season, including even the dual-slalom beast Brandon Caveney ’25 (gasp!). The season was just as wild as normal with the typical, sloppy conditions of mid-fall riding. The team only made it to two race weekends due to the late start of the Dartmouth term and midterms that prevented a season champs outing, however we made the most of it.
The first weekend, the pair of xc boys Kieran Ahern ’21 and Raif Olson ’24 sent it around the muddy track at Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton, Mass for the Husky Shredfest on Saturday. For the Saturday XC race, Raif, the scrappy ’24, self-seeded up into the B-race where he managed a 5th place, only 2 minutes off the next group. Kieran, unfortunately, crashed out of the A-race. On Sunday, the short course race was held at Thunder Mountain bike park on a sloppy, muddy loop, with a big hill at the end. Raif managed a 3rd place in the B’s after going back and forth with Alex Takoudes from arch-rival Middlebury. Kieran raced the A’s, beginning with a wild LaMonde-style start, where he managed a solid 8th place.
For UVM’s iconic Bermie Senders, the XC boys convinced a young, self-proclaimed “Endur-bro” to join in the fun and race dual-slalom. Brandon Caveney ended up being a beast of a rider, and was the first DCT member to race competitively in a downhill event for many years. Kieran and Raif stuck with the XC and eeked out a 9th and 13th respectively, barely managing to stay on their bikes in the many hours-long downpour, meanwhile Brandon tore up the dual slalom, getting 15th in the 31 man B-race. Unfortunately, the weekend ended on Saturday for the DCT due the unenjoyable prospect of sleeping another night in the rain.
Soon mountain bike season was over, but ‘cross was just around the corner! Despite not having club-sport support due to new covid-regulations, we managed small, but solid squads of 3-5 racers every weekend. First was Keene Pumpkin cross in Surry, NH. Wells ’24, Raif ’24, and Nolan ’25 all made the journey to ride around in the slop. This being everyone’s first ‘cross season, they all raced the C race. Wells came out on top with a first place overall, while Nolan and Raif battled it out for 4th and 5th respectively.
The team showed up to Orchard Cross in Hampton Falls, NH with a full squad, including the legendary Sebastian Logue ’22 and Kieran Ahern ’21. In typical cyclocross fashion, this race had more running, sliding, and crashing then the last. And yet it did not slow the nimble Wells, nor the powerful Seb, both of whom performed outstanding. Wells lost out on top step due to a final lap flat, but he limped it in for 3rd in the B’s. Seb, despite not having raced cross since freshman year, managed an impressive 11th in the P1/2/3 race. Meanwhile Nolan, the youngster, showed his strength getting 8th, while Raif got a solid 17th with Kieran on his tail for 22nd.
The final race the DCT made it to was near Nolan’s hometown at the West Hill Bike Shop. Another cold and muddy race meant that only Wells, Nolan, and Raif braved the cold. Wells’ flat from last race turned out to be unrepaired, a tragedy realized within the first 30 seconds of the race. Nolan, however, made up for Wells’ bad luck and got 5th, with Raif not far behind in 7th. Though down on spirits after a very cold race, it was all worth it when an apple pie made by Wells’ mom was presented to the three frigid boys.
The cross season came to an uneventful end due to finals and the unconventional schedule of the Dartmouth term. The team decided not to attend ECCC championships and instead focus on academics and rest before a hard block of training this winter in preparation for the main event: ROAD SEASON!!!!