Cyclist wins national title
Marietta man posts fastest time at meetBy Kevin Pierson, kpierson@mariettatimes.com
Duncan Oliver knew the caliber of competition he was going up against at the U.S.A. Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Mount Snow resort in West Dover, Vt., Thursday.
The best riders from across the country would be competing against Oliver in the sport bike races.
None could keep up.
Oliver recorded a first- place finish in the 19 to 24 age group division with the fastest posted time of any sport rider.
"Crossing the finish line was pretty exciting," Oliver, 23, of Marietta, said.
Knowing he would be racing against the top riders in the country Oliver spent many long hours training and preparing his body and mind for the race.
"I pretty much put aside everything else in my life to train for it," Oliver said.
The result was worth the effort.
Oliver completed the 10 mile course in 1 hour 4 minutes and 58 seconds, topping second place finisher Jake Davidson of West Chester, Pa. by nearly two full minutes.
In the championship race riders completed two circuits of a five-mile course.
Typically races consist of three laps but the intensity of the Mount Snow course caused race officials to eliminate one lap, though Oliver wishes it had gone three.
Mount Snow's course began with a three-mile climb up the ski slope and covered a wide array of extreme conditions.
"It was either straight up, straight down, either wide open really easy passing or tight," Oliver said.
Dusty, dry weather conditions for the race resulted in incredibly quick racing.
Oliver rode the course three times in the days prior to the race with the first time a light ride through, the second a walk through examining the course and looking for places to pass and the third ride was a harder run.
After riding over the course for the third time Oliver was confident in his ability to succeed on the course, which was very similar to the style found in West Virginia where he has ridden so many times.
That familiarity helped Oliver on the course as he claimed the victory.
"Pure joy. I lifted up my jersey, put my arms up in the air. It felt good," Oliver said.
A 2004 graduate of Marietta High School, Oliver is currently a senior at West Virginia Wesleyan College majoring in math.
Oliver has enjoyed plenty of success over the course of his cycling career, claiming the 2006 and 2007 Atlantic Coast Cycling Conference Division II men's A omni um championships as well as the 2007 West Virginia Sport Mountain Bike state champion.
He plans to continue preparing for the upcoming collegiate cycling season.
