The Hill Is Alive With the Sound of Mountain Bikes
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MSA’s Endurance Team practices starts the day before the NICA race on campus trails.
Over five hundred middle school and high school mountain bikers competed in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) mountain bike race on campus Saturday, November 2. MSA has hosted a NICA event every fall since the creation of the Virginia Interscholastic Cycling League in 2014.
In addition to the riders, six hundred spectators and coaches filled the campus to cheer on riders from over thirty teams from around Virginia. The festival-like atmosphere was complimented by ideal weather and perfect trail conditions.
The course included two of MSA’s most popular trails—Burke’s Run and Jay’s Way. Both trails were designed and built by Andy Guptill and students. This event marked the first use of Jay’s Way in a competitive event. As students and faculty know, Jay’s Way was built almost entirely by former MSA student Jay Drake during his senior year capstone Land Management project.
The National Interscholastic Cycling Association was founded in 2009 and has helped 31 states develop interscholastic cycling leagues. Currently, there are over 19,000 student-athletes participating in interscholastic mountain biking across the country.
