Anyone who has seen Dan race knows that he has talent. He has been on a steady trajectory since he joined the team a few years ago. Now at 16 he is racing at the top of the sport, the world championships.
After a short UCI campaign that took up a few weekends racing in some key events around the country, Dan accumulated enough UCI points to get the call to be on the national team racing the 17-18 year old group at 16 years old. He was one of the youngest at the Fayetteville CX worlds and had a 4th row start but he showed that he really belonged there - quickly moving up, passing older more experienced riders.
His eventual 17th place is really remarkable for someone who has just started racing at the national level. Dan's progress has been steady and his attitude toward riding and racing appears to be the same as it has always been- have fun- go fast, ride hard but definitely have fun.
As long as Dan continues to have fun racing, there's no telling how far he will go in the sport. He is the first active team member to make it to the world championships while on the team - Dan holds that distinction alone. His approach to racing is as original as it is inspired. His drive to do well is built into who he is- he does not seem to be intimidated by his surrounding competitors or the importance of the event , while still respecting all of it simultaneously.
We as a team are really lucky to have the junior program started by Ben Dodge. The result of this program has been to take riders like Dan and give them support to follow their dreams in racing, whatever those dreams may be and wherever those dreams will take them. In the case of Dan, his dreams have taken him very far in a very short time and there's no telling where he will go- it will be fun to watch.
