Friel to raise funds for Queen Creek HS MTB Team

Joe Friel will be helping the Nova Youth Cycling Foundation raise money for the Queen Creek High School Mountain Bike Team on December 8 in Arizona. Friel, a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach and author of The Cyclist's Training Bible, Cycling Past 50, and other books, will present two clinics for mountain bike and endurance athletes.

The clinics will be held at Queen Creek High School, Library, located at 22149 E. Ocotillo Road Queen Creek, Arizona 85242. From 9-10 am, Joe will present to parents and youth participating in competitive mountain biking information on training principals, practices and training plans. Then, from 10-12 am, he will present information to adult triathlon and mountain bike endurance athletes training principals and plans. This event is a fundraiser for Queen Creek High School's Mountain Bike Team and the Nova Youth Cycling Foundation's (NYCF) School Race League. Members of NYCF will be asked to donate $15 and non-members will be asked to donate $30. For more information or to register, visit www.novayouthcycling.org.

Last year, Queen Creek High School won the Nova Youth Cycling Foundation Arizona State High School Mountain Bike Championship. It was the school's first season participating in the Nova school race league, for all the team members, it was their first experience in competitive cycling, seven of the fourteen students on the team ranked nationally in the USA Cycling national ranking system. Kallan Creager, a freshman at Queen Creek High School, competed in the Mountain Bike National Championship, in Mount Snow, Vermont, taking second place. Kallan is also currently ranked first place as the point leader in his age category.

The Nova Youth Cycling Foundation organizes a race league for juniors in sixth to 12th grades and it is promoting the formation of teams at Junior and Senior high schools throughout the state. NYCF's goal is to encourage league athletes to go on to succeed in national race series, road racing, collegiate cycling, Olympic and World Championships.