On July 20, local mountain biker, Jewel Bartels competed in Snowshoe, West Virginia where she won the USA Cycling women’s Cross Country National Championship for her age group (11-12 year olds). Jewel, an eleven year old who has grown up racing her bike, is the little sister of Autumn Bartels, a 2014 national champion. In preparation for the championship at Snowshoe, she spent her spring riding the local trails and racing her bike all over Virginia in the VAHS Series, the state’s competitive youth mountain bike series. As an elementary school student, she placed 5th overall in the middle school division. She also cross-trained by swimming and road riding throughout the spring and summer to build her cardiovascular fitness. On the evening of July 20th, she lined up against 20 other girls from all across the country to compete on a course full of root-filled single track, technical rock gardens, and long hill climbs to win the gold medal and the coveted Stars and Stripes Jersey.
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