Team Mongoose Battles at USA BMX Carolina Nationals in Rock Hill

Apr 02, 2021

Written by Bart de Jong

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The 2021 USA BMX Carolina Nationals in Rock Hill, SC, are officially in the books and what a book it was! Being one of the largest regular season nationals coupled with the USA Cycling National Championships on Sunday, Rock Hill was packed with chapters of non-stop racing with fierce battles for podium spots. Starting each day, Rock Hill kicked off the racing festivities with the Mongoose Balance Bike races. It’s such a treat to see these young kids getting their start in racing. We may see them in the Pro gate one day!

Sometimes the racing Gods just don’t work in your favor. Mongoose Men's Pro Cam Wood had a bit of

bad luck over the weekend consistently drawing Gate 8 and dodging hefty crashes that would have kept most people down. Cam had a solid showing in his motos though, and making the Mains on Sunday wasn’t anything to scoff at. We just can’t wait to see him charge it at the next race!

It was great to see Payton Ridenour in the gate with the top women of BMX and holding her own! She was racing strong all weekend making the Mains every day and getting on the podium in 3^rd place on Sunday! This was definitely a great weekend for her!

Mason Hayes had a lot of racing ahead of him because he races 12 Open, 12 Cruiser and 12 Expert. While he consistently made the mains in Open and Class, it was the Cruiser class that Mason dominated! On both Saturday and Sunday Mason charged out of the gate and kept a good lead across the finish line!

We also got to meet our new Japanese rider, Asuma Nakai, who is both a great racer and person to represent Mongoose! Welcome aboard Asuma!

Even with bad weather looming over us with a few strong gusts and the occasional down pour, I would say it was a successful weekend. I really want to thank the Hayes family for knocking the Mongoose setup out of the park and for making the team feel at home in the pit!

-Leigh Ramsdell