CYCLING: UNITED STATES JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM

Auspicious ascent

Four-year run lands LR teen on U.S. team

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --04/21/2015--
Evan East, a senior at Little Rock Catholic High School, is competing in the European Racing Block for the US Jr National Cycling Team.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --04/21/2015-- Evan East, a senior at Little Rock Catholic High School, is competing in the European Racing Block for the US Jr National Cycling Team.

When he was 14, Little Rock's Evan East finished third in his first bicycle race. Never mind that there were only four riders in the field that day at the Lincoln Road Race, East had gotten a taste of competition and liked it.

"I wasn't fit in any sense," East said, slumping his 6-1, 140-pound frame into a chair at the home he shares with his parents and younger brother and sister. "I remember being pretty terrible, but like all bike races, it was so fun to talk about it afterwards and reflect on the bike race."

East, 18, a senior at Little Rock Catholic, has gone from finishing third in a four-man race four years ago to earning a spot on the six-man United States Junior National Team that will compete next month in Europe against some of the world's top young cyclists.

"It was so fun," East said of the time when he was getting starting. "I didn't really know anything about the sport yet. I wasn't thinking about doing it that seriously at first, but it's such a goal-oriented sport, you just want to improve and it just kind of snowballs into what it's become."

East's march up the sport's ladder has been steady -- moving from Little Rock-based central Arkansas Velo team, Slipstream Craddock Junior Development and Hincapie Junior Development -- eventually gaining the attention of governing body USA Cycling.

"I've been watching Evan's growth over the course of last year and his development has made a good jump over the season," Junior National Program Manager Billy Innes wrote in an e-mail. "He's won some races early this season and placed well in others. He's ready to tackle the European races."

East and his national team teammates -- Adrien Costa, 18, of Los Altos, Ca.; Ethan Reynolds, 18, of Boise, Idaho; Gage Hecht, 17, of Denver; Tyler Stites, 17, of Tucson, Ariz., and Brandon McNulty, 17, of Phoenix -- will spend most of May based in Sittard, Netherlands.

They suit up for their first race on May 3, the Wijer Nieuwerkerken Kermesse in Belgium. It's one of five races the team will contest, with the biggest being the four-day Course de la Paix Stage Race in the Czech Republic. The team returns home May 25.

Innes said he thinks East will be able to help his teammates and, should the possibility arise, go for a result for himself.

East, working with his coach, Lake Forest, Ill.-based Doug Close, trains six days a week, logging up to 300 miles a week on his Felt road bike.

"Evan is a gifted athlete," Close said. "He's been at a high level for a while now and the training he's doing is some of the same stuff that professionals do."

East, an A-B student at Catholic, plans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas in the fall.

"He has a balance to his life, and that's important," Close said. "It's not just racing."

East doesn't have to look far for motivation. His father, Hunter, an accomplished amateur racer, finished second in the 2014 Master's National Criterium Championship at Ogden, Utah.

"It's nice to see hard work be rewarded," Hunter East said of his son's progress. "A lot of kids have talent, but you've got to put the work in, and the work involves sacrifice. ... It's an excellent foundation for every aspect of life."

Close said East's venture to Europe will be no vacation, but the trip and the competition could pay off in races back home.

The speed of the packs in Europe is greater, Innes said, and where an American field might have 30-40 junior racers, a Wednesday afternoon race in Belgium will pull 100 or more teenagers. "

"The bunch is highly skilled," Innes said. "The races tend to be much longer and more difficult than what we have here in the States."

East said he learned this on two previous trips to Europe, including a training camp with USA Cycling's program for 15-16-year-olds.

"It was such a different style of racing than what I was used to," East said. "I didn't get any good results, but it was fun."

Close said East will have the opportunity to build a solid foundation for an attempt at a national championship in June at Lake Tahoe, Nev., and, possibly, a chance to race for the junior national team at the World Championships, held this year in Richmond, Va.

"It's going to harden him up," Close said.

East will sacrifice the final two weeks of his senior year as well as Catholic's May 22 graduation ceremonies, but he said he's taking finals early and will have his schoolwork in order before leaving.

"As soon as I knew about the national team, and getting a Team USA jersey, it's been a point of mine to go on a trip with them," he says. "When I got the e-mail inviting me, I didn't have any hesitation."

Sports on 04/25/2015

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