Genuine Innovations is a proud sponsor of the Scott RC/TEXmarket-USA Mountain Bike Team. Team member bios are listed below and you can find more information about their results and their season of racing at their blog: http://scottrcmtb.blogspot.com.
Ross Anderson:
I am a 32 year old CAT 1 XCO mountain bike racer and have been racing since late 2007 season. I have been passionate about fitness and cycling since I was young, beginning with BMX and road cycling. However, my primary focus had always been competitive running. At seventeen I had a severe sports injury that resulted in a totally blown out right knee and partial nerve damage to my lower right leg. It took almost two years to get back on my feet and moving around with any real confidence. The end result of this accident was that my running days were completely over. This left a gap in my person for almost 10 years that I could not quite fill until I discovered “competitive cycling” and mountain biking in particular. The sport of competitive cycling re-invigorated me and has yielded a focus that drives me every day to succeed in work, family life, cycling and anything else I pursue. I take every chance that I can to share this passion with others and communicate the benefits of living a life that allows success that things I am most passionate about. I appreciate the commitments that our sponsors make to the Scott RC Mountain Bike Team which in turn allows me to communicate my passion with a louder voice!
Aaron Snyder
2011 will be my fifth year as a professional mountain bike athlete. In 2009, I had the opportunity to compete for three weeks in Europe as well as in two UCI World Cup events in Canada as part of the USA Cycling U23 National Team. For 2011, I am aiming for a top 10 result at the USA National Championships; a challenging goal, but one that I’m up for! You can follow my season on my website at http//a-ron-a-ron.blogspot.com.
Cam Dodge
I am a high school student, I have been avidly ski racing and mountain biking for the past several years. In 2010, I moved up to the senior Category 1 (though I have been frequently racing as a junior with the senior category for the past several years) and I had some great results, despite a broken hand in July that forced me to take several weeks off the bike. In 2010 I helped with local trail work and maintenance for the local Neshaminy Classic. I also worked to encourage riders to the sport of mountain bike racing and introduced them to the local trail networks.
Jay Dodge
I am a self employed General Contractor. I am married and have two boys Connor, 15, and Cameron, 19. I have been racing mountain bikes since 1995 and I was the MASS Series age group Category 1 champion in 2001, 2002, and 2003. I still do cross country races, but in the past few years, I have become more interested in the marathon-type mountain bike races and this past year, I had several successes in longer distance races.
Jeff Dickey
This upcoming season will be my 20th year as a mountain bike racer. I finally moved up to the professional level in 2009 after several years of focusing on a legal career, endurance mountain bike racing, adventure racing, ultramarathon running and road racing. In 2010, I had a bad leg injury that kept me from riding (or walking) for nearly two months, and so I am looking for a better season in 2011. In 2011, I plan to focus on the Mid-Atlantic Super Series, the US Cup Finals at Massanutten Resort in Virginia and possibly the Breck Epic 6-day stage race.
John Arias
Two years ago, I decided to return to mountain biking as my competitiveness inside of me could no longer be tamed. As a child, the passion started with motocross and later BMX racing. This eventually led me to mountain biking which is now and has been my life, and continues to be my passion. Since my return to competitive racing, I have won the H2H Mountain Bike Series Championship two years in a row in my class in 2007-2008. I’m also currently the #1 Master’s rider from NJ in the USA Cycling Rankings and at the end of 2010, I made the move up to the professional ranks based upon my recent results. In addition to my racing, I also contribute back to the trails that I so enjoy riding through the association JORBA. The Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association (JORBA) was formed in 1999 to promote mountain biking in New Jersey, USA, by promoting volunteer efforts, including trail maintenance, sustainable trail building, group rides and skills clinics. I hope that you make the decision to join me as I continue as a leader and a role model in the sport of mountain bike racing.
Mike Joos
2011 will be my 6th year riding at the professional level. My focus for the 2011 season is to do well overall in the Mid-Atlantic Super Series. I am also becoming more involved with my town’s bicycling advocacy group (the Frederick Bicycling Coalition). For updates on races, events and notable rides I participate in check out my blog at: http://mikejoos.blogspot.com/ I also participate in community service in my area, including Frederick, MD’s “Ride with the Mayor” to encourage bicycling for short distance commuting versus driving, trail work on the Watershed and Greenbrier series of trails in the Frederick, MD area and doing graphic design work for the Frederick Bicycling Coalition at: http://frederickbicyclecoalition.com/wordpress.
Scott Wilson
I started mountain bike racing in the mid-1990s after coming from a long background of skateboarding. After several years, I took some time off from 2000-2004 and got back into bike racing on the road for a local team, but I missed mountain bike racing and made the switch back to mountain bike full time in 2008. That year I headed out to the Sea Otter Classic in California and finished 6th in the Category 1 race and 8th at the Mountain Bike Nationals at Mount Snow, Vermont and I’ve never looked back. My 2009 season was cut short with a diagnosis of Epstein-Barr and soon after that, two herniated discs and a bulge of a third. After a long winter of bringing myself back into race shape I had a very solid 2010 season and I’m looking forward to continuing to race with the Scott team. In addition to racing, I am dedicated to helping grow the sport of mountain biking. I lead a developmental group ride for beginner and intermediate mountain bike riders on Wednesday nights, I conduct mountain bike and road bike outreach to new riders at the local shop where I work, I volunteer to help the International Mountain Bike Association and local associations to open and keep open trail systems in a local park [Nockamixon State Park in Pennsylvania) and I volunteer to lead bike rides at a local school for the blind.
Gunnar Bergey
I am 17 years old and a junior in high school. I have been mountain bike racing seriously for the past 4 years and steadily climbing up the categories. Besides mountain biking, I race cyclocross and even a little bit of road and track. I really enjoy skiing and dirt biking in the off-season. I help maintain the local trails near my house and always helps new riders get into the sport. The past two years I , helped run the Mid-Atlantic Cycling Development Camp, which helps bring new riders, old and new, into the sport! I was also selected to attend EuroCrossCamp and spent two weeks racing cyclocross in Europe over the past winter.
Nathaniel Williams
I live, eat, and breathe all things cycling. Somewhere between school work, trail maintenance, and working at my local bike shop, I found enough time to win the Massachusetts State Championship and race on the US National Team at the UCI World Cup Finals in Windham, New York. 2011 will be all about going bigger and better. I’ll be hitting the road, traveling the country and looking to make that next step up to racing at the national level. I will be entering college in 2011 and start racing at the collegiate level and I want to be more competitive and regularly race in the Elite level.
