The Riders

The Bear National Team has long been held as the closest thing to “Pro” for young athletes in Northern California and National Cross Country competition the nation-over. The Blue and Pink uniforms leave a noticeable impression on any starting line, usually filling the front of the field.

Growing up in the sport of Cross Country Mountain Biking, competitors quickly placed a target on the backs of those jerseys, marking the wearer as someone to stick to and hopefully beat. Not that this was an easy feat, especially considering their sheer numbers.

Bear actively recruits athletes from across the United States and often sponsors riders from U.S. Territories. For the 2022 mountain bike season, Bear has 46 riders on the roster split between the U23 Elite teams and the U18 Club and Race teams. This year’s roster pulls from 16 U.S. States, with Colorado and California being the two with the highest concentration of riders.

“All the kids on Bear seemed like professionals already, and they definitely seemed pretty distant.” U18 Bear rider Vaila Heinemann said while reflecting on her first interactions with the team before joining. “ these are all normal people, but they're all really dedicated and really fast and really good at what they do.”

Heinemann, who races in NICA’s NorCal cycling league, joined Bear National in her sophomore year of High School after her sister was exposed to the team by a friend. Now a senior and soon to be a college student, Heinemann says she has grown considerably from her time on the team.

Bear National was founded to allow aspiring young athletes to get to the top reaches of the sport in a similar way to European development programs. However, where most international programs have significant national support, Bear operates with support from donations and corporate sponsors.

Because of an abundance of support for the team, Bear National can provide opportunities to athletes of all backgrounds to compete at the highest level professionally. Bear is also able to expose their athletes to other professional athletes, allowing them to learn the tricks of the trade from a young age.

“The sport kind of helps you grow and mature and like definitely take on quite a bit more responsibility in a good way,” Heinemann says. “it helps you kind of realize like how much the pros are dealing with, but then kind of finding a way to make them realistic for someone like me.”

Additionally, Bear creates an opportunity for aspiring professionals to race on the international circuit and represent the USA in World Cup events in select cases. This was part of the draw for U23 Women’s Rider Ruth Holcomb, who was eager to get to the next level of racing when she joined Bear at 14.

“It seemed like a really serious team and, I don't know, they definitely seemed like they were the top level and what I wanted to be,” Holcomb said, “I guess I really knew nothing about bike racing or anything.”

Holcomb, now a freshman at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, has proven she is pro-ready both on and off the bike, winning the Cross Country National Championship in 2021.

“They kind of help you see how it's possible to go from like racing NICA to racing at worlds and like racing at the top level,” Holcomb said, “I think the resources that Bear gives us of like, helped like make these things that don't seem possible, possible.”

Bear is also exceptional at delivering athletes from the development to the professional stage, no matter the skill level. Names such as Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing) and Bjorn Riley (Trek Vaude) have made their way from scrappy XC racing in Colorado to the professional level in a manner of a couple of years.

Caleb Swartz is another example of a Bear rider turned professional, with the Elite Cyclocross and Cross Country racer signing to the NEFF Cycle Sport - Giant team for the 2021-22 cyclocross season this past winter.

“I think I came in with a lot of those skills already. Um, and I think that they, you know, being on Bear really helped cultivate those and grow those even more.” Swartz said, “but then yeah, being on Bear, you know, and really having the tools and the resources to apply those skills and grow those skills at a high level.”

The Madison, Wisconsin native had already experienced quite a few races before joining the team, including bumming rides to races and organizing his pre-race service for his equipment. However, with Bear taking care of the mechanical and financial aspects of race day, Swartz was able to increase his focus on personal preparation and mental health.

Despite being a rather polished product going into the team, Swartz was able to take away several key lessons that have shaped his professional career today. “I think the first lesson is the importance of, you know, your support network, your web,” Swartz said, “it's an individual sport, but it's really not. I mean, when you look at that web of connection, and that outsourcing of who's doing what for you. It's just immense.”

Swartz has proven his ability to ride and his ability to self-manage, earning him sponsorship and crucial opportunities to race in both the National and International race circuit. Sadly, however, the opportunity to do just that is not always accessible to everyone.

Women’s cycling programs beyond the U23 stage are exceedingly rare, despite a plethora of American talent deserving of an international race seat. This is something that Bear Director Julia Violich has been trying to battle, and a concern that has been weighing on the mind of Junior racer Vaila Heinemann.

As a member of Bear, Heinemann has been continuously exposed to professional racers from the United States thanks to the team’s wealth of connections in the industry. Athletes and Olympians have made regular appearances at team meetings and group functions.

“I think that I've kind of been sheltered in a way, like watching people like Kate Courtney and people like Haley Batten,” Heinemann said, “they're a good ambassador of the sport and it seems like they don't have much trouble.”

Despite having interactions with these athletes, Heinemann is still concerned about the future she has in the sport. Violich does her best to make sure her athletes have a in-depth understanding of what a professional career could look like. However, concerns about the future have a habit of cropping up.

“Who would I go to if I wanted to be a professional cyclist and I wanted to like, get a contract and all that?” Heinemann said, “You know, like if I wanted to do that, like, I think I could do that … but I do still think that it is, um, It is still harder.”

The lack of resources available to female athletes after the development stage is a continuing deficit, one that requires collaboration from the greater cycling community. “I need to think about where I spend my energy; what really helps me both as a person and as an athlete and as a student.”