Carden King’s (Boulder Junior Cycling) bike handling prowess, riding through a muddy off-camber section that forced many riders his age and much older off the bike, was the deciding factor in the Junior Men’s 9-10 race. King tackled some of the hardest conditions of this year’s National Championships as the continual rains turned the dirt to greasy mud and made the race quite an adventure and test of perseverance for many young racers.
We took a look at King’s white, unbranded, mud-packed mystery bike after the race. King's bike was built up part-by-part together with his dad over last winter. The young racer had to do "service hours" in the form of extra chores to earn, and effectively "own" the race-worthy bike. Use the arrows to navigate through the pictures of Carden King's winning ride, and see our ever-growing list of 2015 Nationals winning bikes here.
King’s ride utilizes a Fizik Ares saddle. With more padding and a shorter nose, the Ares was designed as a time trial saddle but works well for junior riders. The saddle is nearly slammed down, but gives King plenty of room to grow. He should be able to fit this bike still at the 2016 Nationals in Asheville.
Juniors aren’t the same size as adults, and cyclocross racing can be hard on the pressure points, so the choice of a thicker padded Fizik time trial saddle witha stubbier nose is a clever alternative. © Cyclocross Magazine
