Eleanor Dyas (Midwest Devo) was born in California, but she has lived in Carmel, Indiana for a number of years now. With the young rider making the rounds of the cyclocross circuit each fall, she was a little philosophical about where she is really from.
“If I travel for the entire fall, am I really from Indiana, or am I am from like Ohio?” Dyas asked.
Eleanor Dyas was in Montana in July. 2019 Women’s MontanaCrossCamp. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
Dyas is entering her Senior year of high school and will be on the UCI circuit as a racing age 18 cyclocross rider. Traveling the U.S. to race cyclocross will keep the young Hoosier busy in more ways than one. Dyas is a good student, and in her free time, she works as a math tutor to help her peers.
“I love math, it’s my favorite subject in school,” Dyas said. “I really value my education, and when I’m racing cyclocross and traveling every weekend, I really try to not sacrifice that part of my life. Applying to college this year, it’s really important to have that solid foundation because I can always come back to cycling.”
Eleanor Dyas focuses during the relay race. 2019 Women’s MontanaCrossCamp. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
While next year will likely take Dyas to college, this year will be on of change as well. After growing up in the Midwest Devo program, Dyas will be racing for the J.A. King p/b BRC women’s development program started by Montana Cross Camp coach Allison Arensman. “It’s been great to get to know [Arensman] better. I met her last year before Nationals and getting to know her here has really helped me get to see the culture of the team I’m going to be on,” Dyas said.
Having Arensman as a coach was not the only perk of Montana Dyas was looking forward to. It never hurts to get to learn from another fellow athlete you admire.
“I really look up to Rebecca [Fahringer] because she really tells it like it is. There are times it is not going to be easy. There are times when you will feel really really unmotivated to train. Seeing her overcome those struggles makes me think I can do it too.”
Getting to work with coaches such as Katie Compton was a special experience for Dyas in Montana. 2019 Women’s MontanaCrossCamp. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
I sat down with Dyas at camp to get to know her better. You can listen to our conversation in the video below.
For more interviews and coverage, see our 2019 Montana Cross Camp archive. For more photos from camp, visit cyclocross.zenfolio.com.
