Qualicum Beach teen Nicholas Knight claimed the U15 men’s season points championship and raced to a runner-up finish in the men’s beginner class during the Cross on the Rock mountain bike Cyclocross race in Saanich Nov. 20.
Knight won the eight-race fall series with 1,980 points, built on four victories and two runner-up finishes. Since finishing in 16th place in the opening event of the season on Sept. 11, Knight placed outside the top two just once.
It was the first season in cyclocross for Knight, a mountain bike racer who will resume competition in the Island mountain biking series beginning in February. Cyclocross involves a series of downhill rides, which differ from traditional downhill racing in that competitors must ride or carry their own bikes to the top of the course before starting the downhill run.
In the Cyclocross series championship finale, Knight, racing for Arrowsmith Bikes, finished second overall in 31 minutes, 11 seconds. He was 35 seconds behind 34-year-old Nanaimo rider Matthew Evans and four seconds in front of 25-year-old Nik Kay, also of Nanaimo. The race drew 60 competitors.
—NEWS Staff