For Bragg Creek resident Darwin Orsler, cycling has always been his sport.
He fell in love with it at a very young age, and thanks to his own will and determination, (as well as the help of a father who himself is a cycling enthusiast), has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.
Nowhere was this made more evident, than at the Shimano Canadian Cyclocross Championships held in Winnipeg, MB on Oct. 25. Despite having only started participating in this style of cycling last year, Darwin surprised the field and won the U15 Male National title, amid the strongest cyclocross field ever assembled on Canadian soil.
The 13-year old Synergy Racing Club member finished with a time of 39:54, beating the runner-up by 26 seconds.
“It feels awesome winning something like this in my early years of cycling,” Darwin said. “I’m just glad I put in the work to achieve something this special.”
Cyclocross is a fast and intense cycling format, which is a cross between mountain biking and road biking. Competitors ride specifically designed bikes on laps around mixed and technical terrain such as grass parkland, cobbled areas, up stairs, over barriers, and through mud, sand, and gravel, among other surfaces.
It has long been established as a popular sport in Europe, in particular Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, and has grown rapidly in popularity in North America throughout the last decade.
“It’s a relatively old sport which originated in France,” said Darwin’s father Dominic, himself a cross-country coach. “It’s a great spectator sport, since it’s fast-paced. Anyone can take part in these races, but if you’re not at a high-level, it isn’t worth your time, because most of the people in the field have done well at provincial competitions.”
Even though Darwin has only been involved with this style for a short time, his main discipline is cross-country mountain biking, which he has been participating in competitively for the last two years, and non-competitively for five.
In order to keep up his competitive edge, Darwin trains with the Canadian Sports Institute at the University of Calgary’s Olympic Oval, and takes part in mid-week races every Wednesday (known as Midweek Mayhem). During the winter, he does a lot of stationary bike work.
All of his hard work and dedication has paid off.
Last August, he won the U15 Alberta Bike Association Provincial Cross- Country Mountain Biking Championship. He is now looking to win the National mountain biking title and the Provincial title in the upcoming year.
However, the only thing standing in Darwin’s way is his age. As a 13-year old he is not yet eligible to compete as part of a provincial team, even if he has all the skills and attributes.
“It is frustrating,” Dominic said. “Especially since he is good enough to be there and faster than some of the people on the team.”
For the near future though, Darwin is taking one race at a time and keeping himself focused.
“There’s a Canada Cup mountain bike race out in Victoria in May,” Darwin said. “So, we’ll see how that goes.”
Don’t bet against him winning.
