Duke Cycling Team Mentors Young Students

Fifteen minutes after the end-of-day school bell rings, Durham’s School for Creative Studies cycling team is circling the track behind the school on Raleigh bicycles.

This group of sixth through 10th graders have been competitively cycling for six months, tackling 30-mile races and paceline strategies with help from a mentor: The Duke Cycling Team. Almost every Monday during the spring, Duke Cycling coach Ben Turits and two to three of his Duke student cyclists meet at the school and practice with the 12- to 15-year-olds for two hours. During the summer, Turits gives one-on-one lessons to some School for Creative Studies team members, and in the fall, the team will pursue mountain biking and cyclocross, or shorter races that incorporate paved roads, dirt terrain, steep hills and obstacles. “The kids are asking lots of questions, and they love bike racing,” said Turits, who has been cycling since he was 13 years old. “Even if they finish dead last in a race, they’re coming in with a smile on their face.”Turits came up with the idea for a partnership between Duke and the School for Creative Studies last November, when he competed in the North Carolina state cyclocross championships on the School for Creative Studies campus. He asked Duke Cycling team members if they had interest in becoming mentors; the young Creative Studies team formed in 2013 and needed guidance regarding competitive cycling tactics. When the School for Creative Studies students started practicing early this year with the Duke Cycling Team, some members didn’t know how to shift gears. Now, they’re working as a team, riding in a pack and drafting by shielding each other from the wind and conserving energy, Turits said. They’re also learning about stretching and hydration techniques and proper nutrition for cyclists (such as eating potatoes or rice before a race). Karlsson Anstrom, 12, a School for Creative Studies student cyclist, joined the team at her school at the beginning of the year because she enjoys sports and biking in her free time. She has learned how to find the right pace and work together with her team during a race. "I’ve gotten a lot better at pacing because I can go a lot farther now,” Anstrom said. "I like being outside, and I like going fast.”

Additional reporting by Alexandria Glenn