2008 Update and 2009 Plans:

This years Florida State Championship Series has been very informative. I’ve learned what I need to do for next year to place at least top five. I want to thank Gone Riding and all the sponsors for what they have done to make this series possible. I also want to thank my sponsor “Bents Cycling” and Kurt Leveret for coaching me during the fall season. I had a good season without any mechanicals and injuries; finishing 7th place overall for the series. I enjoyed competing with the fastest in Florida and hope to join them next season on the podium. I’m hoping to obtain a professional coach to lead up to nationals this upcoming summer at the racing age of 19. I plan on staying in the 19-29 Cat 1 class and training for a possible win or good placing at nationals. Plan’s for some endurance racing in January and February are in the development stages and a spot on a road racing team is in full effect. I also plan to race some of the South Eastern Regional Championship Series races along with hand full of local races. I’ll be searching for some sponsors for this upcoming year to support my extensive racing schedule. Any help will be beneficial.

July Update and Nationals

First of all I want to thank BCC for all the work with the organization and the funds you have collected to help us prepare for nationals. I also want to thank my sponsor, Steve Bent, for all his support. I also want to give special thanks to Ricky Knight and his Mother for loading and hauling the trailer to all the events. Also, thanks to Grannidie for getting the house in Vermont and letting us use her trailer and vehicle.

The camp in Brevard, College was a great learning and training experience. The 30 hour week was fun and at some points challenging. I placed in the top 8.

The New York Nationals were a wake up call concerning the nations best. I placed 10th in the cross country race out of 16. It was ridiculously fast with long steep climbs intermingled with tight single track. I felt really sore and slow. I just couldn't reel in the two opponents in front of me. I hung in there and finished it out. The short track race was even faster but I felt a little better but still didn't do as well as I wanted, placing 13th out of 18. The course was awesome and I liked it as my first short track race.

Vermont Nationals
Let's just start off by saying that I never ridden such a hellish of a course as Vermont. The course was fun If you weren't racing it but during the race within my four brutal laps I have never been in so much of a controlled state of pain. I can't really tell you If I felt good because I was in a constant state of agony. I placed 15th out of 32. It was as hot as Florida but the factor of near stationary climbing threw a curve ball into my minor understanding of "mountain" biking. However I could take the heat unlike 6 or more that were DNF's. I guess 15th in the nation for 15-18age group is not so bad.

Props to my teammate Jamie Knight for 2nd at both sport duel slalom and downhill. Also props to my other teammate Adam for winning his cross country division as a beginner. Also, props to Steve Bent for second in his expert cross country division.

Training Update

I'm excited about going to the USA Cycling MTB camp at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina starting June 29 and ending July 4th. For this seven day session I will learn aspects of health, training, and racing tactics. While at the camp, two time trials and a short track race are held. If I place top three I have the opportunity to go to another camp in Colorado. My goal is to place top three. I also hope not to get injured for the following three weeks in which I will compete at Nationals in Vermont and travel back to North Carolina for the Fontanna Dam Jam.

Bump and Grind Update

Sunday Jun 1 - Race at Bump and Grind, In the Junior 18 and under race there were only three people in my class. Just me, Jamie, and one other. Jamie and I began to battle it out at the middle of the race during the long jeep road section. He caught me on the down hill making a clean pass. Jamie opened a gap and I did not caught him till three miles to go on the first lap. I attacked, passed him again but he hung on and we crossed the first lap finish line at the same time. Starting the second lap I crashed entering the woods while attempting to put my gel bottle back in my jersey pocket. He attacked and four other riders from a different wave moved in front of me. I picked them off one by one while riding as hard as I could in order to catch Jamie. I caught him on the jeep road about an hour later and he stayed on my wheel until the down hill in which my chain came off balling up behind the derailleur. It took me a minute or so to get it untangled unto which I pressed on to try to catch Jamie again. I caught him with a mile left to go and I was not able to pass him in the woods. It was a sprint to the finish in which I never could get around him. I felt that if the sprint road was longer I might have been able to beat him. It was an awesome race and I give him props for a great and smart race.

Brent's Race Scheule

Southeastern Regional Championship (SERC)
Serc #4 Ducktown, TN 5/4
Serc #6 Clemson, SC 6/15
Serc #9 Fontana, NC 7/27

8 hours of Labor San Felasco, FL AUG 31

Fall State Championship #1-9/13 #2-9/27 #3-10/12 #4-10/26 #5-11/12 #6-11/16 #7-11/30 #8-12/14

I'd like to thank Bill Braken for the Siemens Cannondale kit he gave me and the heart rate monitor strap that Zack Duncan gave me. I still haven't got the heart rate monitor going yet but it will be soon. There are more races but I'm just not quite sure which ones I can attend.

An update by Kurt: Brent got that heart rate monitor working for this past Tuesday's local road ride/crit. First time he had seen his heart rate numbers in action. Cool stuff. Thanks for the donations guys.

SERC # 1: My first expert race.

The 19-29 Expert class race started out about the same speed of my usual sport class races. However, this pace either stayed the same or sped up as the race progressed throughout the five grueling laps. I noticed that I caught up with some of the racers who shot out ahead the beginning of the first lap. I seemed to have a difficult time keeping a steady fast pace. I started to fade a little due to some fatigue and a lack of drive but I soon began to pick the pace up on the end of the fourth lap and the whole fifth lap. I realized that I was gaining on another racer during the middle of my first lap, however it was too late in the race to catch him. A lot can happen during five laps, unlike a sport race with only three laps where a flat can put you out of the race on the first lap, the extra two laps gives plenty of time to chase or enhance true race strategies. Overall I felt good, but i believe I could have stepped my pace up a couple of notches and gained a couple of positions (results). This race served as a good learning experience and I'm looking forward to the next SERC race in Brison City, North Carolina on April 6.

Brent

I, Kurt, have spoken with Brent on several occasion during the past two weeks. He is clearly highly motivated to build a solid base for this summer. Bill Bracken and Ryan Walsh have helped him out by providing him with a heart rate monitor and strap so that he can determine is training heart rate zones. This will also assure he does not over train as he can monitor his effort on easy days. He has a solid program of working on his core muscles, which will greatly help him increase his training mileage. His current plan is to do a few SERC Races and carry his training into a summer Mountian Biking Camp with goals of placing top three which will qualify him for the USA Cycling Training camp later in the summer. More on this next month. I ask that the local Polk County Cycling enthusiast keep track of his training and mentor him appropriately.

Brent Hall 2008 at Santos

Brent Hall Resume

Age:17 / City: Lakeland / Shop: Bent’s Cycling / MTB

I feel this program would provide me with the opportunity to compete in national races and attend the USA Cycling Camp in Brevard, North Carolina. It will also spread my name to sponsors through the use of BuildingChampionCyclistsFL.net and the provided Blog. Funding for these events would assist in my advancement as a national level cyclist. Gaining the assistance of professional coaching would also assist in my development as an elite cyclist.

-Goals-

My goals for 2008 are to compete in most of the SERC races in the expert class (two years above my age) to gain knowledge and experience leading up to the USA Cycling Camp and the national race in Vermont this July. I hope to place top three in the camp and possibly qualify to go on to the national camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have high hopes for this up coming season. With proper training and help from this program, I believe I can achieve these goals.


Race Accomplishments / Results

- 11/25/2007 - Florida State Championship Series #7 - Cross Country - Sport - Senior - 19-29 1st place
-10/21/2007 - Florida State Championship Series #4 - Cross Country - Sport - Senior - 19-29 3rd place
-10/07/2007 - Florida State Championship Series #3 - Cross Country - Sport - Senior - 19-29 1st place
-09/30/2007 - Florida State Championship Series #2 - Cross Country - Sport - Senior - 19-29 1st place
-09/16/2007 - Florida State Championship Series #1 - Cross Country - Sport - Senior - 19-29 1st place 03/11/2007
- South Eastern Regional Championship #1 - Cross Country - Sport - Junior - 15-16 1st place 02/17/2007
- South Florida Championship Series - Cross Country - Beginner - Junior - 15-16 2nd place 11/19/2006
- Florida State Championships Series #5 - Cross Country - Beginner - Junior - 15-16 2nd place 10/22/2006
- Florida State Championships Series #4 - Cross Country - Beginner - Junior - 15-16 1st place 10/08/2006
- Florida State Championships Series #2 - Cross Country - Beginner - Junior - 15-16 2nd place 09/17/2006

-2007 Florida State Championship Series 3rd place overall
-2006 Florida State Championship Series 4th place overall
-2005 Florida State Championship Series 5th place overall