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Lehigh valley cyclist heading to world championships

Member of Young Medalists/Team Dual-Temp Selected for 2010 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic Slated for January 30-31, 2010.

(Trexlertown, Penn.) January 21, 2010-Matt Spinks (Layton, N.J.), a junior cyclist riding for the Lehigh Valley-based Young Medalists/Team Dual-Temp, has been nominated as a discretionary pick by USA Cycling for the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships being held at the end of the month in Tabor, Czech Republic. The world championships is the most prestigious event on the annual international cyclo-cross calendar and is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI), the worldwide governing body of bicycle racing and IOC affiliate.

Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing held in the fall and winter months that combines elements of mountain biking and road cycling on a short race course. Similar to the steeplechase in track and field, cyclo-cross requires frequent riding, running, and jumping over various obstacles while transitioning between tarmac, grass, mud, and sand. Wildly popular in Europe, cyclo-cross has gained a rabid following in the United States and has seen explosive growth in participation over the past decade.

Spinks hopes to bring the same strong form to the world championships that's seen him place multiple top tens in the United States Grand Prix of Cyclo-cross series and earned him a tenth place finish at the recent USA Cycling National Cyclo-cross Championships held in Bend, Oregon. This is Matt's first time racing for the United States at a world championship event.

Spinks is a member of the Lehigh Valley Cycling Club and its powerhouse junior racing team, Young Medalists/Team Dual-Temp. Matt is coached by Olympian and world championship medalist, May Britt Hartwell, a European transplant making her home in the Lehigh Valley and the founder of the Young Medalists High Performance program.

Coach Hartwell, speaking on behalf of Young Medalists/Team Dual-Temp, said, "We are so excited to see Matt selected by the national team for this incredible event. Knowing how hard he's worked to get to this point, it's great to see him get a chance to race against the world's best on the ultimate playing field. I know he'll do well representing in the Stars and Stripes!".

Hartwell also commented that, "All of us here at Young Medalists/Team Dual-Temp are proud of him. Our kids try so hard, put so much effort into their cycling, that for some of them to take that next step and race for their country, it makes it all of our hard work worthwhile."

Spinks will join Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, CA), Jeff Bahnson (Newark, DE), Skyler Trujillo (Fort Collins, CO), and Chris Wallace (Shawnee, KS) on the USA Cycling Junior Men's team for the world championship event. The juniors are scheduled to race at 11:00 a.m. (local) on January 30 in Tabor.

Link to world championship website: http://www.mstabor2010.cz/en/index.php?page=programme