Ode to the Fast Kids: Shark River Devo
First adult. We have all been there. You have trained, you are in shape, you've done the work. Then you show up to a race and a bunch of kids blow past you at the start. Perhaps a commentator reflects that you are being beaten by some fast children whose cumulative ages are still less than your own. You checked the results for your top ten and feel pretty good about it. You look a little closer and see that not a single one of the racers ahead of your is old enough to drive a car. You turn to your team and shout triumphantly, "I'm first adult!"
First adult doesn't get you any better upgrade points, but it provides some solace. If not for those damn kids. Except, we don’t want the kids off our lawn, we are rooting for them. On our best days, we can only hope we are at least providing enough competition that we're helping them get better. Sometimes though, we are pack fodder for their upgrade points as they patiently bide time until they are eligible for the U19 field.
These fast kids need support to become faster teenagers and eventually extremely fast adults. Shark River Devo is one of the local programs providing that support. Bursting on to the scene in 2022, the team is not only at every local and UCI race, they've invited all of us silly adults doing this silly sport into their tent, shared their equipment, heckled with and at us, and invited the NYC CX crew to ride with them at their local trails, all while their very fast children absolutely rip (most) our legs off in races.
Heading into the team’s trip to this year’s Cyclocross nationals, some of the NYC CX crew joined Shark River (Ed. Note: Shark River is an actual river, or perhaps a bay!) for a ride at Allaire State Park. Charlie Muller, head coach, gave us a little background about the team and the racers told us about their improvements this season and goals for nationals.
TBD: When did the team start?
Charlie Muller (CM): We started the team in June of 2022 for the cyclocross season. In January of 2023 we kept the fun going and the team now runs year round with lots of different riding like mountain bikes, gravel and road rides.
TBD: I know that you race yourself, but why start Shark River Devo?
CM: We started the team to provide a way for Ian to be able to ride and train with kids his own age, in our local area. Luckily we knew a few other kids from his NICA team that might be interested. They tried out a few CX bikes for an afternoon and they were into it. We started off with 4 the first year and now we have 7.
TBD: How did you convince the non-racing parents to also stand under a tent shivering for four months of the year?
CM: We did our best to try and prepare the parents for the carnival act that is cyclocross so it wasn’t a complete shock to them. And of course our team’s first race in 2022 was Pineapple Crush where it rained all day and it was 55 degrees, so they were all baptized by mud. So much for a gradual introduction to cyclocross for them.
It's a really big ask for our families to be on the road at 5:30 - 6:00 in the morning, sit out in the weather all day, and not get home until 6 or 7 at night. We are so lucky that our families are so supportive of their kids, and they seem to enjoy the stupidity that is cyclocross in all the varying elements. But the real show of dedication that our parents show is how they somehow get kits clean after every race.
TBD: What kind of support is provided to the racers?
CM: On race day we try to provide a pretty professional level of support. Our goal is to take care of all the little things, so the athletes can just focus on their racing, hanging out with each other and have time to be part of the CX community. We provide tents, trainers and all the essentials for race days. The athletes are given a schedule of when to eat, warm up, pre-ride, get to staging, etc. They are totally responsible for making those things happen, but Heather, the team director, runs a pretty tight ship and keeps them all on schedule. She gets them to the start grid to collect bottles, jackets and hold umbrellas. And then she somehow runs around and gets tons of photos and videos cause these kids love making IG reels, and they need content. This year we hired a mechanic for the majority of our races—checking over bikes, making last minute tire changes, washing bikes and running the pit.
During the week we have two nightly practices. One is a version of hot laps and the other is a skills practice. These practices are coached by myself and in the upcoming season all athletes will be receiving training plans in-house. Heather helps out with all of our road and gravel rides and has been a great influence on our female riders. We do a lot of team rides in the spring and summer to help them learn group skills, camaraderie and how to work with unity. It also gives them more opportunities to know each other better and support each other. Once CX season starts, our weekends are filled with races, travel and hopefully some recovery.
TBD: Are you still recruiting? How would a local cross curious junior get in touch?
CM: We don’t actively recruit as we don’t have the staffing to support a whole lot more than our current roster. If we see someone that we think would be a good fit on our team, we reach out and start the discussion. If someone is interested in joining us, we are always up to talking via Instagram (@sharkriverdevo) or our email sharkriverdevo@gmail.com. Or better yet, come talk to us at a race. This is a close-knit community, and if we can’t help you out, I like to think we can point you in the direction of a few other great people.
TBD: How can we, adults with jobs who are doing this very silly sport as a hobby, help support the team?
CM: Building community is really important to us, so talk with our athletes. Make them feel welcome during pre-ride, at the start line and share congrats when the race is over. We share a lot of the same values concerning community within bikes, so just keep doing what you are all doing. Let’s ride and race bikes, and hang out with donuts and have some laughs.
The much less fun answer to how you can help support the team is to let people know we exist. If you like what we are doing, spread the word. There is a high cost of entry into this sport, and we try to make the sport as financially viable as we can for our families. We have been fortunate to have people and companies offer support thus far, but we would love to lower the bar as much as possible for our families while expanding our services as well.
The Racers
TBD: What’s your most improved skill this season?
William: My skills both technical and strategic. I learned things both through training and racing.
Ian: Hopping the barriers.
Aidan: Running the barriers.
Julia: Cornering.
Ned: Hopping barriers and defending positions mid race.
Liv: Everything! I had no idea what I was doing at the start of this, and now I have some idea.
TBD: Goals for nationals?
Ned: Top 20. Not 20, 21. Below 20.
Ian: Top 30.
Aidan: Top 30 and ride to the best of my ability
William: Top 15, which would be great for my first CX season.
If you have access to Flobikes, you can stream Saturday and Sunday’s races. If not, you can check out the live timing, send good vibes into the universe, and follow the team on Instagram. Charlie races on Thursday, and Ian, Aidan, Ned, and William all race Saturday.
May you all, as they say, send it.
