ROANOKE, Va. \u2013 A 9-year-old cyclist isn\u2019t letting a rule change stop him from racing. Nino O\u2019Connell found out his age group had been dropped from this weekend\u2019s USA Cycling event \u2014 and instead of sitting out, he decided to compete anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were at a Taco Bell of all places… At first I was kind of relieved because I didn\u2019t have to worry about it anymore. Then I was like, \u2018Wait a minute… no, I\u2019m bummed,\u2019\u201d Nino said.<\/p>\n
Dad petitioned, mom prepared<\/p>\n
Nino\u2019s father petitioned organizers to let his son enter the race. His mother, Betthney O\u2019Connell, says the biggest challenge wasn\u2019t confidence in Nino \u2014 it was logistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he could. It was just Mom and Dad\u2019s job to get everything together to make what he wanted happen,\u201d Betthney O\u2019Connell said.<\/p>\n
Finding the right gear for a course with significant climbs, and getting enough practice time on it, was the real hurdle the family had to clear.<\/p>\n
What is single-speed racing?<\/p>\n
The event is a single-speed race, a format that strips the bike down to its essentials. National biking champion Gordon Wadsworth breaks it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cSingle speed means you take all of the shifting paraphernalia off the bike and you run a single front ring and a single back cog,\u201d Wadsworth said.<\/p>\n
This weekend, Nino will line up against a field of older, adult riders. For him, the age gap is beside the point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just like focused on winning,\u201d Nino said.<\/p>\n
Wadsworth believes that focus will show.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s against adult competition, but I think they\u2019ve got something coming for him. I think he\u2019s going to have a really exciting day out there,\u201d Wadsworth said.<\/p>\n
From Taco Bell news to big dreams<\/p>\n
Nino says he\u2019s tried plenty of sports before landing on cycling \u2014 and this one stuck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of sports trying to find the one I was good at, and this is by far the coolest one yet because it\u2019s just so different from any other one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His long-term goal is as clear as his race-day mindset: \u201cTo be a world champion.\u201d<\/p>\n