Age doesn’t keep extreme biker off of the racing circuit

By Sean Ammerman

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | midnight

As Craig Van Cleve approaches a near-vertical drop during a downhill mountain bike training run, his first thought is to keep his bike under control.

If he falls, his second thought will be knowing how to do so without getting hurt.

Luckily he lands without a hitch and doesn't have to worry about it.

"I have been pretty lucky," said Van Cleve, a Henderson resident. "By the end of race weekends there are usually guys with their arms in slings or their legs in casts. My friends consider me a smooth rider."

Downhill mountain biking is an extreme sport where cyclists compete against the clock on downhill courses.

Injury is a constant risk as courses feature everything from jagged boulders to deep ditches and trees. Bikers can reach speeds more than 40 mph during a mile-long course.

Van Cleve, 47, has gone through 13 years of competition suffering no worse than a broken thumb.

He has stayed healthy enough to win two National Mountain Bike Championship Series in the expert age 45-to-49 division and five California state championships in the same age division.

As of October, Van Cleve is ranked No. 1 in his 45 to 49 age division by USA Cycling.

Van Cleve feels he's only getting more competitive as he gets older.

"I know I'm still good and I don't want other people to win," he said "It takes a lot longer to heal. You get a lot of wrist, ankle and knee injuries."

Van Cleve has a life-long love of cycling sports, competing in BMX and motorcross, but he feels downhill cycling is the most extreme of anything he's tried.

Terry Maddox, a competitor in USA Cycling events, said Van Cleve defies his age by racing more consistently than most younger bikers.

"He's good on the fast courses and he's good on the rocky courses," Maddox said. "He's hooked to the sport. I can see him being competitive for another five years at least."

Downhill mountain biking has a small following in Southern Nevada, but Van Cleve, who races for Mountain Cycle, has spread the sport.

"He's outgoing and kind of has that extreme personality," said Joseph Squire, a friend and co-worker at Dana-Kepner Co.

Van Cleve said he is starting to feel his age. His joints do not move as easily as they once did, while keeping fit takes more time.

"Right now I'm relying on my experience rather than staying in shape," he said. "I used to train every day when I was younger just to be in very good shape. Now when I get to the bottom of the mountain I'll be huffing and puffing. I might even throw up — just because I gave it my all, but I'm not in shape."

Van Cleve's most recent win was the National Mountain Bike Championship Series, which he took first in the points standings after the final race Labor Day weekend.

He went into the national finals, held in Brain Head, Utah, with one competitor close enough to beat him.

"I wasn't nervous are anything, I just did my run," he said. "I got down to this rough drop where everyone crashing off of. As I jumped off the log I hear a course worker ask 'Do you need a medic down there?' I looked and my closest competitor was in the bushes."

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].