Founded in 2013, Avout Racing has grown from a team of 15 to 135 strong over the past seven racing seasons. Their mission is to enjoy riding and racing to the fullest while fostering camaraderie and achieving competitive excellence for both the team and individuals.
We had the opportunity to connect with Jessica Mullins, Avout Racing Team Manager, and ask her about how the history of the program, their main goals, and the impact Avout Racing has had on young athletes.
What is the history of Avout Racing?
In 2013, Barry Wiebe founded Avout Racing, an adult cycling team focusing on off-road cycling and racing. The team immediately started winning all the team mountain bike series in Colorado. In 2016, the team brought on a grassroots junior team which has grown astronomically with a total of over 100 juniors in 2020. The Junior team has two groups: Inspire Juniors and Select Juniors. 2020 is the 5th year of the Inspire Juniors program, which teaches kids competition and camaraderie while having fun riding bikes, and the 2nd year of the Select Juniors program for elite athletes who want to take their cycling to the next level. The Juniors team members have 7 national championships… so far. Today, Avout Racing is one of the dominant mountain biking and cyclocross teams in Colorado.
What are the main goals of the program? Have they changed since Covid?
Avout Racing’s mission is to have fun while riding and racing while supporting cycling and especially youth cycling. That involves building team camaraderie, winning as a team and individually, and giving back to the community, all while being good stewards of the sport of cycling, the team’s sponsors, and the planet as a whole. With COVID-19 changing the cycling and racing landscape, the team adapted its focus by providing a safe environment for kids to get outdoors, socialize, develop skills, learn respect, and build confidence. And the result was happy, healthy kids in this very trying time.
How has cycling impacted your young athletes?
Based on feedback from our end of season survey, Avout Racing’s impact on youth has been huge, especially in this challenging year. The positive and supporting coaching has made learning easy and fun. With the team’s focus on the 5 Respects, Avout Racing develops good people, not just strong cyclists. (The 5 Respects are: Respect Yourself, Respect your Teammates, Respect your Coach, Respect your Environment, Respect your Equipment. The 5 Respects come directly from Durango Devo’s teachings – another amazing Colorado junior cycling program!) Trail etiquette was a huge focus this year and the kids all learned the importance of being great representatives of cyclists on the trails so that all users can have a positive experience on the trails. Throughout this challenging year, kids have been excited to come to practices to ride their bike, socialize with their friends, be outdoors, and become really talented cyclists.
What makes Avout Racing special for the athletes that ride for the team?
Avout Racing is a team of attraction. We try to create an environment that everyone wants to be part of – and we try to create an environment that is welcoming for all those people. One of the special aspects of the team is that it has both an adult and a junior team – so a parent can be on the same team as their kid!
Is there a story behind your team kits?
The Avout Racing name comes from Avout Corporation, a technology consulting company owned by Barry Wiebe, who started the team. The team logo and kit follows the same inviting blue and round theme – but with the added racy influence of flames (one designer exclaimed “you can never have too many flames on a race car!”). Now the flames have become more subtle – but they’re still there. We still like to win!
To learn more about the USA Cycling Center of Excellence programs and how you can help programs like Avout Racing continue to thrive, visit the link here.
