Granite Bay Grinder Headed for Placer Valley

More than 1,500 high school mountain bikers will be racing around the trails at the Granite Beach Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (SRA) throughout the weekend for the Granite Bay Grinder. The NorCal High School Cycling League and Placer Valley Tourism are teaming up again for this exciting event that will showcase the North Conference teams on Saturday, March 16 and the South Conference teams on Sunday, March 17. 

The NorCal League's race season was kicked-off at the beginning of the month with a race at Fort Ord in Salinas.  The Granite Bay Grinder will be race #2 and Executive Director Vanessa Hauswald commented on how much they enjoy returning for the Granite Bay Grinder because of the great trails and the supportive community.  

"We have experienced quite a leap in growth this year, and are excited to report that we have 14 new teams that have joined our league," added Hauswald.  "This year you'll see incredibly large freshman and sophomore categories, in particular; we hope you'll come out to cheer these incredible kids on!"

Woodcreek High School Cycling Team Director Scott Corey echoed Hauswald's sentiments as their local team is growing, "Woodcreek is a young team this year with more new riders than we have returning and that gets us excited for the future!"

Corey also shared how pumped the Woodcreek riders are to compete at home this weekend with hopes of claiming spots on the podium! Ones to watch are: Jame Pizzo, the sole male varsity rider for Woodcreek who excels on this course, Mackenzie Bialzik, a Woodcreek junior who is the only upper-class female rider, sophomore riders Julia Barton, Kyah Bickler, Jadon Lai and Tucker Basten as well as freshmen rider Khy Kinsey, all have a great shot of a podium finish!    

Races are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. each day and there is no fee for spectators, however there is a $12 per vehicle fee to enter the Folsom Lake SRA.  Food trucks and merchandise booths will be onsite.

Placer Valley Tourism (PVT) is made up for the 24 hotels in Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln, California. PVT recruits and supports hundreds of annual events with grants, marketing, volunteers and other services as needed. To learn more about how PVT can help bring your event here, visit www.playplacer.com or call 916-773-5400.