59 Seconds - Junior Cycling Development Team heads to Arkansas US Pro Cup

At the 2026 Walmart U.S. Pro Cup in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 3 Cats Racing delivered three Top 20 finishes in one of the deepest junior mountain biking fields in the United States, competing against the nation’s top junior MTB development programs.

This was the first major stop on the North American calendar, where riders lined up against some of the strongest junior mountain bike teams in the country. Teams like Bear National Team, Team Booger, Rouleur Devo, ACCEL Cycling, Miller School of Albemarle, Oz Development, Gravity Collective and FreeFly set the pace at the front of most races, and the depth ran through the entire field. These are the programs shaping the future of, and this is where we chose to show up.

Junior Race Results: XCC & XCO

Nathan

Junior Boys 15-16 - Heat A

Junior Boys 15-16 - Finals

USAC Amateur XCO Cat 1 Boys 15-16

Nathan qualified for XCC finals with a top 25 field, and the excitement in the tent was palpable.

He found another level.

New power.

New confidence.

He was racing.

In the final, he lined up against roughly 60 riders, where less than a minute separated over 30 of them, and every position came down to seconds. 59 seconds off the leader.

He carried that into XCO, where the course pushed back. There were moments in the trees where things came apart, but underneath that was something bigger, something he gets to take in our spring VAHS race season. I can't wait to see what the rest of Spring brings.

Sam 

UCI HC XCO Women Junior 17-18

USAC Amateur XCO AM XCO Cat 2 Women 17-18

A mid-pack crash at the start caused Sam to hit the pavement in her 17–18 XCO race. She got back up, destroyed a rim, and kept racing because that’s who she is. Bill and Nathan were in the pit for the wheel change to keep her going, the day after his own race, showing up for his teammate.

But that wasn’t new. Sam had already been showing up all weekend, lining riders up in staging on Friday, holding the umbrella in the heat, making sure everyone else was ready, and charging around the course screaming her support before she ever thought about herself.

She had just come off a full winter racing with the Wintergreen Ski Race Team, shifting from snow to dirt and straight into one of the deepest race environments in the country.

No long transition. No easing in.

She came back on Sunday and rode again, with three broken ribs. Inspirational falls short when describing Sam. May all our young female athletes grow into the community-focused, tough-as-nails humans that Sam shows us every day.

Lia

AM XCC Junior Girls 11-14

USAC Amateur XCO  Junior Girls 13-14 

Lia flatted at the worst possible moment and rode it in anyway.

Racing in the 13–14 field, she competed in both disciplines, finishing 16th in short track and 18th in XCO, and came off the line fast, charging into that first lap because she belonged there.

She is the youngest on the team and the one who was there for everyone in Virginia, at every finish. Bottle in hand. If this team has a heartbeat, it is Lia. 

Steady, present, and fully in it, the kind of rider who lifts everything around her.

The kind of rider who might just be a national champion someday.

Mat

STXC Junior Boys 15-16 - Heat B

Mat came within two places of qualifying for finals, finishing 32nd in his short-track heat in the 15–16 field, right on the edge of advancing.

A multi-season athlete, balancing swim and cross country, he’s just getting back into bike shape, and it showed.

Close enough to see it, and close enough to know it’s coming.

That night, he developed a fever and had to miss his XCO race on Sunday.

And still, he spent the weekend filming, cheering, helping friends, and keeping the team's energy moving forward.

Team Culture & Junior Development

And in between the hard moments, there was something just as important.

We made friends with our neighbors.

We invited people into our tent who needed a place to land.

It was crowded, loud, and exactly right.

This team has always been about more than results. We talk about goals and expectations not as pressure, but as direction. Who we are when things go right, and who we choose to be when they don’t.

Arkansas gave us that answer.

National-Level Junior MTB Results

The team came away with three Top 20 finishes in a field of over 30 of the best junior development programs in the US, Canada and South America. , a legitimate national-level showing. Multiple riders pushed into contention, with others right on the edge of finals, knocking on the door of the next step.

Path to USA Cycling Nationals

We didn’t leave with everything we may have quietly dreamed of in the moments before we drifted off to sleep, but we left with something just as important.

We were present.

We did what we set out to do.

It wasn’t magic because it wasn’t accidental.

Planned, predictable, executed the way we intended. That’s how we move through the hard parts, because we plan for them.

Now we bring it home, back to Virginia dirt, back to the work, because this was never about one race. It’s about the arc, and Arkansas was an important step forward toward Nationals.

Thank You

Thank you to the sponsors who stand behind this team and give these athletes the confidence to show up at this level. You’re part of every start line, every lap, every step forward.

This weekend marked a return. For Erik, stepping back into the rhythm and intensity of national racing. For Beth, bringing a team back not just to participate, but to belong.

Karen is in the feed zone, steady and precise every lap, and manages the house and food every day. Bill in the pit, solving problems and keeping kids and bikes moving when it mattered most.

Parents, staff, and support are all in it together. On the course, in the pit, behind the camera. This is what it takes.

We came in with clear goals and open eyes. Not easy. Not guaranteed. Worth it.

About 3 Cats Racing

Based in Virginia, 3 Cats Racing is a women-led, junior-driven mountain biking program led by Beth Seliga and Erik Hultgren, developing youth riders for national-level USA Cycling and junior XC racing. Through coaching, mentorship, and community, the team supports athletes as they progress from local racing to the national stage.