Hanna Aggen
Ian Schwing C’25, is an anomaly in mountain biking. Schwing has been biking for several years, mainly focusing on cross-country racing, and newly, a racing style called Enduro racing. He has been an accomplished cyclist for a while. However, he made major improvements in the last year.
In the end of summer of 2023, Schwing began racing in enduro style races. This change in his career caused him to focus more on his skills rather than just endurance and fitness. He began racing for a team called the B-Team. Schwing explains, “the B-Team has been very supportive through all of this.” Marking the joining of their team to be very impactful for him. Schwing stated that the main differences between styles of racing was that cross-country racing is about getting to the end the fastest, whereas with enduro you are racing three to six races in the span of about four hours. Enduro races take place on almost entirely downhill courses, causing you to rely on skills and gravity to get you to the bottom first. These changes have made a huge difference in his training, and ultimately, his results.
For several months, Schwing has been competing in different styles of biking. In the spring the season consisted of road racing. “It really boosted my fitness” He stated. “I am very blessed to have that connection.”
Over the summer he saw the biggest changes in his results. Schwing was enduro racing a lot over the summer, seeing a huge increase in wins. He raced many pros, and junior pro cyclists, attributing his opportunities to the B-Team. On August 3, Schwing placed first in the USA Cycling Gravity Mountain Bike National Championship, making himself a promising name in mountain biking. When it comes to his collegiate career, Schwing competes in the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference.
This summer and early fall, Schwing competed in several high-level races. Schwing said that his most impactful race of the 2024 season this far, has been the Frederick Sheduro. Schwing explains that being very close to the Mount, he was familiar with the trails. He said there were many pros competing in this race, including Omer Hutman, the Israeli national champion. Going into the race, Schwing said that his teammates were pushing him, letting him know that this would be the race to win.
After winning the race by around 25 seconds, beating some serious competitors, he said “there might be something here.”
Looking ahead to the rest of this fall season, Schwing said that his big goal is to win collegiate nationals. Competing in all four styles of collegiate biking, he hopes to gain the national collegiate Omnium title.
Winning this title would mean that Schwing would compete and win in four events being, cross-country, short track, downhill/enduro, and dual slalom. In his past years competing at nationals Schwing earned third place, followed by second place in 2023. When asked about what keeps him going on this path, and especially what has motivated him to continue to strive to get better, he said “my love and drive for cycling in general.” He added that “the faster and better I get, the fun I have…Getting better is just fun.” Schwing encourages anyone and everyone to get outside. He said that the trails and outdoor activities here were why he chose this school, “The Mount is a great place to be.” The senior encourages everyone to ask someone about these opportunities at the Mount.
Mount Athletics
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