Kees, Kiersten, Kathleen and Louisa looking waaaaaay scary on Halloween!

Kids with Linda Armstrong (Lance's mom) at the Ride for the Roses in Austin. 

Corpus Christi Bay in the background... we're fortunate to have such a beautiful place to ride virtually every day of the year right in our own backyard... 

... only to have Kees sneak around and sprint by her ;-) 

Being only 26 months apart they are truly best friends, but with that closeness in age (and ability) they are extremely competitive with each other. Here, Kiersten relaxes as she crests a climb thinking she's beaten her brother to the top... 

The complete opposite of his sister, Kees is the sprinter... the green jersey guy... he's so big and strong for his age that I've seen him pull his front wheel off the ground repeatedly in sprints for the finish line! In his first mountain bike race, as an 8-year old he outsprinted all the 10-year olds off the start to hit the trailhead first! He'll hold his own in short power climbs, but as could be expected he doesn't like extended climbs. He also has phenominal bike-handling skills, and has since he started riding. He learned to clip in at 5, and I think it took him all of five minutes! Isn't it cool how kids, with their open minds, can learn something in 5 minutes that often takes adults 5 days to get the hang of! 

Kiersten riding a small climb. She's a pure climber and when a road or trail goes up she's gone! The kids have nicknames for each other, and she's "Marco Pantani", the gifted Italian climber and Tour de France winner. She can hold her own on speed courses, but she has to work really hard to stay with the bigger girls on the power courses. Ultimately it's her fitness and determination that gets her to the line first, regardless of the course. She's on her favorite little bike that has brought her to several victories and championships. Props to Steffi and her sponsors Trialtir-USA, Colnago, Northwave and Limar. She told me that when it doesn't fit her anymore I can't sell it, and she wants to hang it on the wall. It's small enough!

Kiersten playing tough in the U13 Division II league this Fall. Her team finished third in their division and qualified for the state championships. Playing mostly right forward, she was the number three scorer for her team.