Off to the Races: Puerto Rico
Last month HART-Accel Pro Cycling set off on the first race block of the year with a Continental Series, a UCI HC, and a UCI C1 in Puerto Rico! Even in a season filled with national and international racing opportunities, this block was the most points available anywhere in our hemisphere in a ten day span. This was also the first trip with the whole Accel organization including juniors, U23s, and pro racers.
Building RKTs out of the bike bags at the Accel team house.
Building bikes isn’t a race…
…but Jeremy won.
First off, the squad traveled to Salinas, Puerto Rico, along the southern edge of the island. Races here were held at the Albergue Olimpico, Puerto Rico’s Olympic Center. The course features steep, loose climbs, a mix of fast, flowing descents and fast technical features. The course is a high speed challenge to kick off racing for the year. The HART squad spend a couple days checking out the course with the U23s and juniors, dialing lines and planning out hydration and bottle dumps to stay cool in the 90 degree humid environment.
Short track on Friday served as the first opener for the HART athletes, 20min of maximum effort and aggressive racing. With some of the fastest women in the world and most of the fastest from South and Central America, short track is a two step process; get off the start line safe, then empty the tank. Isabella lined up with the goal of blowing out the cobwebs and opening up the legs for the following XCO race. She put together a strong first effort of the season!
Isabella flanked by Latin American pro teams.
Samuel and Jeremy navigated a chaotic start in the combined U23 and Elite field and found each other to put a strong race together finishing together in 44th and 46th for their first race paced effort of the season. With that, the whole team had their first race exposure for 2026 and the legs opened up to battle it out in XCO in a UCI HC.
The HART XCC RKT suffer-train
Next was the HC Race on Sunday with points on the line for UCI World Cups later in the season.
Isabella riding focused!
Isabella suffered a crash during her warmup on the road. After sucking a rock out of her palm and getting bandaged up a bit, she lined up to race. She rode well to finish 14th behind some of the fastest ladies in the world.
No Excuses. Even when the ground hits back.
After a crash heavy start in the mens race, Jeremy burned matches to move up into the top 20 of the race in the first lap. Struggling to get sugar in in the heat, he went backwards again and Samuel took over chasing the lead groups. Jeremy eventually found his race legs again and picked up the pace again to finish 29th. Samuel stayed steady to finish 28th.
Jeremy making passes late in the race.
After a more relaxed day filled with naps and meetings, HART prepared for the Continental Series on Wednesday.
Isabella’s race exploded from the start with the top riders tuning up to win the opening rounds one the UCI World Cup. She found her stride on course to finish 13th.
Samuel and Jeremy’s race was a slightly smaller field than Sunday but with the top riders on the continent vying for early season points, the pace was high from the gun again. Samuel found his race legs and kept moving to finish 25th, the last finish in the points. Jeremy had a slow start but paced himself well in the heat to ride to 28th, missing the lead lap and opportunity for a few more passes by 4s.
Samuel, calm and collected, leading the way in the Continental Series.
Samuel went on to snag the last spot in the points in an exceptionally stacked race! A great way to kick off the season for our Sam!
After wrapping up the races in Salinas,
The team was joined by Jeremy’s wife, Hannah, and Elson mom, Lori, for a race weekend in Rincon. Over the years, the race weekend in Rincon has become a favorite for family race trips with its great beach vibes and spectator friendly course. The cause features steep, winding single track in tight tropical trees with rooty descents that challenge focus and fitness. The start/finish is set up a hundred yards from the lighthouse overlooking Domes Beach.
Some mandatory beach time between races…
Right to left: Isabella, Ben, Jeremy, Hannah, and [pending]…
Jeremy practicing his logistical strategy. Just gotta keep things in the air!
After just a day of course preview, the team prepared lined up for short track. In all the years Samuel and Jeremy have raced in Rincon, they have never raced a short track at the venue. The course proved to be a dirt criterium with a gradually sloped double track loop creating opportunities for pack racing and crazy high speeds.
HART-Accel enjoying the view after pre-ride.
Isabella’s race strung out quickly with riders racing in bunches of five to ten riders, then three to five riders, and finally ones and twos battling it out. Isabella struggled to find the top end, struggling in the muggy heat. With so many races in a short span with the added drain of extreme heat, it’s normal to have a brutal off day where it’s hard just to turn the pedals over. Unfortunately for Isabella, that was short track day for her! She held her place with the legs opened up to race XC the following day.
Isabella followed closely by Accel’s Olivia in the combined Elite and U23 field.
The mens race was wild, dodging crashes and swerving around riders rocketing up and down through the field. Samuel held strong for 18th place just off the lead groups.
Jeremy Imploded in the heat and fell back to 30th after one too many hard punches on the day.
Sunday marked the final race of the Puerto Rico block, a UCI C1 on the tight, twisty XCO course.
Last race of the trip!
Isabella hammered the steep climbs, stayed smooth on the steep descents, holding strong in a stacked Women’s field to finish 22nd.
Samuel had a rough start. With 75 riders vying for the same steep roots and narrow trail on the first lap, most of the riders had to run the steeper climbs. Another rider stepped on Sam’s shoe and popped off both BOA dials. Samuel had to stop to reattach the dials and put his shoe back on before going on a tear on frustration-watts to finish 33rd in a great race. Of all the very specific things to have happen in a race, this is the second time someone has stepped on Samuel’s shoe and ripped off the BOA dials at Rincon.
Jeremy struggled to tackle the steep climbs on tired legs and worked to settle into a steady pace. He found the rhythm eventually and finished strong in 40th after some good battles with the homies.
The Bikes!
These races were our first on the Niner RKT 9 RDO and a great way to test the abilities of a race bike! Our thoughts so far: This bike is FAST!! Niner’s CVA linkage saves pedaling power from the dreaded “pedal bob” common to full suspension bikes. All the energy of the downward pedal stroke turns into forward momentum without sacrificing the mobility of the rear wheel we rely on for traction and control. The bike is playful, stable, and the perfect bike for our racing and adventuring!
Jeremy with his RKT on the beach in Rincon! Jeremy filmed a short 1000mi review after racking up 1000mi in the new RKT in just under a month of training. Find his review here on his YouTube channel!
Gazing off into the Caribbean and into the future of all the awesome places we will ride these RKTs! Thanks for making an awesome bike, Niner Bikes!
This stacked race trip was an incredible way for the HART squad to find their race legs at the start of the 2026 season. Some of the top riders in the world, fast riding courses, brutal heat, and great vibes to ensure HART is ready for anything in the coming months. With these races in the legs, the HART-Accel Pro Team gets ready to head to Arkansas for the first round of the US Cup at Centennial Park in Fayetteville.
That’s a wrap on Puerto Rico!
Now it’s off to Arkansas for the first round of the US Pro Cup!
Stay tuned for our Arkansas adventures!
Until the next one,
-Jeremy Norris
