Nevada City 18-year-old Graeme Pitts learned Monday that he has been chosen by USA Cycling to be among the pro/elite level riders competing on its downhill squad at the Pan American Continental Mountain Bike Championships near Santiago, Chile in March.

Officially racing in the pro class at national and international events, Pitts raced in Southern California on Feb. 8 against 38 world-class pro riders for a 12th place finish.

Pitts said the conditions were like “rivers on the course and puddles the size of swimming pools in the pedal section.”

Th next stop for Pitts was Mob in Mojave at Bootleg Canyon, just south of Las Vegas. On race day, near the top of the course, Pitts impacted a rock so forcefully that it bent his chain guide and broke his crank arm – heavy duty parts rarely broken. He realized it was not repairable and continued the whole race powered only by gravity.

After the downhill race, the weekend included a special chainless race, in which Pitts redeemed himself by placing third.

Pitts, who has 25 races scheduled this year, is featured in the Junior Spotlight column of the March 2009 Decline Magazine. In the current issue, he received mention again in the Stance column as a "top-level downhill racer" along with three other riders representing James Wilson's Mountain Bike Strength Training program, designed specifically for gravity riders.

For more information on Pitts, including information on sponsors, contact him at GraemePitts@aol.com.