Meet The 2025 To Be Developed Cycling Grant Recipients
We were thrilled to be able to offer the To Be Developed Grant again this year, and to see the applicant pool grow. More teams, more kids on bikes, and the growth of cyclocross in the US is what we want to see, even if it means we are left fighting for the remaining crumbs: First Adult.
Meet this year’s recipients.
Vulcan
Halfway into cross season and we’ve seen a commanding presence from the new Vulcan squad at local races. Keep it up!
“Vulcan Cycling is a youth off road cycling team based in New York & New Jersey.
The team was formed in the winter of 2024/25 by a group of families who met racing cyclocross together and wanted to create an off road youth cycling team that required no monetary commitment, but still offered a great bike racing experience. We offer clinics, group rides and race support that come with a "choose your own adventure" style time commitment for young riders looking to enter and grow in the sport. The goal was to add another, differentiated option to round out the fantastic roster of tri-state junior bike racing teams with a new welcoming and supportive setting, whether a cyclist is just looking for a race tent with friendly faces or support to compete at Nationals.
Today, in the fall of 2025 we have 8 riders ranging from 7 to 14 years old, racing everything from the Little Belgians fields to the junior fields and the 3/4/5 women or cat 4 men. You will find our racers at weekly training races like Otto's, all the local races like Bubblecross and Pineapple Crush Cross and especially larger races like Charm City in Baltimore and maybe even Nationals in Arkansas! We hope people come to our tent to say hi - we are always looking to add riders who align with our goals! And we are incredibly appreciative of TBD for the grant to help us launch and continue our mission!”
You can find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.
“I have been racing cyclocross since 2010. I am passionate about bringing more women, trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming folks into the sport. I love cyclocross because it's relatively slow speed, safe, and the same amount of fun no matter where you are in the field. There's no getting dropped, and everyone can see growth through skills practice, no matter their fitness level. It's the perfect intro to bike racing for juniors, especially because training doesn't have to involve riding on roads with cars. I started running clinics in 2017 after years of local cross practice attendance. While it is good for the community, it also can be aggressive and dominated by men. I put on the clinic to make sure that people who might be tentative about aggressive riding have an entry point to learn about CX. We go over the major skills needed (getting on and off the bike, running with the bike, riding off camber, working on balance on the bike at slow speeds), then have an info session at the end about things like where to find races, how to sign up, how to find a ride, what to expect at your first race, etc. These clinics have been rewarding because it means I know most of the NYC-based faces lining up in the women's 4/5 race once the season gets started, and it's great to watch them progress. Of the group from my first clinic in 2017 I think about half are still racing!!
The [2025] clinic went really well. We had more than 10 people come out and learn a ton of beginner skills. I have seen multiple people since the clinic about races, know one other just bought a new CX bike this week, and the post-clinic CX WhatsApp group is still going strong. Another strong year!”
NJCX Project
TBD is all too familiar with NJCX racers, watching their racers over the year go from the 8,9,10 year old races to seeing them shoot off into the distance winning elite races. Many of their riders have gone on to race in the UCI fields, in Europe, and even at the World Championships. We are happy to support their continuing success.
“NJCX Project is the premier New Jersey developmental cyclocross racing program for juniors ages 8 through high school. Founded in 2017 with just 3 boys and 1 girl and having grown to over 20 athletes in 2025, we strive to create a fun and professional competitive atmosphere that inspires and trains student athletes along the full pathway of development from beginner cyclocross racers to those breaking into international competition. Our participants have more fun and higher quality experiences training and racing together than they would as independent racers. And our young athletes build an appreciation for goal setting, hard work, commitment and camaraderie. In addition to racer development, NJCX is committed to supporting parent and coach development throughout the season with opportunities to participate, learn, and grow.
Although we also had a 12-person road racing team in 2025 and we have racers competing in mountain biking and track as well, we continue to primarily focus on cyclocross racing. We also support multiple NJBA races and a weekly training race series (currently at Rutgers).
NJCX is among a small group of teams in the United States to earn Center of Excellence recognition from USA Cycling in both 2023 and 2024. We will start our ninth season in 2025 having sent one current athlete and one former athlete to the 2025 World Championships in France, we have numerous 2023 and 2024 NJ state champions, and we will have three internationally ranked female athletes on our roster.”
Find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.
Shark River Devo
Just as with NJCX, we’ve watched the Shark River racers go from lil Belgians, to becoming some of the best racers - even sweeping entire podiums this year (and a special shoutout to Charlie and Heather for always being ready to let us hang out under their tent and the first to offer emergency support).
“Shark River Devo is a Junior and U23 cycling race team from Monmouth County, NJ. Our mission is to create opportunities for youth athletes to develop a passion for cycling, improve riding skills, and create a supportive and fun team atmosphere; preparing them to thrive in competitive races. In a small team setting, the athletes receive individualized attention, and work with each other to improve their skill set in an open learning environment.
We offer two programs to grow and support our athletes. Our Cyclocross Foundations program is designed for riders new to cyclocross looking to learn the essential skills needed to succeed in beginner-level racing. The 365 Performance program is for advanced Junior or U23 cyclists (minimum Cat 4 CX or Cat 2 MTB) looking to elevate their development and racing year-round.
Though we're race-focused, we're also committed to being active in our cycling community. We believe cycling is for everyone and aim to share our experiences and time to help others fuel their passion—creating an inclusive environment for all. This ethos is integral in building a strong and lasting community that provides opportunities for all cyclists.”
Find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.
JAM Fund
You’ve seen them, you know them, you’ve been beaten by them.
“The JAM Fund Cycling team is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering passionate community members with bikes as their medium. In addition to their team of cyclocross-focused development and elite racers, the JAM Fund is the parent organization of the newly established More Than Racing program, helping youth athletes be good humans.
This grant for the JAM Fund would help us continue reaching and supporting new athletes joining the program. We rely on donations to also help the team operate through cyclocross race season, for our own aspiring pro/elite athletes. This year we have invited four new racers to join for our team CX calendar. This grant from TBD would directly be used towards some of the cost of gas and housing throughout the season, and enable us to keep the door open to more women/NB racers who need support.”
Find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.
Utica Bike Bus
A new to us project by Utica Bike Rescue that really pulled on the heartstrings of those of us who love projects like Bikes Not Bombs and Recycle-A-Bike. And look at these little rippers!
“Utica Bike Rescue is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) charitable organization that promotes bicycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a clean, healthy, and safe community. We support local service agencies and youth bicycling programs by providing refurbished bicycles, riding skills training, safety instruction, and maintenance programs in a variety of ways, focusing on children, students, refugees, and households with lower incomes.
Last year, we raised funds to acquire a surplus school bus from a local district and converted it into a full-service mobile bicycle repair. The UBR BIKE BUS is used to provide on-site mechanical support to sanctioned bicycle race teams including CNYBMX (USABMX) and the Waterville Mountain Bike Club (NICA).”
Find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.
TTE Endurance Junior Development
The TTE Jr. Devo squad has been out in force this season, and seeing incredible success in the PMCX series, at New England races, and even taking home a coveted roof shingle at Charm City CX.
The TTEndurance Junior Development Team consists of about 15 juniors from the ages of 12-18 who are passionate cyclists. All the juniors ride cyclocross, mountain, road, as well as some who participate in time trial and multi-sports, and train year-round. The Team has an amazing sense of camaraderie, with the older ones being strong mentors for the younger – even outside of cycling.
I’m not just a cycling coach - I’m a life coach and am involved in all aspects of the juniors’ lives, from cycling to education to nutrition. I reinforce the importance of becoming a champion using their bodies, minds and attitudes – and how to become stronger through a healthy lifestyle.
The Team is an amazing group of hardworking, respectful, compassionate and kind kids. They live healthy lifestyles and work hard to improve themselves, whether physically, academically, or emotionally. Every junior on the Team knows they can rely on each other and make each other feel like they belong. It’s an environment where they all lift each other up and make each other the best they can be – champions.
Follow their season on Instagram.
Grasshopper Race
The Grasshopper Kids Race is a low key mountain bike race for kindergarten through 8th grade kids, held in Cedar Grove, NJ. After a one year hiatus the 2025 Grasshopper Kids Race returned on September 6, 2025 and the response was overwhelming. The goal of the Grasshopper Race is to provide a safe and welcoming, but also challenging, environment for kids to bridge into that yawning gap of bike racing between the simple Little Belgians cyclocross races and the challenging middle / high school courses of NICA. Here’s a recap from one of the organizers that really proves it takes a community to get (and keep!) kids on bikes.
Almost 70 kids raced that day, with 19 boys in the 2nd-3rd grade race alone - a huge number for these trails that start 5 across and quickly moved to singletrack!
We spent many days leading up to the race clearing the course and creating age appropriate lines, often pre-riding sections with kids of varying speeds just to make sure the terrain was both fun and safe. On the day of the event kids started at registration, where a local NICA rider Christian Duerk showed kids and parents how to attach their number plates. Then the riders picked up goodies provided by Optima Care Senior Grove along with lollipops and Bike Bus stickers! Finally, and most importantly, every rider had their bike checked by Andrew at Jalapeno Cycling before racing.
The bike check has always been critical to Grasshopper - we get children (and parents!) with a large range of bike knowledge, so want to ensure everyone is ready to race safely. Honestly, we always liked the idea, but never had any sense of just how ESSENTIAL the bike check really is. According to Andrew, more than half the bikes checked needed some bolt tightening and at least 4 bikes (6% of the racers!!) had a critical issue that needed to be fixed. We were so appreciative to have him out there keeping everyone safe.
The races went off without a hitch, K-1 (2 laps / 0.8 miles) at 9am, grades 2-3 ( (3 laps / 1.2 miles) at 9:30am, grades 4-5 (4 laps / 1.6 miles) at 10am and finally grades 6-8 (4 laps / 1.6 miles) at 10:30am. Let me tell you, those middle school kids were FLYING. We were very appreciative Christian was willing to step away from his registration duties to rabbit that race, because I'm not sure who else could have kept up!
We are so appreciative for the great turnout and for the overwhelming support of both community riders and teammates and of the TBD grant program to help us keep the entry fee at only $10 to make this race as inclusive as possible! We heard over and over from parents that they were so excited to be in a place where their kids could ride and race with other kids. To that end, we even put together a WhatsApp group for families to connect and ride with each other. Parents are welcome to email at vulcankidsrace@gmail.com if they'd like to get added to that group!”
Congrats to our recipients and we’ll see you at the races!
