Mullican rules his division at Highland Rim Classic
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Mullican won all three stages (road race, time trials and the Criterium) of the event to claim first place overall in his division.
Cycling isn’t new to Mullican, who has been mountain bike racing for around three years. With 10 mountain bike races under his belt and nine wins, Mullican decided to try his skills out on the road.
“I really enjoyed mountain bike racing but I always wanted to road race,” he said. “I started training for road racing last year, it gets you in much better physical condition and it’s just more fun.
“I like being out on the road training, and I try to ride six days a week — which is about 200 miles a week.”
In his first road race at Raccoon Mountain, Mullican finished second and now has the Highland Rim Classic to add to his r?sum?. Along with his parents Phil and Tina Mullican to cheer him on last weekend, Mullican’s grandfather and ex-motorcycle rider Kenneth Keaton was on hand to watch his grandson take the championship.
“There were 12 or 14 riders in my division, and several of them I had raced against before at Raccoon Mountain,” Mullican recalled. “There was great competition in this race and I’m very happy with my performance.
After his successful weekend, Mullican said he was approached by a couple of area race teams, and looks forward to join one.
“Standard Candies out of Nashville is one team I’m hoping to join, which will give me a good shot at going to the Nationals next year,” he said. “I don’t have any sponsors and do everything myself, so things can get a little expensive. But my parents stand behind me and support me in everything I do. It would be nice to be able to pick up a couple of sponsors, but for now I’ll keep training hard everyday and see what the future holds.”
Mullican’s friend and training partner John Cooke of McMinnville was hot on his heels during the race, as he finished third overall in the 15-16 year-old division.