So as you probably know, my name is Max Kaplan. I started racing in 2006 when I was 13 (racing age 14).  My short career has been pretty interesting, and I would like to share it.

I started truly riding in the winter of 2005. My dad signed me up to do a group ride with Team Colavita. I did it and I liked it. I stuck with it ever since.

My first 2 years racing plain sucked. I hit puberty much later then most of the other kids my age. For 2 straight years, I would race every weekend and get dropped. It was pretty discouraging, but I still kept on training and training. A lot of the kids that were constantly getting dropped quit. However, I really liked racing and I just kept going. My worst beating had to come at the Tour de FCCC in 2007. It was a 2 day stage race with 3 stages. I finished 13th out 13. I was 12 minutes behind 12th place on GC, and 20 minutes behind 1st place. Check out the results. I was in 15/16 at the time. http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/07/21-Nicole-Reinhart-Memorial-Tour-de-FCCC.asp

However, at that race something special happened. I won a prime!! Of course I got dropped right after, but that was huge for me. I had never even finished a race before with the field in 2 years. Winning that prime was the first good thing that ever happened to me as a racer.

The winter going into 2008, I was really determined to be strong enough to stay with the field. I trained my a** off that winter. I also finally hit puberty, so I was improving really fast. On our team's first winter ride, I was dropped. On our team's last winter ride, I was winning some of the hill sprints. I went into 2008 with really high hopes.

My first race was a race in Central Park, NY. I entered the 3/4. I was hoping to stay with the field for half the race, but I stayed with them for the whole entire race. I finished about 60th out of 100, but I was extremely happy. I even posted a blog about it on this site. In my 3rd racing season, I finally finished my first race.

After that race, I kept on training and training. I entered my first junior race and I placed 2nd. It was the first junior race I ever finished. Then, in late April I entered a Category 4/5 race. The year before, I was not even able to finish this race. That day, I finished second. It was a really memorable experience because it was my last race as a Cat. 4. It gave me enough upgrade points to upgrade to Cat. 3 which also qualified me for nationals.

I went to nationals, not really knowing what to expect result wise. A number of crashes ruined my Road nationals. I was in the 60s in both the Crit and Road Race. I didn't do the time trial. I went to track nationals however and placed 4th there. It was a really cool experience getting to stand on the podium. In just one year I went from being dropped in a 4/5 race and not even qualified for nationals, to standing the podium as a Cat. 3. It shows how hard work pays off.

For 2009, my main goals are Fitchburg, Green Mountain,and to win the New Jersey Garden State Cup for the 17-18 category. I have already placed well in some 1/2/3 crits finishing 21st and 31st. I've also entered 3 junior races and placed 1st, 3rd, and 3rd. My big year is going to be 2010 because it is my last year as a junior.