Matt Hawkins (born September 18, 1982 in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

) is both a former professional

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

racer as well as a former professional

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

. Hawkins began racing in 1998 at the suggestion of local bike shop owner Walter Wallace. He started out doing local mountain bike races and, by the end of the season, he had moved up to the Expert class and was placing well. The next year was Hawkins's breakout year; he trained all winter and got picked up by the Mountain Bike team SoBe/Headshok, traveling the National

circuit racing A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

as a junior expert. He had a few podium appearances at Nationals and was ranked #4 nationally and #1 in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, while never finishing a local race outside the top 3. As 2000 rolled around it marked Hawkins's last year as a junior and he again traveled the national circuit. This time around he had linked up with the Team Grimace junior development program and he again scored some podiums, this time at Junior World Cup races. In addition, he retained his #1 ranking in New England and went one spot better in the national rankings, where he was ranked #3. He also discovered road bikes during the 2000 season, qualifying for the Eastern Regional team, and racing the junior world cup Tour l’Abitibi. He started 2000 as a category 5 on the road and finished the season as a category 2. 2001 was Hawkins's first year as a senior, and he marked it by earning his professional MTB license, allowing him to do National Championship events. He qualified for the National MTB team, was a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center and represented the United States at the 2001 MTB world championships in Vail, Colorado. 2003 Hawkins earned his professional

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

license and rode with the Kissena Pro

Cycling Team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

in the United States. He spent most of the season in Belgium and Poland riding with the National U23 road team; an untimely illness forced his

early retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

from the sport.

References

External links

*Image
Hawkins in the break at Univest 2002
archived in November 2008
USA Cycling Results page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Matthew 1982 births Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine Living people American mountain bikers American male cyclists Cyclists from Maine