Zach McDonald
Zach’s cycling exploits were getting more numerous and more impressive each week. An obvious cycling talent since he was eleven years old, we officially entered him into our hall of fame after he went back to grad school.
Zach was born with a super-human sense of balance, and could stay on his bike and ride cyclocross-course obstacles that the most talented cyclists would consider un-ridable. He won his first pro race against a stacked field on a slippery, muddy course at the Shimano New England series in Rhode Island , and grabbed a podium spot under similar conditions at a world cup race in Roubaix, France.
Zach competed on the national and international level for seven years. Zach was the national champion twice, won the USGP series title a few times, and raced for the U.S. National team at eight world championships (cyclocross and mountain bike). In 2008 he got on the podium at the Roubaix world cup. In 2012 he won the national championship in the U23 category, and stunned everyone with a 4th place ride the next day in the pro championship.
In 2013 Zach skipped the U23 national championship and rode to a silver medal in the elite category. At the world championship a few weeks later he finished as the top American in 11th place.
Facing a scarcity of livable wages on the pro cyclocross circuit, Zach finished grad school at the University of Washington, and now works as a financial analyst, but he still races when he can.