With a second-place finish in the top men’s amateur class at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho this month, Kalispell racer Joel Shehan can make the jump to pro next year if he wants.

That likely would mean a much tougher race for 33-year-old Shehan, one of five people on the Sportsman Ski Haus Cycling Team.

Sam Schultz, of Missoula, a mountain bike racer bound for the 2012 Olympics, took the top spot in USA Cycling’s pro competition this July. In the last leg of the race, Schultz pulled away from Todd Wells, of Durango, Colo., who also is headed to the Olympics.

This was Shehan’s second year racing in the national championships, the biggest race of its type in the country.

Last year he wrecked halfway through the race, but still managed a sixth-place finish in his 30-34 age class. That’s not bad for someone who has been riding mountain bikes since high school, but racing competitively for only a few years.

Originally from Great Falls, Shehan moved to Kalispell several years ago and started participating in mountain bike races at Big Mountain.

“It was fun. I’ve just kind of gotten more serious about training and riding and started doing some of the more high-level events like the nationals,” he said.

This year, Shehan stayed on his bike for the entire 20-mile, off-road race at Sun Valley Ski Resort. He finished in 1:35:36, a little less than two minutes behind Brandon Gritters of Mission Viejo, Calif.

The loop race started with a 3,000-foot climb. On the way back down toward the finish line, Shehan hit a top speed of 39 miles per hour.

“I was just hoping to get onto the podium. You’re never sure how the race is going to go, or how you’re going to match up with some of the top guys from around the country. I was pretty excited with second,” he said of his finish.

Two other members of the Sportsman Ski Haus Cycling Team competed in the USA Cycling national championships, a three-day event held July 5-8. Rose Grant, of Kalispell, finished 13th in women’s pro competition. Phil Grove, of Whitefish, participated in Super D competition.

SHEHAN, who works full time as a physical therapist, said he’s still thinking about what to do next year, when USA Cycling’s national championships move to Pennsylvania.

“If I’m riding well, that might spur me to travel to see what Pennsylvania has to offer,” Shehan said.

He’ll also have to decide if he wants to make that jump from amateur to pro competition and race against the country’s top riders and Olympians like Schultz and Wells.

“For those of us who are still holding down a day job, a lot of times it’s a decision if you want to stay in amateur and have a shot at the top three or bump up and race against the top guys in the country and hope to finish in the top 20,” he said.

Compared to warmer and sunnier places like California and Arizona where it’s easy to ride a mountain bike year-round, off-season training in Northwest Montana often means cross country skiing or snowshoeing or time spent on a stationary indoors.

“Spring training here means you get to spend a lot of time being wet or cold, but that pays off in midsummer when you have good results,” Shehan said.

With a full-time job and a wife and 14-month-old son, there’s also plenty of other interests to pursue.

“There’s finding that balance with where we live, next to Glacier, so we’ll spend some time out hiking and fishing and doing all those other fun things, too,” Shehan said.

BUT FOR NOW, Shehan and the other members of the Sportsman Ski Haus Cycling Team — Rose Grant, Phil Grove, Ben Parsons and Clint Muhlfeld — continue to ride this season.

A week ago they competed along with Schultz in the Missoula XC at Marshall Mountain. Grove finished 17th and Muhlfeld finished in the top 30 in men’s pro competition. Grant finished sixth in women’s pro competition.

The team members ride in Thursday night league races at Big Mountain and are gearing up for the Hellroaring Mountain Bike Stage Race the weekend of August 3-5, Shehan said.

Title sponsor Sportsman & Ski Haus helps out with uniforms and equipment, transportation and entry fee costs. So do other sponsors like Hammer Nutrition, Professional Therapy Associates, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Parsons Tractor and River Design Group.

“We’re just a small group of local guys holding down day jobs and trying to do well at local, regional and national races and have fun doing it,” Shehan said of the team’s focus.

Team members also are getting ready to cheer on 26-year-old Schultz as he rides his mountain bike in the 2012 Olympics in London this August. “Absolutely we’ll be watching him,” Shehan said. “Big cheers for Sammy coming from our neck of the woods.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.