McDonnell spent five weeks of his summer racing in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.
Story by Ellie Song
Staff Writer
Photo by Theo Thompson and Contributor
Staff Photographer and Contributor
Senior Angus McDonnell traveled from the small town of South Pasadena to the big countries of Europe, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain, during this past summer. McDonnell began his career in cycling when he was 10 years old, during the COVID pandemic.
“I found out about cycling through my dad. He has always been a big fan of it. W, we have been watching the Tour de France and other bike races since I was born.” McDonnell said.
McDonnell’s parents wanted him to get outside and be active during the pandemic, especially due to the isolation from his friends and school. McDonnell was drawn to cycling and began mountain biking with the San Gabriel Mountain Bike team, which his dad helped coach.
“Angus has impacted my biking journey by giving me a goal of how fast I want to be,” Rafael Barkan, Angus’ old teammate from the San Gabriel Mountain Bike team, said. “He was always the fastest athlete on the team, and someone to look up to.”
Training heavily in South Pasadena eventually left McDonnell desiring a more invigorating challenge, leading him to the races across Europe. However, to meet the higher demands of competitions in Europe, his training had to grow as well. Before his trip to Europe, McDonnell trained 12 to 16 hours a week and conditioned with his dad using their complex’s sauna.
In Europe, McDonnell competed in various races, including the El Dorado Park (ELDO) Race Series at which he received fourth place out of 31 competitors. Additionally, McDonnell made fifth place out of 83 competitors at the 2026 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships.
“A lot of people think that someone like Angus, who is really fast uphill, wouldn’t be that fast on technical downhill trails. That’s just not the case,” Barkan said, “He is crazy skilled and fast on both uphill and downhill, because in cross country [bicycle] racing, you have to be great at both to win medals.”
Because McDonnell was living in France for three weeks during the spring and five in the summer, he had to pick up the French language quickly. His teammates supported him during this time, helping him learn words in French. McDonnell eventually hopes to join a 23U team in France later in his cycling career.
In France, he also cliff jumped for the first time with his teammates.
“The most memorable moment for my trip was when I was racing the Alps,” McDonnell said. “It was so beautiful, and the mountains were amazing. I also loved hanging out and racing with my teammates.”
Before McDonnell discovered cycling, he played in South Pasadena’s baseball Little League in elementary school, and then eventually ran cross country at the middle school. McDonnell also spent a lot of his time skateboarding in parks near South Pasadena. To this day, McDonnell still skates when he has an off day or is on a break from cycling.
McDonnell will return to France this upcoming spring to continue his cycling competitions with his teammates.
“Part of the reason Angus is so good is that he is always training,” Barkan said. “He was the fastest at team practices, and on the days we didn’t have practice, he was on an indoor trainer or doing a road ride. His nonstop commitment to biking is the reason for his success.”