{"id":144548,"date":"2025-08-26T21:48:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=144548"},"modified":"2025-08-26T21:51:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:51:40","slug":"144548","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=144548","title":{"rendered":"Valley Preferred Cycling Center Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>Featured Images: Liz Reap Carlson of the United States (left image) and Eddie Dawkins of New Zealand (right image) &#8211; Images provided to TVL by Valley Preferred Cycling Center<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Valley Preferred Cycling Center Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Trexlertown, PA \u2013 August 26, 2025<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The Valley Preferred Cycling Center (VPCC) is proud to announce its\u00a0<strong>2025 Hall of Fame Inductee Class<\/strong>, honoring two extraordinary athletes whose careers and contributions have left an indelible mark on international cycling and the T-Town community:\u00a0<strong>Eddie Dawkins<\/strong>\u00a0of New Zealand and\u00a0<strong>Liz Reap Carlson<\/strong>\u00a0of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The formal induction ceremony will take place on\u00a0<strong>Friday, August 29, 2025<\/strong>, during the\u00a0<strong>Madison Cup<\/strong>\u00a0season finale at the VPCC. The night will also feature\u00a0<strong>fireworks, the Rider of the Year Championships, and a community celebration<\/strong>. All velodrome alumni\u2014including riders, coaches, and officials\u2014are invited to attend with\u00a0<strong>free admission<\/strong>. Tickets for the public are available now at<a href=\"https:\/\/thevelodrome.com\/madisoncup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0thevelodrome.com\/madisoncup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eddie Dawkins \u2013 A Global Sprinting Force<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Few riders have embodied the thrill of sprinting like\u00a0<strong>Eddie Dawkins<\/strong>, whose explosive power and charismatic presence made him a fan favorite at T-Town.<\/p>\n<p>A two-time Olympian (London 2012 and Rio 2016), Dawkins helped propel New Zealand to the world stage, highlighted by a\u00a0<strong>silver medal in the Team Sprint at Rio 2016<\/strong>. His international r\u00e9sum\u00e9 also includes\u00a0<strong>multiple UCI Track Cycling World Championship medals<\/strong>, solidifying his place among the sport\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n<p>At the Valley Preferred Cycling Center, Dawkins became a crowd magnet, thrilling fans with his dominance in sprint tournaments and the keirin, while also generously giving back to the community. His mentorship, sportsmanship, and humility off the track inspired countless juniors and left a lasting impression on fellow competitors.<\/p>\n<p>For his\u00a0<strong>Olympic success, world-class achievements, and enduring impact at T-Town<\/strong>, Eddie Dawkins now takes his place among the Hall of Fame\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Liz Reap Carlson \u2013 Defying Convention, Inspiring Generations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Liz Reap Carlson<\/strong>\u00a0represents perseverance, passion, and trailblazing commitment to cycling. Entering the sport in her 30s\u2014when most riders are winding down\u2014Liz built a career that defied the odds and inspired athletes across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2006 and 2011, she earned\u00a0<strong>eight Elite National Championships<\/strong>, competed for the\u00a0<strong>U.S. Olympic Long Team (2008, 2012)<\/strong>, and claimed\u00a0<strong>Pan American Championship medals in 2012 at age 42<\/strong>. On the Masters circuit, she added\u00a0<strong>three UCI World Championship titles<\/strong>\u00a0to her remarkable record.<\/p>\n<p>At T-Town, Liz became a cornerstone of the VPCC community: racing more than a decade of summer seasons,\u00a0<strong>coaching in the Bicycle Racing League<\/strong>, developing programs like\u00a0<strong>Try the Track<\/strong>, and mentoring future stars including Mandy Marquardt and Jamie Alvord. Even after relocating to the West Coast, she continued to advance the sport\u2014donating equipment, leading sprint clinics, and supporting velodrome facilities.<\/p>\n<p>For her\u00a0<strong>athletic accomplishments, mentoring, and unmatched dedication to community<\/strong>, Liz Reap Carlson\u2019s induction is a testament to her enduring legacy in cycling.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Event Details<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What:<\/strong>\u00a02025 Hall of Fame Induction &amp; Madison Cup Finale<br \/>\n<strong>When:<\/strong>\u00a0Friday, August 29, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Where:<\/strong>\u00a0Valley Preferred Cycling Center, Trexlertown, PA<br \/>\n<strong>Highlights:<\/strong>\u00a0Madison Cup racing, Rider of the Year Award Ceremony, Velodrome Hall of Fame ceremony, fireworks celebration<br \/>\n<strong>Tickets:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thevelodrome.com\/madisoncup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0thevelodrome.com\/madisoncup<br \/>\n<\/a><strong>Special Offer:<\/strong>\u00a0Free admission for all velodrome alumni riders, coaches, and officials.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Valley Preferred Cycling Center<br \/>\n<\/strong> The Valley Preferred Cycling Center, located in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, is recognized as the\u00a0<strong>world\u2019s premier velodrome<\/strong>, producing more Olympic and World Championship cyclists than any other track. Known as \u201cT-Town,\u201d the VPCC hosts elite international racing, community programs, and youth development initiatives that inspire the next generation of riders.<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nJake Burns<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Featured Images: Liz Reap Carlson of the United States (left image) and Eddie Dawkins of New Zealand (right image) &#8211; Images provided to TVL by Valley Preferred Cycling Center Valley &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=144548\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Valley Preferred Cycling Center Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2957,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycling","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Reap-Dawkims.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144548"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/144549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}