Clif Bar Buyers Guide

We are in the middle of the offseason and at this point many riders are sick of whatever they are eating on their long rides. Maybe you have eaten too many bars that are neither solid nor liquid. Or you have become too accustomed to a flavor from over eating it that you need a change. Here is your guide for which Clif products to eat and when.

The first product line is Clif Bar Blox:

This years I raced and trained mainly on Strawberry and Mountain Berry. Both of these flavors are relatively sweat and are great for the first 1-2 hours of a ride or race. The Strawberry taste better as they warm up and soften in your pocket, but I recommend eating the Mountain Berry while they are still relatively solid.

Recently I have experimented with the Orange and the Black Cherry. Both of these flavors are a little more tart. I prefer to eat these in the later parts of a ride. I feel like I'm eating something with more substance.

The second product line is the Clif Bar:

There are 18 different flavors, but there is one clear winner. Crunchy Peanut Butter is hands-down the best. The flavor varies drastically depending on it's temperature, but I haven't had a bad one. I love this flavor, because I know, no madder how tired I am I will always want to eat it. This is huge, because the worse thing to happen is when you are close to bonking, but you don't want to eat what's in your pocket.

Some close seconds are Chocolate Almond Fudge, Chocolate Chip, Cool Mint Chocolate.

I was going through the list on Clifbar.com and saw the flavor Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch. I haven't tried it yet, but I am going to make a point of tracking one down and testing it out. I'm salivating just thinking of the possibilities.

The third product line is Clif Roks:

These are bite sized balls with a solid surface with a softer core. The three flavors are: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate. My favorite for a post ride recovery is the Peanut Butter. My taste buds changed when I exercise and they want more of a bitter/tart taste. The Peanut Butter satisfies those needs. The Chocolate (taste like a Tootsie Roll) and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough are really good for lighter workouts where your taste buds haven't changed as much.

If you have already, go explore Clifbar.com . There is information on each product, nutrition, and the many flavors and variations. I barely scratched the surface of their products, but hopefully now you will know where products to try. These are my favorites, what are yours?

Thank you Clif Bar for your amazing support this year.

Thanks, Marcus Smith

What A Year

On my flight back from the Olympic Training Center I had lots of time to think of how successful this year has been. This year has been an amazing experience. Our team started bonding right away at team camp. Everyone got along great. That platform launched us in to the racing season. The 15-16 team had an amazing early season. We put out a great team effort to win the yellow jersey at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race and San Dimas. Not to mention our double win at Sea Otter. Time flew through the rest of the season. Last week Jack, Diego and I were in Chula Vista, CA for the USA Cycling Junior National Camp. We had a great time. It was cool to see the guys again. We had a fun week. It was nice to be able to ride in 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We even got to ride with Chris Horner of Radioshack. Also the week included other rides, skills, and two field tests. We all had a fun time under the sun of Southern California. Thank you USA Cycling for that!

As the year draws to end I'd like to thank Team Specialized and all of our supporters. Thank you Wyatt Weisel and Steve Cassani.  Thank you Larry Nolan for directing this incredible year! Cannot wait to go back to California!

Phil O'Donnell

No More Junior Racing

This year was my final year racing as a junior rider, although, I raced more category races than junior races. It all started back in February where I took 13th overall at Valley of the Sun in the 2's before crashing on a training ride a few days later. Once I was back on the bike after the crash, then sickness came knocking on my door. This was not the ideal way to start out the year but after slowly regaining fitness and confidence, I came back and won Cat's Hill Classic, State Road Race Championships, and also the State Time Trial Championships.

Next stop, Augusta, Georgia for Nationals. I don't think I have ever gone to a place more humid than Georgia! You just feel sticky when you walk outside. My best result was 11th in the TT. After Nationals, teammates Jeff, David, James, Willy, Kyle and I all headed to Tour de l'Abitibi in Quebec. The team rode great. James got a stage win and Willy finished 6th overall.

After l'Abitbi, I came back home and raced almost every Cal Cup race. I had some good results finishing 9th at University Road Race and 3rd at Esparto Time Trial before finishing off my season at Folsom Cyclebration where I finished 3rd overall, grabbing my final points needed to upgrade to a Cat 1.

I definitely had my ups and downs this year but overall, it was a pretty great season and I couldn't have done it without the help of all my teammates as well as Larry Nolan, Billy Innes, Wyatt Weisel, all the founders and sponsors, and also my parents! It has been a great two years racing with Team Specialized and I look forward to seeing the team continue to create some of the best junior riders in the country.

Now that I am done with junior racing, that means it's time to say goodbye to those annoying junior gears! Now I'll be racing with a nice, 53x11 in the elites where I will be riding for Team Mike's Bikes with another graduating Specialized Junior, James Laberge.

Thanks again to all who have been a part of my 2011 season!

Torey

2011 Season and Beyond

2011 has been a one of a kind year for me and the team. It's also my last year on the year as I am graduating from the program and onto an Elite team for 2012. 

I started my year on the wrong note by getting sick, and staying sick for over a month. I still raced the races in February but I still wasn't getting better as we reached late March when we went to San Dimas Stage Race. I ended up finished 2nd in the road race, which wasn't too bad but the team held a perfect lead out for me and I didn't cap it off. Sure, the teams' season might not have started off as good as we hoped but that's why we are road racers; we have months up to races to prepare for and training and riding as a team to practice for. We eventually had 6 guys (including myself) race in Amos, Quebec, Canada from July 19th-24th. This was the only UCI Juniors races in North America and obviously it was one of our big targets to go good at. We did exactly that with getting Willy Zellmer in the winning breakaway on the first day and finished 5th! We were all happy but we were eager for more. The next day it came down to a field sprint, but there was a steep hill in the last 300 meters which made it much more difficult. I was able to follow the French lead out train and jump out of the turn the steam up the hill to the finish with my hands up! It was my 2nd win in 2 years at this race and I couldn't have done it without my awesome teammates of: Kyle Torres, Willy Zellmer, Jeff Perrin, Torey Phillip, and David Benkoski! They brought me behind the French riders and their job was done from there; it was up to me. By the end of the race, we finished 6th overall, multiple top 10's and 15's, and won an award for "The best non-national team!

After the Canadian racing, I traveled back home and got some rest after the long stage race. I kept racing after, racing most criteriums and some road races and was able to cap off 4 top-6's in the pro/1/2's in the closing month and a half of the season. Overall, I want to thank all of our sponsors that help us get to where we are now. Also, I want to thank Wyatt Weisel, Larry Nolan, Fred St. Goar, and the list goes on forever...and all of the masters!

It has been a great 6 years being along with the program but it is my farewell to the program and I'm looking forward to being old and joining the masters team and helping grow this amazing sport.

Thank you again and I will be racing for Bikes Bike Cycling Team next year, where I will be continuing with my teammate Torey Phillip. 

Thanks for reading.

--James LaBerge