My Metamorphosis

Weeman they called me; I was the domestique of Team Specialized. In priority events, working for my teammates, helping them succeed. Deep down though, I wanted MY success. What I didn't realize at the time however was that through the process and moments being the underdog, I was actually being prepared for my future cycling career. To help me reach my success, Larry, my coach, enlightened me on the philosophies of racing and provided a well thought out training plan for me to take advantage of. From him I've learned about base miles, recovery, intervals, phases of training, peaking for priority races, tactics, and just about everything else that's helped me progress as a rider; I wouldn't be the rider I am today without this knowledge. My teammates inspired me to be greater because I've always looked up to them and they gave me the determination to try and become the best racer I could be. This team has helped me progress from a young up and comer to a full fledged racer. The motivation and support I've received from this team is what I truly owe to my achievements. Thanks to Team Specialized, they now call me

-The Man.

Winter Training in the U.P.

SISU is a Finnish word. The word is well known in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and means toughness. The UP gets 200+ inches of snow a year, which makes training for bike racing tough to do. All of my work in the winter relies on two things, cross country skiing and rollers. Most of the winter I ski both classic and skate ski. I ski for the High School team and in previous years competed in nationals. Normally early March, I transition my time from skiing to riding. This year I'm committed to NCCF/Specialized and made my transition much earlier. I was racing on skis every weekend competing with kids that train for skiing year round. I found out a lot about my body this past cross country ski year. I found out the harder the event, the better I did. I ended with a very respectable ski season, winning the 24k Skate Noquemanon.

The transition from the skis to the rollers was a tough change. Normally I'm tired of skiing and ready to ride, but this year leaving the ski season on such a high note made the transition super hard. I knew that I have a huge race coming up (Valley of the Sun). Knowing that, I have been motivated to get the trainer miles in order to be in the best form as possible. It's tough on your mind to sit in the basement on the rollers looking at the snow falling and seeing all your buddies' pictures on Facebook and Instagram.. This is when I think of the word SISU. I always remind myself that all the hard work is paying off, the thing that keeps me the most motivated to keep on going is my love towards the sport.

Coming off of the ski season, I will be going into Valley of the Sun with pretty good form. I'm looking forward to sacrificing a lot for this cycling team. I'm excited  to be wearing and representing NCCF/Specialized to the best of my abilities.

So when the times get hard and I'm really working hard I will think of one Finnish word, SISU.

A Date with the Best

    



Tábor 2015, a goal I have been working towards before the host city was even announced. My entire cyclocross experience to this point had been building up to being named to this team.


What an honor it was to receive that email. Everything I had worked for, stressed over, and learned had become worth it in a blink of an eye.

Training that extra month was exciting, after cross nationals in Austin, TX the cyclocross community began to go into hibernation. Thanking people for help and talking about their season overall. Yet this inspired me, that I was one of the few that still could spend another month chasing my dream in a discipline I love so much. My local Bend, OR community was more than amazing that month. There were two juniors going to Tábor, myself and Lance Haidet. I think that speaks in itself for the type of cycling community there is in Bend; and the junior development programs we have in place here.

When it was finally time to go, when I packed my bags and left the Redmond airport, it was not nerves I felt. More of excitement, I spent a lot of time talking with Geoff Proctor about the difference between anxious and excited. This was definitely excitement. As majority of travel in the winter goes there was a problem I ran into. As I boarded my flight from Portland to Amsterdam the gate agent stopped me. She “Im sorry but I cannot let you board this flight, your passport expires within three months.” I had never heard of that rule and neither had my parents. I was crushed. All the excitement, the work, and the accomplishment I felt was “expired”. At this point most logical people would swallow their pride and head home. But when asked by the agent if I wanted to be put on a flight to Redmond I declined. I called my dad and we came up with a plan, that at the time seemed incredibly unlikely.

The plan was, to go to Seattle, where there was a US passport agency. Get a passport in hopefully a few hours then leave to Prague the same day. This is the plan we went with and my selfless dad left Bend and got on the next plane to Portland to meet me. We drove late at night to Seattle, and prepared for what would be the most nervous day I have experienced. Get it all right and the trip is salvaged, any problems and I am stuck home. When morning came we bolted to be first in line. I could see the stress on my dads face and I was sure I was as well showing signs. After many hours of stress and work we packed up and boarded a one pm flight. From Seattle to Amsterdam, with new passport in hand!

The rest of the trip went smoothly. My arrival in Prague, pre ride of the course, and hanging out with all the other USA juniors. The entire atmosphere was different this trip was different. Camaraderie was higher and competition within the USA hotel was lower. And when it came race day the excitement was greater than anything I had seen prior. We did our warm up, headed to the line, got called to staging, and went off. The race was special, not just because the Czech crowds were so big and so loud you could barely think. But during this race three years of preparation kept popping into my head.

Unfortunately the result was not at all what I had hoped for, and did not reflect my fitness. 39th was the best I could muster, but given all the circumstances I was just happy to be there. Worlds was unlike any racing experience I have ever had, I hope to be back next year in Zolder, BE. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people at Cyclocrossworld development team, USA cycling Cyclocross, and most of all my parents. I cannot wait to begin with this NCCF/Specialized team soon.