Team Specialized Racing

2012 Winter Camp wrap

2012-01-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Twelve Team Specialized Juniors travelled to Shaver Lake, CA for our five-day Winter Camp. Joining them were generous host Dave Maddux, and masters teammates Billy Innes and Craig Roemer. At 5000 feet we had planned for freezing weather but were instead treated to rare 60 degree weather to ride in. Yippee!

At our meeting point in Fresno the twelve teammates were split into teams of three and they would compete all week long on a team and individual GC competition. Winners earned the privilege of selecting Specialized product (shorts, hats, glasses) at the end of the week. The competition included being on time, completed paperwork, grocery shopping within budget, bottle handups from the follow vehicle, peeing off the bike, wheel touching, scavenger hunt, tug of war, plank competition, and a cycling tactics game. Team and individual meetings filled the rest of the week (Who is Team Specialized?, Priority events, Long team athlete development; Goal setting, Training, USA Cycling Pathway, Preparedness and Professionalism, and the tactics talk as part of the cycling game.

The real teamwork came from the team rides and the cooking teams as we rotated through the kitchen preparing each of our meals, gaining a competitive edge as the week moved on and the boys tried to outdo each other. The team rides were sag supported and filled with sunny days and lots of climbing back to the cabin. Echelon riding all day helps teammates to get to know each other.

Thank you to the Maddux family for hosting the 2012 team camp and thank you to the team for giving it your best at our camp.

Saturday morning we split up and headed home, with the Nor Cal teammates meeting up with Freddie Rodriquez for a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin. Then on Sunday teammates Jon Christensen, Dean Haas and Marcus Smith tested their tired legs and raced up Mount San Bruno. Jon has shown great patience as a 14 year old riding with these two 17 year olds and did well in the 3's. Dean had a solid ride and placed 5th in the Pro/1/2 field. And, newly selected "Junior Team Captain" and six year teammate Marcus Smith took the teams FIRST win of 2012 by taking out the Juniors victory.

Larry Nolan

"Always thank your parents"

2011-12-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Northern California Cycling Foundation (NCCF) Founders and Board of Directors help to bring together all of the goodness of Team Specialized. On the "race course" the Junior squad does what it does best, but its' time to extend a long-overdue THANK YOU from the team to the parents for all of your help during 2011.

Not just the road trips; mental and nutritional support before, during and after the races, but also a thanks for being such a big part of the TEAM. Van racks and trailer fixings, help with driving, picnics at the races, air cooled and heated comforts, special meals, fun road trips, and none of that "little league parents" stuff! You were just as big a part of the 58 Juniors wins in 2011 as they were. Thank you for a great 2011! Larry

Road to Recovery

2011-12-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

It has been about 10 weeks since I had surgery on my hip. My problem started in the 2011 season with a labrum tear and bone impingement in my hip. I knew there was a problem about half way through the year when my power kept going down and down. It wasn't diagnosed until August. I have not been able to ride my bike since the surgery. I get to ride for the first time on December 19th. I cannot wait. During the last 10 weeks, I have been going to physical therapy 2 times a week, using the elliptical machine, swimming and doing a lot of core work. It has been a big challenge to be patient through this whole process. My doctor and physical therapist say that I am doing really well, much better than expected. The doctor even said I should be the "poster child" for the type of surgery that I had.

I go to a physical therapist in my hometown, Laguna Niguel. It is called Rausch Physical Therapy. They have been doing a great job of getting me back to 100%. One of the really cool things I get to do at their office is use an Anti Gravity Treadmill. This treadmill was originally developed for astronauts while on prolonged space flights. They used it so they would not lose bone density in space. It is now used for people to recover from injuries. It is pressure controlled from the waist down. It allows patients to maintain cardio fitness and range of motion without putting too much pressure or weight on the injured area.

Should be back to normal in no time!

Kyle Torres

Team Specialized Racing Announces 2012 Junior and Masters Squads

2011-11-29T17:17:00.001-08:00

Roster Captured One World Championship, 14 National Championships and22 State Championships in 2011

Palo Alto, CA -- Team Specialized Racing has announced its Junior and Mastersteam rosters for 2012, with seven returning and five new juniors ages 14-18,and nine returning and five new masters members. In 2011, the riders collectively captured oneworld championship, 14 national championships and 22 state championships in thecriterium, road race, individual time trial (ITT), team time trial (TTT),track, BMX and mountain bike (MTB) disciplines.

This is Specialized’s fifth years at the team’s titlesponsor and will be providing the Tarmac (SL4 & SL3) and Allez for roadrace events, and Shiv TT for time trials. In addition to these bikes, the teamwill be riding Specialized Prevail and TT2 helmets and S-Works Body Geometry shoes.Co-Sponsors also include SRAM, Zipp, Clif Bar and Smith Optics.

Returning Junior TeamMembers, 2012 Racing Age, 2011 Championships

Chris LaBerge, age 18
Marcus Smith, age 18
Dean Haas, age 18
Kyle Torres, age 18, ITT State Champion (Southern California)
Diego Binatena, age 16, Road Race State Champion (Southern California)
Jack Maddux, age 15, ITT National Champion, Criterium and ITT State Champion (Northern California)
Matt Valencia, age 16, Road Race State Champion (Northern California)

New Junior TeamMembers

Oliver Barajas, age 15
Nick Castellano, age 15, Road Race State Champion (Southern California)
John Christensen, age 15
Sean McElroy, age 13, Road, Criterium, BMX and MTB National Champion, Road Race State Champion (Southern California)
Jason Saltzman, age 15

The mission ofTeam Specialized Racing is toprepare juniors to compete andwin national and international races. Multi-time masters track world champion LarryNolan directs the program with a wealth of knowledge gleaned from the highestlevel of amateur cycling. Junior riders are also guided and mentored by one ofthe best master's teams in America, awarded the USA Cycling Best All-AroundTeam at masters nationals in 2011.

Returning MastersTeam Members, 2011 Championships

Rob Anderson, ITT World Champion, ITT and MTB National Champion, ITT and TTT State Champion
Chris D’Aluisio
Marco Hellman
Billy Innes
Dean LaBerge, Criterium National Champion
Chris Lyman, ITT National Champion, ITT and TTT State Champion
Kevin Metcalfe, ITT and Road Race National Champion, ITT and TTT State Champion, ITT National Record
Larry Nolan, Track and TTT State Champion, Track National Record
Craig Roemer, ITT State Champion

New Masters TeamMembers, 2011 Championship Results

Steve Francisco
Greg Anderson
Don Langley, Road Race State Champion
Bubba Melcher, Criterium National Champion
Jason Walker, Road Race National Champion

Team legacy members and mentors include former Olympians andNational Champions Ken Carpenter, Dylan Casey, Mike McCarthy, and ThomasWeisel. Team founders include SteveCassani, Dr. Fred St. Goar and Wyatt Weisel.

Follow the team at Facebook.com/TeamSpecializedRacing, and onTwitter at @SpecializedNCCF. www.TeamSpecializedRacing.com.

Clif Bar Buyers Guide

2011-11-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-03T13:14:00.001-07:00

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

2011-11-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011 Racing Season wrap-up (part one)

2011-10-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

As we get ready to file our bid for USA Cycling 2011 Team of the Year we have the chance to reflect on many highlights for the team. We'll chop this one up into a few sections and start with the juniors. Let's go back to last years winter camp when we shared our goals (and how we did against them)

I - develop and support every teammate (14 junior teammates in total living in four different states; eight upgrades; five events with all riders and successes at each event; directing, encouraging, mentoring, support by the entire team)

II - teach and execute optimal and exemplary teamwork (Valley of the Sun, San Dimas, Sea Otter wins and podium placings through teamwork)

III - win local races, state and national championships with style, class, grace and dignity (58 junior wins in 2011; Nationals TT; Colorado TT; California RRx3; California Crit, California TTx3)

IV - win international events including l'abitibi GC, European events withe USA national team and junior world championships (stage two Tour de l'abitibi; tour of West Flanders)

V - create a following of our winning ways on and off the bike (zero to 3,000 FaceBook fans in 19 months!)

Overall, 2011 has been a good year. We laid out some aggressive goals which aligned with the talent we have on our roster. We fell short with the big dreams like Nationals, l'abitibi GC and Jr Worlds but achieved so many other successes along the way. Every one of our fourteen junior teammates took their cycling game to a new level. They all have bright futures and it is our hope that they look back on the 2011 racing season with great memories of individual growth and team successes.

Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Junior Director

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

2011-10-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Being a resident of Colorado I was able to spectate the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, or Tour of Colorado. For those of you who don't know this race was huge because it is the first big tour in Colorado since the Coors Classic ended in the late '80's. The race was in the mountains most of the week after the start in Colorado Springs on Monday. The last stage started in Golden and ended with circuits in Denver. Where I live in Lakewood is pretty much sandwiched between Golden and Denver. This is the biggest race I had ever been to. The final stage that I watched had over 250,000 people spectating. The coolest part about the race was that it went up Lookout Mountain, around the two mesas in Golden and then downtown into Denver on the roads I ride all of the time! I watched the start of the race in Golden and I got to see the Schlecks and Tour champion Cadel Evans among other top level pros. The finish of the race was at the Civic Center Park which is across the street from the Capitol building. I couldn't really tell what was happening most the time in the race because the barriers were lined 5 deep for the last straightaway. It felt like the Tour de France.

Finishing circuit in Denver

Aerial View of the finish

Riders going up Lookout Mountain

Just like the AToC Levi won the overall

This race was so much to watch that I can't wait until next year! The race got upgraded so there will be even more teams and riders next year. Hopefully one day I can race the USAPCC in my home state!

-Dean Haas

Team Specialized - 2011, by the numbers

2011-09-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick update of our 2011 Racing Season, which is not yet over. This is strictly a numbers update:

- one stage win in North America's only UCI Nations Cup (James LaBerge on stage one at the 43rd Tour de L'abitibi)
- one UCI Masters World Time Trial Championship (Rob Anderson in Leige, Belgium)
- one USA Junior National Points Race Championship (Andrew Lanier, Jr. in Frisco, Texas)
- one USA Masters Road Race National Championship (Kevin Metcalfe in Bend, OR)
- one USA Masters Criterium National Championship (Dean LaBerge in Bend, OR)
- one USA Junior Time Trial National Championship (Jack Maddux in Augusta, GA)
- one USA Junior National Team kermesse win (Diego Binatina in Heesert, Belgium)
- BEST all around team USA Masters Nationals (Craig, Rob, Dean, Chris, Kevin and Larry)
- two USA Masters Time Trial National Championships (Chris Lyman and Kevin Metcalfe in Bend, OR)

- two Canadian Masters National Championships (Rob Anderson in Waterdown, CA)
- five category one juniors (James, Torey, Willy, Jeff, and David)

- five events where all fourteen juniors travelled hundreds (and thousands) of miles to be together for races and training camps

-seven juniors raced in Europe with the USA National Team (Dean, Kyle, David, Andrew, Phil, Matt and Diego)

-eight of fourteen juniors upgraded their category in 2011 (Diego, Jack, Matt, Kyle, Torey, Willy, Jeff, and David

-fifty six wins in the 2011 racing season by the Masters squad

-fifty seven wins in the 2011 racing season by the Junior squad

-one hundred thirteen wins in the 2011 racing season by the Masters and Junior squads

=one great team of sponsors, supporters, racers and 2792 FaceBook fans!

Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Team Specialized upgrades

2011-09-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

As the 2011 road season starts to wrap up (Nor Cal District Criterium Championships are in Oakland today) we want to reflect back on the great year that our team has enjoyed.

Upgrading from one category to the next is a reflection of a riders progression of skills and abilities but the athletes also need to place well in races to accumulate the points needed for the upgrade. Upgrading Juniors can be a hot topic of discussion. One wants the athlete to get a sense of accomplishment and confidence, but throwing a junior into racing with professionals with more experience, skills, abilities and speed will remind the athlete of just humbling this sport can be!

Team Specialized started 2011 with fourteen teammates. One category four, four category three's, eight category two's and one category one.2011-to-date the juniors have started 651 events, placed in the top ten in 236 of them, taken a podium placing in 104 events and have won 57 events.Of these 651 events the juniors competed in elite events more often than junior events (383 to 268). In doing so, they prepared themselves for top level national and international events.

Congratulations to all teammates for either upgrading or helping your teammates to upgrade. Eight of 14 Team Specialized teammates upgraded in 2011
2 to 1 - David Benkoski, Torey Philipp, Jeff Perrin, Willy Zellmer,
3 to 2 - Kyle Torres, Jack Maddux, Matt Valencia
4 to 3 - Diego Binatena

Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Trip Of A Lifetime

2011-09-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, after school was out, five Assistant ScoutMasters, one Scout, and I drove to Yosemite for the trip of a lifetime. We gotinto our campsite at about 9:30Pm. I guess you could say it was "darkout". We quickly set up our tents and went to sleep, because we knew whatwas awaiting us the following day. We woke up at 5:00am, so that we could getstarted on our 16+ mile journey. As soon as we parked and got out of the car weall took out our cameras, and took a picture of our goal. This is the shot Igot:

We divided into two Groups. One that was going to the topand another that was going to the furthest point anyone can go without apermit. Two ASMs were going to the furthest point without a permit. The rest ofus were going to the top. The group that was going to the top had a faster pacethan the other group, because we knew just how far we had to go. As we hiked upthe mist trail we stared in awe at the falls we were passing, along with thestairs that constantly beat up our legs, one step at a time. We got to the topof the falls, and took a few pictures, but we couldn't stay long. We had tokeep moving. Once we found the trail we continued on to be confronted withanother water fall. Like the previous one, we stopped to take pictures. We gotto the top of the final water fall and had about a mile and a half of flat landto walk on. Then the fun would start. We got back to the climbing and back tothe seemingly endless view of trees. Before we got to the line where we neededour permits, we stopped for some lunch. Yummy, a ham sandwich on a bagel. Wegrabbed our permits and headed up half dome. We got to the base of the ropesand got ready for a steep climb.

We found a few people that were staying behind from anothergroup and asked if they could watch our packs as we climbed Half Dome. Theygenerously accepted. We got our Carabiners, and ropes, strapped ourselves in,and headed up the 45 degree rock face. We got up to the top and breathed a sighof relief. We took many pictures, and headed back down knowing that the hardestpart was still ahead. We got down grabbed our packs and headed down themountain. One of the scary parts about going downhill was twisting an ankle, orgetting dehydrated. We safely got down to the first falls, having alreadychanged our socks to try to prevent blisters. We approached the falls and metup with one of the other ASMs. We were quickly informed that the other ASMs hadto go back because of fitness reasons. We were all tired and wanted to be backat the cars, so that we could get some victory pizza. We had 4 miles left, anda lot of switch backs. The other scout and I decided to have some fun byrunning. That joy lasted about a mile. So we had to walk, because we knew wewould have to wait for the rest of the group. We walked very slowly, and thepain started to kick in. We waited for the rest of the group at 2.2 miles togo. When we got going again it was at a very slow pace, but it was faster thanthe rest of the group. As we got roughly 1 mile to the valley floor I noticedthat I was pulling the map out every 3 minutes. Each time hoping there would bea "you are here" dot, but there wasn't. We finally got to the valleyfloor. We knew that the car was half a mile away. I got into my racing mindset.I ramped up the speed and when the car was 100 meters away I leaped from thehuge pack of 2 and won the race back to the car. That win made the pizza 10times better. I would then pay for that win for the next 4 days, with constantpain throughout my entire lower body. That really was the "Trip of alifetime".

Great Way To End The Season

2011-09-19T18:11:00.001-07:00

Folsom Cyclebration was the last race I had on the calendar for the 2011 road season. It has a time trial and criterium on day one and a circuit race on day two. It was a nice change driving only 20 minutes to get to the time trial compared to the 2-3 hours I spend in the car driving to other Nor Cal races. The course for the time trial was a slightly longer version of the course used in the local 10 mile Tuesday Night TT’s that I attend regularly so I was well prepared. Unfortunately there was way more wind than usually. For the first half of the race, the wind was at my back and I was doing everything I could to spin my 52x14 as fast as possible. When I went through the turn around and began to head back to the finish, the wind was now going straight into my face. The last two miles were the most miserable two miles of my life but I was able to set a fast enough time for 9^th (and after uploading it to Strava, I also set a new PR on the Tuesday Night Course!). Craig Roemer put up a really good time and took 2^nd behind Justin Rossi.

Later that afternoon, we headed over to the criterium and met up with Jack Maddux and Matt Valencia. It was Jack’s first ever Pro/1/2 race and he had no problem racing with the big boys. He even got into a couple breakaways! I felt really comfortable at the head of the peloton and got into a couple breaks but nothing stuck. With about 8 laps to go, I found myself in the winning break. We built up a decent gap over the field and with about 4 laps to go, I was getting nervous that we would get pulled back so I kept pulling on the front to keep our gap from coming down. With two laps to go, the attacks started going right and left up the road but nobody could get away. In the sprint to the finish, I got boxed in between a couple riders and a very muddy gutter and had to settle for 6^th, which is by far the best result I have ever gotten in a Pro/1/2 crit. I also went from 9^th overall all the way to 4^th overall behind Jonathan Teeter, Rand Miller, and Justin Rossi.

The next day, I headed down to the circuit race and met up with the rest of the team. The course was a 4-kilometer loop with some tight corners and a roundabout. The plan was to get me into a break or let a break with no GC threats go up the road. In the first 15 minutes of the race, three guys that were further down on GC broke away and built a pretty large gap over the field. Craig, Matt, and Jack did a great job controlling the field and covering moves. Halfway through the race, attacks began to come from Jonathan, Rand, and Justin but nothing was getting away. I tried to counterattack there moves but I was always chased down immediately. With one to go, Craig took a flyer off the front to keep the pace high. With a kilometer to go, I worked my way up to the front to set myself up for the sprint and ended up 9^th on the stage. I finished ahead of Justin though so that put me into 3^rd overall for the final general classification.

I could not have asked for a better way to end my road season. It was great to have teammates out there riding in support of me at a somewhat hometown race and grab my best ever Pro/1/2 result. Awesome work by Craig, Matt, and Jack!

Up next: Cyclocross!

A picture is worth a thousand words, or in the case of my blog entries, several thousand

2011-09-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Perfect Race

2011-09-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Relevant story #1 – March 1994 and it’s my first Subaru-Montgomery event with teammates. I lead-out my teammate to the win, and I finish 6th. Shortly after the line my teammate is in my face screaming “we could have gone one-two if you had been more patient!”

Relevant story #2 – December 2010 and I’m asking our junior teammates for their 2011 goals. I give an example so that they have a better understanding of what I want to see. I state that my goal is to help teammate Kevin Metcalfe win the 2011 USA Nationals Road Race. I’ll be able to help if I am fit and smart enough to hang with the chase group as he soars off the front, or win the sprint if he is caught. And, I’ll know I’m fit when my weight is down and my power is up (the Juniors raced on this same course at their 2010 Nationals and it has 300 meters of climbing over each of the 28km loops).

The Perfect Race

Sunday September 4 in Bend, OR. Teammate Kevin Metcalfe and I are lined up with 55 other competitors for the 2011 USA Cycling Masters 50-54 Road Race National Championships. Kevin and I have been teammates since 1995. Our pre-race talk was short and crisp. I’m at his disposal until he launches his move. I don’t need to finish the race to help him. Looking through the starting line-up we calculate that no other teammates will completely sacrifice their race. It turned out that Kevin had a handful of teammates! First, we guessed that Roger Worthington would be highly motivated for this race. When Kevin attacked 25km into the 84km race Roger was all over that move. So too was John Novitsky. When 1st, 3rd and 4th placed riders of the nationals individual time trial go up the road there is no looking back. The three worked together well.

Behind in the chase group Kevin had help from yours truly as well as a certain competitor that tried to lead the chase when the break first went clear. Problem was the “chase” was too aggressive and competitors were unable to pull their share. Next competitor to help Kevin was a big rider that would go to the front and chase for long periods of time. Because he pulled for so long and received little help the breakaway gap opened. Two competitors asked me in the last lap if anyone was still off the front, so that was a big help too. Finally, a competitor wearing compression socks in 90 degree heat would hit the front when the paced slowed and no one wanted to be on his wheel since he rode so unpredictably. It’s the subtleties that make bicycle racing such a great sport!

In the last 10km of the race we get word from the motor referee that Kevin has a “one minute 50 seconds lead” and I swear the whole feed zone could hear my “yahoo!” scream. Now I just needed to shake off the cramps and hope for the best. I suffered well right up to the last climb where Brandon Lofton attacked. I followed him and then sucked out all of the oxygen in that section, and we had a gap. 3km to go. Brandon and I worked together and sprinted to the line. It was a close one!

For Kevin, he won solo by a minute and a half. This was the one that he wanted. He’s won something like twelve Masters National Championships on the velodrome and last Wednesday he won the time trial for his first “road” championship. But winning the USA National Championship road race was his goal. Not only was I happy for Kevin and his winning move, but I was happy to be part of it. One-Two, that’s the “perfect race” to me!

Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Giro Di San Francisco 2011 - Pro/1/2

2011-09-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Labor day weekend is usually a 3 days weekend for most family's where they go to the beach and have a good time. This isn't the case of myself and many other cyclists around the world. There is the annual Giro Di San Francisco on none of the the city itself. I personally raced the pro/1/2 race with Marcus Smith, David Benkowski, and Matt Valencia. It just so happened to be Matt's first pro/1/2 race and he was in for a good treat as his first race in the pro fields of Northern California.

Before you know it, the race is on! 40 miles of Criterium racing in downtown San Francisco. I didn't get much of a warm up due to personal problems with my car so I used the race itself to help warm me up and see if I can make anything happen towards the end. David was aggressive from the start, attacking and following many moves throughout the race. Marcus was up at the front the entire race too and followed some attacks. Matt was in there most of the race and I think he learned a lot from his first pro/1/2 race. Moving later into the race there was a crowd prime going around that was going to be called out at 6 laps to go and I was licking my chops for that one more than the finish because it was almost $250. The field let a random rider go out there and take it instead and now I'm starting to think about the finish. David and Marcus are also up here in the front of the pack but somewhere David lost the wheels sometime during this and finished in the pack. Marcus positioned himself well, in the top 10, but wasn't in contention for the win. Meanwhile all of this positioning is going on, Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly) rode away from the pack and nobody reacted until 2 laps to go. We reeled him in to 10 seconds by the finish but he won solo. Smart move by the Professional. McGuire had the riders today, instead of Cal Giant, so I jumped into position behind their train and oddly enough, no one fought for the wheels with me so I took that wheel into the last turn and sprinted behind the McGuire sprinter and held onto 3rd with junior gearing! I felt relieved after the race to get a good result in a hard race. Marcus still held onto 14th, too, so it was a good day overall for the team.

Jack Maddux and Chris LaBerge also raced in the Elite 3's earlier in the day.

Thank you for reading.

--James LaBerge

FINDING SUCCESS IN EUROPE

2011-09-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Racing in Belgium is the hardest bike racing I've ever done. The Belgians are so aggressive. They are so fast. It's so hard and everyone is going for it. And that's exactly how I won the Heestert Kermesse and it was a great win for me! I broke away in the 63-kilometer kermesse with about three kilometers to go and won a race with 97 riders.

An American Coup in Belgium

As part of the 2011 USA Cycling 15/16 European Development Camp, six Americans travelled to Belgium to compete in four kermesses and a four-day stage race. The USA National team consisted of Logan Owen (WA), Miguel Byron (FL), Geoffrey Curran (CA), Stephen Bassett (TN), Will Barta (ID), and me, Diego Binatena (CA). In the West Flanders Cycling Tour I finished 40th out of 156 racers, but that doesn't tell the whole story...

In the first stage, Geoffrey won the prologue to claim the yellow jersey. Logan finished second, only 1 second behind, with the rest of the team all finishing in the top 20.

After stage two, Logan claimed the yellow jersey. I survived a crash and a flat but I worked my way back in the peloton to finish in the lead group. It was a brutal day!

The third stage of the Tour was extremely difficult. We had a huge target on our backs, and we did all we could to hold off the endless attacks from 25 European teams working together to rip the jersey from our backs. Sadly, at day's end, we lost the yellow jersey.

On the last day of the Tour, a determined and focused Team USA regained the yellow jersey for the victory, showing some American might on European soil! Logan attacked with 10k to go with some non GC contenders and captured the yellow and green jerseys, and Team USA claimed the overall team GC title at the West Flanders Cycling Tour Stage Race!

The Future...

I really enjoyed my three-week experience in Belgium. The racing is out of the world and so is the coffee! Surprisingly, I found out that we young Americans are pretty equal with the best in Belgium and that we are fast enough to win races there. This trip has given me the encouragement to believe I have a future in cycling and that I can succeed in Europe. Racing there has changed me forever!

Many thanks go to USA Cycling Race Director Michael Heitz, Team Mechanic Nicholas Salerno, Larry Nolan and Team Specialized Racing Juniors, and last but not least my teammates on the "European Dream Team" for all of their support.

Diego Binatena, Team Specialized Racing Juniors

2011 masters road nationals championships

2011-09-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Firstly, you don't need to win a national championship to earn the right to say "thank you". I'd like to thank Thom Weisel for adding me to his team way back in 1994 when I was relatively new to racing. Thom and my teammates taught me how to win races. Thank you to Wyatt Weisel for carrying the torch after the Subaru-Montgomy/ US Postal / Discovery Channel teams evolved and starting the junior program. It's been a great five years, we've have a positive affect on many young lives and 2012 is shaping up to be another great year. Thank you to the juniors who help to keep me young and on my toes, everyday of the year. Thank you to my wife Debbie who has been my best friend for the past 31 years and keeps me smiling and loving life.

Mostly, I wanted to take a time-out before the road race to say "thank you" to my masters teammates. I raced nationals in Kentucky in 2003 and vowed to not return. Unfortunately, masters nationals returned to Kentucky in 2009 and 2010 so I have missed racing and hanging with you during these important, but fun filled days at nationals. You epitomize hard masters racing and a winning attitude so I just wanted to say thank you and good luck tomorrow Dean, Chris, Rob, Craig and my teammate since 1995 Kevin Metcalfe, who I predict will win the road race tomorrow... With my help (of course)

Larry Nolan

My highlight from Masters Road Nationals

2011-09-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

It’s been a great week of racing in Bend at Masters Road Nationals, which kicked off Wednesday with the time trial. Kevin handily won his age group, Rob and Craig were both on the podium finishing 4th, and I was fortunate enough to score my second stars & bars.

Standing atop the podium to receive the champion’s jersey would seem like the obvious highlight of my week. But that actually didn’t happen until Dean and I lined up for the crit together yesterday, and he rocket the sprint to win his ag criterium national championship.

The crit is pretty much the opposite of the time trial where success results from talent, timing, nerves, bike handling and other skills that I still don’t comprehend. Yet my understanding of how the win culminated from years of dedication, and what it meant to Dean, was as clear as the S (for Specialized) on our jerseys. It was an honor to be the on the same course with Dean and part of the tremendous accomplishment.

I came to cycling from the solitary sport of triathlon. Being part of a tight-nit squad like Team Specialized Racing is something that endears bike racing to me. Seeing teammates win is as meaningful as doing it myself. Fortunately this week I’ve been able to enjoy it from both perspectives with us winning three national championships and three additional podiums.

Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes and Mystery Meat: Story of the 2011 UCI Track Junior World Championships

2011-08-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

Moscow, Russia. 5885 miles from home, just being there was sure to be an experience let alone racing at the Junior World Championships! Going into the trip I could not have been more excited, except for the flight that seemed never ending. I am completely and entirely thankful for the support from Team Specialized Racing, The Northern California Cycling Federation (NCCF), the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association (NCNCA), the Northern California Velodrome Association (NCVA), in addition to the numerous individuals who made this once in a life time experience possible.

After surviving the roughly 15 hours of flights it was utterly amazing to be able to ride on one of the fastest tracks in the world along with experiencing world famous land marks such as Red Square and the Kremlin. The track in Moscow is a true 333 meter track made of Siberian Pine with banking of 11 degrees in the straights and 41 degrees in the turns. The track also features fairly short straight-aways for its size, creating very wide and smooth turns which contribute greatly to the speed of the track, along with the 10 meter width and the mid-turn, several stories drop from the rail to blue band. But enough with the geeky technical information of the track, as some are probably asleep. Just understand this track is fast. The 200m record was set here (~9.5 sec)

I was in Moscow for the points race which would be 72 laps of fast, hard, active racing with sprints every six laps and to prepare for this I spent more time than I would ever want looking at the back of my dad’s scooter helmet and back than I would like. This proved to be extremely helpful as the race averaged a brisk pace of roughly 32 miles per hour, realize that that was for 24 kilometers with sprints every 2 kilometers.

Typically in a points race, the racing starts off a bit conservative but this was throttle on from the gun. I made it my goal to stay within the top 7 or so through out the race because the only direction this race was going was forward. The way racing should be. I also planned on keeping a cool attitude for the first half, roughly, to avoid having a weak finish as the last sprint in all points races serves as the tie breaker. However with a group of four getting off the front within the first 7-10 laps and cooperating and eventually taking a lap and gain 20 points along with the points they picked up along the way. This meant having to start racing aggressively a bit sooner than planned. However with the racing being so active and most break attempts not succeeding, choosing the right time to make the aggressive moves was tricky and required patience and precision, it was a track race after all. Then with roughly 34 laps to-go I went down (only my second crash on the track in seven years, perfect timing huh?), but thankfully was able to get back in with just some wood burn. By the time I got back into the pack it was roughly 27 laps to-go and another small group was off the front, and they would soon take a lap making seven people total taking a lap. I ended up finishing in the pack at the final sprint.

Although my result was nothing extraordinary, the experience most certainly was. It was fast as hell (pardon my French), aggressive, extremely tactical, and one huge adrenaline rush, along with one big continuous fight for position, resulting in a lot of close riding, huge emphasis on close.

Cheyenne Canyon Time Trial

2011-08-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I raced the Cheyenne Canyon Time Trial in Colorado Springs. It is one of my best results to date. Second in the Pro1/2. The climb is 5 kilometers long and the beginning isn't too steep. But it gets steeper halfway up with the last kilometer over 10%. I've won this race 2 times before (SM3 2009, 2010). Bettering my time each time, this time I did the race in 15:30. Tom Danielson has the record and it is 13:34. The winner is a cat 1 and won the other hill climbs this year (Mt. Evans, Lookout Mountain and others). He finished in 14:50. This happens to be the same climb that is used for the power tests at National Camp at the Olympic Training Center. This is one of my favorite climbs anywhere and it was a pretty good race. Every year I get closer to the record!

-Dean Haas

Some Time Off The Bike

2011-08-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

I am kind of going off the cycling topic for this blog, but
I have not been able to ride for the past couple of weeks because of a hip
injury. Although it is disappointing
that I cannot finish up the racing season, it has been nice to take a mental
and physical break. During this rest
period, I had the opportunity to go to Maui. It
was a very special trip because 12 members of my extended family all got to go.
This is the first time that the 12 of us
vacationed together. We stayed in North
Kanapali at the nicest hotel I have ever been in. Every day, we all had a great time doing all
the typical tourist activities like snorkeling, going to a Luau and eating a
ton of food. On one of the days we went
to the Grand Wailea for the most amazing brunch any one has ever seen. It was impossible to go there and eat less
than 4,000 calories. My
favorite thing about the trip was seeing some incredible sea life, while
snorkeling. On every outing we saw at
least one huge sea turtle. One time, I
even swam next to one for a solid 10 minutes or so. This was a trip of a lifetime and it is one I
will never forget.

As far as my hip, I should be able to do some hard riding
soon. I have a Doctor's appointment tomorrow to get a MRI and I will know more
after that.

Kyle

Mt. Evans Hill Climb

2011-08-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

While the 17-18s were racing the 43rd Annual Tour de L'abitibi, I was at home in Colorado racing one of my favorite races, the 46th Annual Mt. Evans Hill Climb. Mount Evans is one 54 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado and it has a road that goes all the way to the top. The climb is 28.5 miles long and although it is not steep it is extremely difficult and it can be below freezing at the top and snowing in the summer time not to mention the fact that the summit of the mountain is at 14,264 ft making it the highest paved road in North America.

Mt. Evans has been won by the likes of Jonathan Vaughters, Scott Moninger, Ned Overend and of course Tom Danielson who holds the course record. This means that every year the race is going to be hard and it was just that this year. The climb starts in Idaho Springs, a town just west of Denver, the climb starts with 7 miles up a canyon and then another 7 miles of steeper grades until the pay station for the Mt. Evans highway. The second half of the climb is the hardest part because the pay station is at 10,000 feet. Another 4 miles past the pay station is where the treeline ends and 5 miles from the summit is Summit Lake where there is snow all year round off the road and there is permafrost under the road. After Summit Lake the starts to get hard because of thin air and cold temperature and steeper grades. This is when road is actually on Mt. Evans and the road soon turns into a series of about 15 switchbacks in 3 miles that get extremely difficult a mile from the top. Mt. Evans can be likened to Alp d'Huez with its switchbacks except harder.

A few miles from the summit high winds are common.

Switchback at 13,000 feet.

Summit Lake 12,000 feet 5 miles from the summit.

Training ride at the top.

Enough about the climb and about the race. There aren't a lot of tactics in a hill climb especially one this long it is pretty much just being the strongest rider. The climb up the canyon was very fast and when got to mile 7 there was an acceleration and until Echo Lake where the pay station is the race was fast and gets a little bit steeper and riders were getting dropped. That day it was windy, windier than usual and the wind was coming from the South mostly instead of the West making some nasty headwinds. The race stayed steady for past treeline and the road goes mostly South for awhile and stayed hard and although I was suffering I was staying with the front off the race until Summit Lake where there were some attacks. After that the road becomes steeper again, it is pretty flat even downhill by the lake and I couldn't hold the speed. Around a kilometer later I could see that race pretty exploded and there wasn't really a group anymore. I finished 16th in the race in 2:01:27 slower than my time the year before when I won the cat 3 race in 2:00:30 and the winner did 1:57:37 making the times this year very slow. Peter Stetina won in 1:50:00 last year and Tom Danielson has the record of 1:41:20 a record I would like to beat one day.

-Dean Haas

Cascade Cycling Classic 35+ race report

2011-07-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

By Chris Lyman

This past weekend teammate Craig Roemer, Morgan Stanley rider Greg Anderson and I headed to the Cascade Cycling Classic for the 35+ race. CCC is a great event with four demanding stages attracting top riders. This year was no different with Northern Cal hardmen Chris Phipps, Andreas Gil, Jonathon Eropkin, Jason Walker, Brian Choi, Matt Carino, Hernando and others, along with Sam Krieg, who won Mt. Hood earlier this year plus numerous past RR and TT podiums at nationals.

I had a fairly hectic work week leading to CCC and arrived feeling like lousy. After a Thursday afternoon pre-race ride I started to wonder if I’d forgotten my race legs at home.

Feeling the same way on stage 1, I decided to stay hidden in the field until the climb to Mt. Bachelor. With numerous teams fielding a full contingent of riders, as long as a break didn’t get away with everyone represented I felt confident playing it safe.

With about 15k to go a serious attack got up the road with Andreas. Veloce, a local team, did a lot of work at the front and caught the break just as we started the last climb. The field was immediately reduced to about 20 riders as a solid tempo set in and I was hit with a nasty calf cramp, which left me struggling to hang onto the back. As it ramped up, Chris Phipps attacked (no surprise) and nobody could follow his surge. Jonathan Eropkin and Sam did a lot of the initial work on the front and kept Phipps :10-:20 in front of us. I joined in and took hard pulls trying to maintain our gap, knowing that if we did by the flat section then we’d be able to bring him back.

Unfortunately none of the 12 or so other riders chipped in when it flattened out and it was left to the three of us to chase until under 1k to go when suddenly all the wheel suckers found their legs. Chris finished :20 ahead and bagged a :10 time bonus, and I knew that was probably too much to give him.

Stage 2 was the TT that climbed 750 feet in about 5.5 miles. Once again my legs weren’t there and I struggled to find a good cadence for the climb. After a grueling 16:38 outbound leg the return was a merciful and fun 8:46 at 38 MPH. Enough to win but the stage but only take back :11 on a TT custom made for a climber like Phipps. That slotted me into 2nd GC with Sam just behind.

Stage 3 was a fast but uneventful crit won by Andreas Gil. Chalk up another W for Nor Cal!

Stage 4 was the Awbrey Butte Circuit Race, a guaranteed sufferfest with sharp rollers, a 1.5k climb and the infamous Archie Briggs, which ramps to something idiotic like 15% before leveling out to a more reasonable pitch.

Before the start I saddled up to Sam and we discussed both being there to win and not finish 2nd or 3rd. We made a truce to not chase each other in order to force a move, and our intent to go out swinging. Sam must have attacked 25 times and Jonathan and Jason continuously peppered the front with moves. While not trusting my legs, I decided to wait until when I hoped Phipps’ team would be softened up.

After a mental error on 3rd lap – going for a bottle just as the lead group surged and getting gapped off – Roemer put in a huge effort to bring me back to the front and I finally found my legs. I started attacking to see who would chase and then Sam and I got into a nice rhythm launching one big move after another. After two final all-chips-in efforts - one bridging solo to Sam as he was left to cook and another to Jason - I had done all that I could and was near the point of cracking. With the two climbs yet to come I tucked in out of the wind and kept my fingers crossed that I had enough to get over Archie Briggs.

Attacks continued but without any real snap as everyone was spent. A small group of about 15 made it over Briggs and headed to the line. I felt enough to reach back for one more effort and was trying to figure out where to make it when a few more guys made it back on and swarmed to the front. A moment of hesitation and the opportunity was gone so I rode to the line knowing and finished with the small group, preserving my 2nd GC.

Andreas did Northern Cal proud winning again while Jason Walker sprinted for 3rd and moved up to 4th overall GC.

Overall it was a great weekend, and ended up resembling an NCNCA event with a Nor Cal sweep:
Stage One - 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Stage Two - 1st & 2nd
Sage Three - 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Stage Four - 1st & 3rd
Final GC - 1st, 2nd & 4th

A special thanks to the O’Shannon family, our gracious hosts who put up with us crowding around the kitchen TV to watch the Tour as we ate breakfast each morning!

Looking forward to heading back for Nats in a few weeks.

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada – Day Five/ Stage Six

2011-07-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Stage six had the 122 starters competing for nine laps of an eleven kilometer downtown Amos circuit. There was some hard racing, many breakaway attempts but in the end we had another field sprint. Eighty one riders on the same time, and 109 riders will go on to today’s seventh and final stage.

Thibaut Boulanger of the France National team won for the third consecutive day. Team Specialized’s Jeff Perrin almost pulled off the win. Coming into the last 6km Jeff attacked and bridged up to the three leaders, worked with those that could match his speed and then started his sprint. He was caught in the last fifty meters, yet still hung on for 7th place.

Stage six results –
1- Thibaut Boulanger, France National
2- Alex Darville, USA National
3- Anthony Morel, France National
7- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized
34- James LaBerge, Team Specialized
41- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized
60- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized
65- David Benkoski, Team Specialized
81- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized

General Classification, after six stages
1- James Oram, New Zealand 10:55.14
2- Dion Smith, New Zealand +.19
3- Colby Wait-Molyneaux, USA National +.23
4- Kristo Jorgenson, USA National + .27
5- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .34
6- Jean Emile, Canada National + .36
7- Alexy Vermeeulen, Pro Chain + .42
8- Thibaut Boulanger, France National + .43
9- Daniel Eaton, Mid South Regional + .50
10- Gregory Daniel, USA National + .53
20- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + 1.13
22- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + 1.15
26- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + 1.23
36- James LaBerge, Team Specialized + 1.42
44- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + 1.57
132 starters on Day one, 109 finishers

Team General Classification (time of top three riders on each stage)
1- United States National Team 32:47:25
2- New Zealand National Team + .04
3- Canada National Team + 1.11
4- Team Specialized + 1.19
5- Kazahkstan National Team + 2.00
6- Pro Chain + 2.09

More pictures are posted on the Team FaceBook page : www.facebook.com/#!/TeamSpecializedRacing

On stage seven in 2010 the riders were greeted with 20 mile per hour winds and the field was separated. Twenty two riders went clear. The wind looks light right now, but that doesn’t mean that the racing will be easy.

USA National would love to leap frog either Colby or Kristopher into the lead but New Zealand won’t have that. Canada needs a stage win and if Thibaut Boulanger of France takes another win he will move into 5th, ahead of Willy. We can’t have that! In fact, we’re still making plans to win this whole race.

Au revoir, Larry

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada – Day Four/ Stage Five

2011-07-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

Stage five was the longest of the week at 120km. The 130 starters rode from the southwest and were aided by a strong tailwind/ crosswind averaging 46.6kph on the stage. The stage finished in a field sprint, less 31 riders that lost time and 8 riders that were time cut or pulled out.

The France National team swept the podium for the second consecutive day with a 1-2-3 finish. James sprinted to 12th place. Willy was off in a threatening 14 man break but New Zealand missed the move and sacrificed two riders to bring the break back.

Stage four results –
1- Thibaut Boulanger, France National
2- Kevin Goulet, France National
3- Anthony Smorel, France National
12- James LaBerge, Team Specialized
23- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized
35- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized
51- David Benkoski, Team Specialized
69- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized
78- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized

General Classification, after four stages
1- James Oram, New Zealand
2- Dion Smith, New Zealand +.17
3- Colby Wait-Molyneaux, USA National +.20
4- Kristo Jorgenson, USA National + .24
5- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .31
6- Jean Emile, Canada National + .37
7- Michael Reidenbach, Colavita + .39
21- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + 1.10
22- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + 1.12
25- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + 1.20
38- James LaBerge, Team Specialized + 1.39
49- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + 1.54
132 starters, 122 finishers

Team General Classification (time of top three riders on each stage)
1- United States National Team 26:06.16
2- New Zealand National Team + .04
3- Canada National Team + 1.11
4- Team Specialized + 1.19
5- Mexico National Team + 1.47
6- Kazaskhstan National Team + 2.00

More pictures are posted on the Team FaceBook page : www.facebook.com/#!/TeamSpecializedRacing

Five stages down, two big stages to go. Today will see the riders go through the two eleven kilometer circuits in Amos nine times. Fourteen corners in the east loop, three corners in the west loop with a bridge across the river in between. The race starts in Amos, so today is a relaxing day and then some hard racing at 5pm.

Au revoir, Larry

Brazilian ramblings

2011-07-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

How is it possible that dreams sometimes are prescient?

Even at my age, each day can bring a learning experience. Sometimes the lessons are hard.

Today started with excitement for me. I felt really good, like I’ve been feeling all this championship season. My warm up confirmed my race preparation was right. I toed the line as the first call-up to this year’s Master Mountain Bike World Championship in Brazil and the race started with an explosion, like it always does.

It’s the dead of winter here. I pre-rode the course for three days earlier this week but stuck to the trainer yesterday as once again it rained hard and I’d had enough of riding in the nasty stuff. The course was a muddy mess each time I rode it, not what I am used to in the dry dusty races I do in the Bay area. I wore my training pads and for good reason, I think I hit the deck 20 to 25 times in the mere six laps of the course I completed in practice over my three days outside. The pain of those times face down in the mud convinced me how to ride (nay, run) the dangerous parts of the descents. As a point of reference, those dangerous sections made up at least ¾ of all descending on the course. I expected these descents to be the daunting challenges come race day.

I was wrong.

Now common sense and good thinking suggested making sure all your equipment has been tested prior to a big race. I always do this, until today. After today, I always will.

As I always do for Mountain Bike World Championships, I bring two identical bikes, one for the race and one for training. This year I put an all new drive train on the race bike before I left home; chain, cassette, cables, cable housing, new wheels, tires, rotors and brake pads too. I wanted everything to be perfect, no worn parts. I rode it around on the road at home to see if everything was working, it seemed fine.

At the race venue, I always do one lap on the race bike at quasi-racing speed to do a final test. This year I didn’t. The course was too much of a mess and I was constantly crashing while practicing. I didn’t want to risk going down and breaking something on the race bike or taking a chance of gumming up the cables and risking bad shifting. Even at 56 years of age, we make bad decisions.

The first 200 meters of the race course is flat, the next 300 meters climbs on pavement at 20 percent, the perfect way to start a race for me. Somebody jumps by me as we hit the climb. No problem, I kick a little bit and drop him easily. Benny Anderson, the current Swedish National champ and reigning European champion pulls up beside me. He beat me for the first time in four tries two years ago in France when he won his first World Championship. I knew he was the one I needed to beat today to win.

I’m riding tempo and decide it’s time to test Benny. I shift down one gear and get out of the saddle to attack. Pop! My chain jumps a gear and tweaks on an angle as the rear derailleur lurches down the cassette. What the f@#* just happened. I put a little pressure on the pedals and realize I am about to break the chain as the rear wheel locks up. I stop and get off the bike, pick the rear end up with one hand and spin the pedals with the other, the only way to correct the problem.

Benny’s put 50 meters on me and I know he heard the crunching of my chain, opportunity knocks or should I say crunches for him.

I pedal and the chain jumps again on the cassette, and again, and again, and again. I realize that, at this point, I can ride nothing more than tempo as any more pressure than that yields the same troubling result. How do you win a world championship riding tempo???

We crest the top of the start loop and hit the first tricky descent. I can see Benny cautiously finding his way down to the start/finish line about 75 meters in front of me. I see his strategy given his knowledge of my circumstance.

To hell with it, I’m going to rip this descent and take my chances. My heart’s in my throat a couple of times but I get back to Benny by the bottom and we’re on to the first of two full laps.
Now I can pedal again but fear the outcome. Sure enough the problem persists, I need to make a barrel adjustment for the rear derailleur on the fly and see if it makes a difference. The first climb of this lap is 50 meters in front of me.

Twist the barrel adjuster, pedal. Nope, that didn’t work. Twist the barrel adjuster, pedal. Uh oh, I’m on the climb and my amateur attempts at a mechanic’s work have failed. Not only that, but I have adjusted my way out of even being able to ride at tempo on the climb. Even the easiest of pressure on the pedals is now unworkable.

This is an easy climb I can do in my big chain ring but with every pedal stroke the chain jumps. I get off the bike and start running as I watch Benny sprint away from me. I crest the climb and I realize that caution needs to be tossed. I scream down the descent, but this is the easiest of the 10 to 12 descents in front of me. I fear trouble lies ahead but what choice do I have.

Immediately I’m on the next climb, I see Benny in front of me climbing with speed. I have no choice but to run again and the first challenging drop is up next. I cut it loose and crash! Not bad but it shakes me up. Unhurt other than a trickle of blood down my knee and elbow, I remount and let it go again.

Next climb up, next piece of running and I no longer see Benny in front of me. Someone at the side of the road says he has a minute on me.

And so it goes. Run up each climb, take my chances on the descents. Other than that one crash, this strategy (it’s all I can come up with at this point) is working.

Through the start/finish and the bell rings. Again someone says “one minute to the leader”. A surge of adrenaline hits me as I realize I’m still in this race, in the last 15 minutes since that first crash I’ve haven’t given up a thing to Benny.

Now I know what Benny’s thinking as he has a friend out on the course who may have seen me running up climbs that make no sense to run, unless you have a mechanical problem. Benny climbs hard and takes no chances on the descents, probably off the bike on all of them. My only chance is that he continues this strategy while I take even more chances on the descents.
I now hit that descent I crashed on in lap one, this time though I go even faster.

Usually I act rationally, in fact, it’s been years since my days of irrationality.

This is the world championships and, given the circumstances, I need to take chances to even have the slightest hope of winning. It’s that slightest hope that puts rational thinking into the dust bin.

I make it past the point of the crash last lap but I am going much too fast and I’m headed for a tree. My front wheel is in a rut and I the brakes aren’t slowing me down. My choices are slowing down by putting my face square into the trunk of that tree or dive off the side of this descent down the embankment.

It’s not like you actually make a decision given those choices. Survival instinct takes over and I’m off the side of the trail careening downward. Suddenly I flip and come to a sudden stop. I’ve fallen into a 4 foot hole filled with vines and broken tree branches. I shake my head, neck seems okay. I move my arms, they work, legs work too. Okay, now what? I look up and my bike is across the top of the hole. I pull myself up grabbing vines until I get to my bike. I push up and throw the bike back onto the hill and struggle to crawl out of the hole. Suddenly the Columbian that finished third behind me last year after I broke my pedal is coming cautiously down the descent. I lost 8 minutes to a broken pedal and beat him by 3 minutes on top of that, this tells me just how costly my mechanical nightmare has been to me today.

He goes by me as I get back on course. Thirty seconds later we cross the road to start the next climb. The Columbian is 50 meters in front of me and Benny’s friend is there and tells me Benny’s 3 minutes up the road. Sounds like I was in that hole for about 2 minutes.

The race is over for first but damned if I’ll give up fighting for second. I am running up the climb with every last bit of energy I have. I catch the Columbian and push by him. I am seeing stars.
Now that I’m in front of him and bleeding from both knees and elbows , with many bruises I can’t even see, no more chances on the descents. I take them all cautiously, top tubing it. We’re back on the road and he’s back on me. Up the final climb of the day and I’ve gapped him with my running.

For some strange reason, I decide to try pedaling the bike as I hit the only gentle part of the last climb knowing the Columbian will be riding it much faster than I can run it. I put it in the 36 on the back but as I put it in the gear, I don’t let up on the shifter paddle, thinking that keeping the pressure on the cable might stop the chain from jumping. This only works at the top of the cassette as such pressure on the paddle in any other gear would just move the chain up the cassette. At the top, it butts up against the set screw and can’t jump. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? Sh#*!

My legs are fried from a race spent running up every climb. Constant pressure on the paddle is taking all my will power as my thumb is cramping but I am nearly to the top of the course and I’ve put another 30 meters on the Columbian. The last descents to the finish line are tricky and he’s behind me far enough that I think I can top tube each one.

I’m on the last tricky switchback drop before the finish and I see he’s ten meters behind me. Okay, get off the top tube and let it go!

Bad idea, down I go into the mud.

Just as I get back on he goes by me. Seventy five meters to the finish and one last dagger enters my heart. What a day or should I say night(mare).

Two days ago, I had a dream. It woke me up in a cold sweat. It was one of those dreams where you absolutely believed it was actually happening. I dreamed I was racing in today’s championship, I was battling it out for first, second and third. Believe it or not, Benny was in the dream. I had trouble with the details but Benny won, someone unknown to me finished second and I was third. I swear it took me 5 minutes to realize it was just a dream. How weird is that????

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada – Day Three

2011-07-22T08:39:00.001-07:00

Stages three and four are run off on the same day here at the 43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi. Morning time trial stage, afternoon road stage.

The 132 riders took off for their 12.3km time trial on a rolling course in one minute intervals. Kyle was the first off at 9:37 and Willy was the last off at 10:54am. We were able to follow Torey, James and Willy. Our goal was to place all six riders in the top thirty. It was a reasonable goal as we have strong time trialists. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a great day on course. A good day, just not a great day. Willy placed eight and moved into 5th on over GC. The team solidified its 3rd on Team GC. Some pictures are posted on the Team FaceBook page

Stage three results –
1- Colby Wait-Molyneaux, USA National
2- Michael Reidenbach, Colavita + 4sec
3- Kristo Jorgenson, USA National + 4sec
8- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .29
21- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + .50
22- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + .52
25- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + 1minute
50- James LaBerge, Team Specialized + 1.29
55- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + 1.34

About six hours later the riders lined up for a 52km stage about an hour south of Amos. The weather has been either perfect or just a bit warm. For this stage the riders started out in 90 degree weather at 6pm and raced right into a rain cloud. They got drenched! With limited visibility and wet roads the riders and the staff get nervous. Thankfully the majority of the riders, including all of ours, stayed upright and safe… until the third to last corner when the first rider took himself out and our riders backed off and did not sprint. Therein lies a tale of how much we want to win yet, safety is always more important than taking unnecessary risks.

Stage four results –
1- Thibaut Boulanger, France National
2- Anthony Smorel, France National
3- Kevin Goulet, France National
37- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized
60- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized
71- James LaBerge, Team Specialized
98- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized
118- David Benkoski, Team Specialized
127- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized

General Classification, after four stages
1- James Oram, New Zealand
2- Dion Smith, New Zealand +.19
3- Colby Wait-Molyneaux, USA National +.20
4- Kristo Jorgenson, USA National + .24
5- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .31
6- Jean Emile, Canada National + .37
7- Michael Reidenbach, Colavita + 39
21- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + 1.10
22- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + 1.12
24- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + 1.20
40- James LaBerge, Team Specialized +1.41
51- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + 1.54
130 finishers

Four stages down, three to go. Today is a 120km road race from Rouyn-Nourada to Amos and then into the circuits of Amos.

Au revoir, Larry

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada - day two

2011-07-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Before the stage today I ran out to the laundromat and drafted the story below. Might as well maximize the 37 minute wash cycle. Then we headed west to the start of today’s stage where I met up with the team and they gave us a whole new story to share! Read on…

James LaBerge won stage two today. The 132 rider field averaged 48.1kph, for an average of 99 RPM’s in their maximum 52x14 gearing. Fast! Thankfully James was fastest.

As car three in the caravan our first piece of action was Torey flatting and then using the 23 cars to get back into the field. Before and after that we were hearing race radio announce small breakaway attempts and sprint points. We wanted to contest the two sprint time bonus’ but missed out. The big move came on the last lap when James came out of the last corner about 10 riders back and took off from 275 meters to go up the climb to take the field sprint and his second stage win in two years at l’abitibi. Willy chased a threatening move in the last 3km that helped to string out the field and make the sprint safer for all. Jeff and David were also helpful in moving James up and sweeping his wheel before the last turn.

Stage two results –
1- James, Team Specialized, plus 10 second time bonus
2- Thanawut Sanikwathi, Thailand national team
3- Thibaut Bolanger, France national team
23- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + .28
50- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .10
68- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + .28
77- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + .28
84- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + .28

General Classification, after two stages
1- James Oram, New Zealand
2- Dion Smith, New Zealand +.01
3- Roman Semyonov, Kazakhstan +.06
4- Vitality Marayhin, Kazakhstan + .08
7- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .10
8- James LaBerge, Team Specialized +.18
27- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + .28
43- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + .28
65- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + .28
80- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + .28
131 finishers

Congratulations team on a fine performance today!

For the Tour de l’abitibi Team Specialized includes the six riders and teammates Chris LaBerge, Dean LaBerge, Billy Innes and me, Larry Nolan.

Chris is a 17 year old junior and this is his second trip to Canada to support the team. He’s got an easy going disposition and is willing to help in any way that he can. He’s valuable to the team in his willingness to pitch in and get things done. After watching his teammates last year he still has a desire to do this race so that helps to fuel his racing desires.

Dean is James and Chris’ father, and also has 30+ years of racing experience, including a World Championship in BMX racing. Dean helps to provide insight and coaching for the team which is particularly helpful in these bunch sprints to the line. A true sprinter always has a calm before the final giddy up to the line. Sometimes that’s innate in an athlete, sometimes it can be taught. The team is lucky to have a rider with Dean’s experience. Dean also has a great way of keeping his cool and helps the team in everything that they do.

Billy Innes also has over 30+ years of racing experience. Plus, he’s been wrenching bicycles for most of his life, and he’s quite good at it. The kids (and I) know this because Billy cares about our equipment and wants us to care about our equipment too. Communication is key on this team so that we get what we want, and it starts with the bike. If something is out of true, it needs attention. Delay in looking after mechanicals can have long-term repercussions. As a racer Billy was a professional for a short period of time, so he understands international riders and customs and racing styles. This knowledge has helped him to read races as a competitor and now he also directs the USA National program in Europe for USA Cycling. He’s on a break from the European scene as the USA National Team is in Canada, so Team Specialized is so very lucky to have him wrenching and coaching the riders.

I (Larry Nolan) only took up cycling as a 30 year old, and I have limited international experience, but just like Dean and Billy, I’m a solid teammate and I know how to win races, including masters national and world championships. I’ve been coaching riders for the past twenty years and this is my second year directing Team Specialized Juniors. I’m also the west coast regional camp manager/ head coach and our 2011 camp starts July 31.

My family and I lived in Belgium for a year and there are many similarities to Belgium here in Quebec. For the riders coming to Quebec it’s all about the differences than the similarities of being at home. Just living in a high school with 132 athletes and coaches, and eating every meal together helps these riders open up to new possibilities. I know it was that way for my children and they were 13, 15 and 17 years old. Not exactly the move that they preferred, away from their comforts and friends, but they adjusted and learned to be flexible and accepting of others and their differences.

Stage three starts tomorrow at 8:45am with a morning 12.3km time trial. The riders go off in reverse GC order, so we have Kyle, Torey, David, Jeff, James and Willy.

Au revoir, Larry

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada – Day One

2011-07-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

Willy Zellmer of Team Specialized takes fifth place in the first stage of the Tour de l’abitibi. While a win would have us at an early celebration party, sometimes a fifth place finish can be a “win”. Firstly, an eight man breakaway went clear of the field, built up a lead of one minute and still held off a charging field. Secondly, National teams Canada, France, USA and Japan all missed the move and thirdly, New Zealand had two riders and Kazakhstan had three riders. Mexico, Thailand and Team Specialized made up the rest of the break. Yes, a trade team/ regional team away with the strong National teams! Finally, Willy’s teammates enjoyed a day of following wheels and monitoring the moves. Mostly they found that the chase was not well organized, probably due to the average pace of 28.4 miles per hour over this 112 kilometer stage. Further to this point was that Willy hung on and dished out some fierce attacks, until the breakaway gap came down and the eight decided to cooperate to the line.

1- James Oram, New Zealand
2- Dion Smith, New Zealand +.01
3- Roman Semyonov, Kazakhstan +.06
4- Vitality Marayhin, Kazakhstan + .08
5- Willy Zellmer, Team Specialized + .10
28- David Benkoski, Team Specialized + .28
30- Jeff Perrin, Team Specialized + .28
41- James LaBerge, Team Specialized + .28
63- Torey Philipp, Team Specialized + .28
84- Kyle Torres, Team Specialized + .28
132 finishers

Our position in the caravan slides up to 3rd car. This is a reflection of Willy being 5th place on GC but 3rd team behind New Zealand and Kazakhstan. Team Specialized is sitting 3rd on Team GC 25 seconds behind Kazakhstan and New Zealand.

Overall, the team is in good spirits. They are eating lunch and breakfast together as a team and dressing the part. They are going to bed at 10pm and sleeping ten hours a night. Nutrition and recovery is critical to a six day stage race.

Cheers, Larry

Tour de L'abitibi

2011-07-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

I am currently in Quebec Canada with Team Specialized racing the Tour de L'abitib. A six day seven stage race. Yesterday was the first stage, 112km mostly flat. I was able to make the winning break of eight riders. Two New Zealand riders, three Kazakhstan riders, one rider from Thailand and one Mexican rider. The break went clear about 70km into the race. We all worked very well together. I was a little surprised we stayed away as the French national team and the USA national team were not represented.

We start stage two this afternoon I am sitting 5th on GC, we are sitting 3rd on team GC. Looking forward to the time trial in the morning and a short stage in the afternoon.

- Willy Zellmer

43rd annual Tour de l’abitibi - Amos, Quebec, Canada - day zero

2011-07-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

For the second consecutive year Team Specialized is proud to send a team to the only UCI event in North America. Tour de l’abitibi is a six day, seven stage race. Five stages of 100+ kilometers per day and one day with a time trial (12.3km) and short road race (52km) comprise the week-long event. Team Specialized is set to start stage one tomorrow afternoon, July 19. Racing will wrap up on Sunday, July 26th.

This is a UCI Nations Cup event. Twenty three teams of six 17 and 18 year old riders make up this years’ field of competitors. France, the UCI number one ranked nation is here, as well as national teams from Japan, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Thailand, Mexico, Canada and Team USA. Unfortunately, that means that our best possible placing in the caravan will be 13th spot behind the commissar, medical, neutral support, and all 23 following support cars. We were spoiled last year after James LaBerge won stage one and we moved right up to the front three cars. There’s a managers meeting at 10am tomorrow to determine our spot in the rolling circus.

Tough competition aside, Team Specialized has a rich history at this event. In 2007 Ben Barsi-Rhyne won a stage, in 2008 Charlie Avis won the time trial, in 2009 Charlie Avis was 2nd overall, in 2010 James LaBerge won stage one and Eamon Lucas was 2nd overall. We have high hopes for our six riders and here’s a bit about our team:
- Five of the six teammates have experience from 2010. This is Kyle’s debut and that’s because he is just 17 years old.
- Four of the six teammates have been a part of the USA Cycling European trips.
- All six of them have won events and placed well at the USA Cycling Junior Road National Championships.
- On paper, we have a strong team well suited for this event.

And, our six teammates:
- David Benkoski (18) Menlo Park, CA
- James LaBerge (18) Napa, CA
- Jeff Perrin (18) Lakewood, CO
- Torey Philipp (18) El Dorado Hills, CA
- Kyle Torres (17) Laguna Nigel, CA
- Willy Zellmer (18) Missoula, MT

Amos is a small Canadian city in the Quebec region of Canada. French speakers dominate the local scene but seem to understand our English questions easily. The beauty of this event is the region that we ride in, and the organization capitalizes on that by starting the majority of the stages in another host city and having the athlete’s race back to Amos. The stage maps resemble a spider web with stages coming in from the west, south, north and east. This layout helps simplify the logistics. Another benefit of this set-up is that the courses tend to be along wide highways until we get back into Amos, then the riders are treated to a number of circuits in Amos. This year we have two different circuits. Stages one and two use a three corner 5.3km circuit and have the athletes hit it five times, then on stages five and seven the riders are treated to a twelve corner 5.3km circuit. Stage three is the time trial, stage four is a short out and back road race in another host city (Malartic). Stage six features nine laps of the 11km combined two circuits and could be the decisive stage if there is no big weather swings out on the open roads. These are just my opinions but I think that the circuits favor the American riders that grow up on criteriums. We shall see.

While many will accurately say that we are “out in the middle of nowhere”, Amos is a great place to visit. I can’t imagine the winter months (brrr!) but the summer days are nice and long. The sun was shining through our window well before 5:30am and the sky was still lit up at 10pm. Yesterday we had temps in the 80’s and a thunderstorm. Today started off cool (high 60’s) and settled nicely into the 80’s with gusty winds. I’m not one to care about the weather much but we pay attention to these details when we’re racing up here. One big wind day and general classification could be set.

You can follow all of the action at: www.tourabitibi.com

The team presentation went smoothly. The team is pumped up and ready to race. Wish us luck and speed. Cheers, Larry

Team Specialized National Champions (so far)

2011-07-10T06:54:00.001-07:00

A July 10 look at the 2011 National Championships. Canadian Masters Road Nationals wrapped up last week, USA Junior Road Nationals finished in late June, and Junior Track Nationals finish today. Let's take a quick look at the successes of three teammates in four National Championship events

Rob Anderson (56) has travelled on many occasions to his homeland to compete in the Canadian National Championships and this year he came home with both the time trial and the road race championships.

Andrew Lanier Junior (18) popped over to track nationals in Frisco, TX after wrapping up road nationals in Augusta, GA. In the first two days he competed in the six event omnium and placed 6th, then came back the next morning to qualify for the gold medal ride in the team pursuit. Then, in the heat of the Texas day, he won his USA National Championship in the points race.

Jack Maddux (14) was crashed out of the 13-14 road race on the first day of competition at the USA Junior Road National Championships. He picked himself up, got into his head that he could still achieve his goal of winning a national championship and then went out and won the time trail the very next day.

Persistence is a great attribute to take through life. Congratulations to Rob, Andrew Jr and Jack. Best of luck to those racing at Masters Nationals and Masters Worlds later in the year. Cheers, Larry

A Mountain Bike Race, Coffee and Something To Put It All In

2011-07-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today I raced the Winter Park Series #3 Valley Point to Point Mountain Bike Race. It was a 22 mile race where I raced the Category 2 Juniors. I did the race in just about 2:00:00 setting one of the best Cat 2 times for all ages. My group was the last to start out of the Cat 2's so I had to use a lot of energy to pass older Cat 2 riders and slowed me down a bit. I had a fast enough time to win the Junior Cat 1 race and win some other Cat 1 races too. The race was in beautiful Winter Park, CO where most of the race was around 10,000 feet of elevation. The race was just a total blast with super fast downhills that were really technical and where the climbs up the fire road were super fast also. The singletrack was so much fun and the fact that it had rained the night before made the forested sections wet and muddy so I got really dirty. This is my first mountain bike race and it is definitely not my last one. Oh and about the title. Well I won a mountain bike race, I won a bag of coffee and I won a mug to put all the coffee in. Not such a bad day of racing huh?

-Dean Haas

Leesville Gap RR - Pro/1/2

2011-07-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

At his request, one rider's name has been changed.

I showed up with a bit of trepidation knowing that Paul Mach was registered. This race is all about making it over the Leesville gap climb in the front group and I was afraid that Mach would destroy the group and I’d get left for dead. Also along for the fun was Rider P, and Kirk Carlsen (Garmin), Willy and a bunch of Marcpro Strava, Yahoo and Metro Mint guys. As we left town a break formed with Mike Taylor of Yahoo, Kirk and a few others. Mach was pretty aggressive and made some attacks, but nothing stuck. We hit the rough roads around 1:00 behind the break. It was pretty fast on the rough roads and after a while, Mach flatted. I felt bad for him, but also relieved. :-)

Leading up to the climb, I tried to get Willy’s attention to get him up to the front, but I think he had already flatted by then. He had been riding well near the front previously. I hit the climb in 4th place behind Rider P, Jesse Miller Smith (Strava) and a Yahoo (Wingert or Switters?). The Yahoo immediately opened a gap so I went around him and that was it. Nobody else made the split, even for a little bit. We had been going fairly hard, but I still found that odd. The climb was pretty freaking hard. It ended up being 368W for almost 17 minutes and that was with asking them to ease up a bit two times. We caught and dropped all of the break except for Carlsen who was still about 30 seconds ahead and Taylor who we caught basically at the top. We worked well together and caught Carlsen pretty quickly.

I had forgotten just how rough the road is even after the climb. This race really is tougher than Copperopolis as far as rough roads go I think.

Through the valley, I thought that my chances were pretty good. I’ve done this race enough that I have a pretty good sense of what to do tactically and I looked around and saw that I was the only one with aero wheels. I figured that every pull I’d be saving just a bit of energy and I hoped that it would even things up by the end. That all went to hell when Mach came back up near the end of the upper valley, along with about 7 or 8 others. He had FIXED his flat and chased back with this group! Pretty impressive.

On the climb out of the valley, Jesse accelerated and Mach followed. I tried to jump across towards the top, but left it too late, though I think we lost a few guys on that short climb. Towards the bottom of the descent Jesse stopped with some kind of mechanical issue. We decided to let Paul burn out there and finally caught him just about as we made the right turn down in the flats to head back north.

There were a number of attacks and counters over the next few miles. I made a few good counters and got away alone twice, but only for a minute or two each time. As we got towards the final left turn with around 5km to go Rider P and Carlsen opened up a small gap. They hung out there close for a while and I was sure I could jump across the gap, but the catch would be to get away clean. I waited for the right time, but waited too long as when the right time came the gap had opened up was too big so I stayed put. With about a km to go I stayed on the back and followed Mike Taylor. At the front, Jim Wingert opened up a small gap while the rest of us hesitated. Finally Cavanaugh opened up the sprint. When Taylor jumped I followed him. He didn’t quite pass Wingert and I threw my bike, but didn’t quite make it. Taylor was probably a half of a bike behind Wingert and I was close enough to wonder if I got Taylor, but I didn’t. In front Carlsen was cramping and conceded and that is when Rider P drilled it and opened up the gap.

Afterwards, everybody said that they were cracked. My calves had been “talking to me” and threatening to cramp towards the end and everybody else was in the same boat or worse. It’s amazing that such a short race can do so much damage to the riders. My arms are still sore…

1. Rider P
2. Kirk Carlsen (Garmin)
3. Jim Wingert (Yahoo!)
4. Mike Taylor (Yahoo!)
5. Kevin Metcalfe (Team Specialized Racing Masters)

Canadian Road Nationals-- Take Deux

2011-07-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting on the plane heading home from Toronto. I’ve got six hours to kill and my computer battery says I have 5 hours and 1 minute of power so sit back relax, get a beer or soda and settle in for some reading. As distasteful as my lack of brevity is to Mick, I’ll encourage him to read on because he gets some honourable mention at a point in my missive (notice the Canadian spelling in honour of my citizenship and in recognition of July 1st, Canada Day, the 144th).

After winning the time trial on Thursday, some might consider the pressure off but I dearly wanted to do the double so I set about readying myself for the somewhat considerable task at hand. For me that meant course reconnaissance to plan strategy and the continued commitment to Kevin Metcalfe’s tried and true process of resting for championship events. In other words none of that Rob Anderson nonsense of five to six hour rides in the days before a big race. I tried Kevin’s approach starting a year ago and I am a true convert and disciple of it with the best results in such events in my career since embracing it.

So it was fourteen laps of the road race course in the two and a half days since the time trial. That’s only about six hours of easy recovery riding in that 72 hour period between races, the equivalent of a few minutes more than my daily training rides back home. It leaves me itching to race.

I had pretty much every inch of the race course memorized; 11 ½ kilometers, the first 5 ½ climbing the roughly 500 foot ascent to the top of the course and the last 5 ½ descending to the finish line. There was a hill near the end of the climb that probably averaged about 3% to 4% for 2 kilometers, a brief respite of 200 meters and then another kick at about 3% for another ½ kilometer before topping out. Of potentially major significance, especially for me, was the final 500 meters before the line, a sweeping descent that did a left/right chicane and then a 150 meter kick at about 5% to the line. I also realized on my reconnaissance that the wind was likely to be a factor and come race day it was blowing about 20 kilometers an hour.
Another item of note that needs mentioning is my cool new Specialized S-Works Roubaix SL3. Chris DeLusio blessed me with it about a month ago and it is the perfect bike for me, geometry and size seem custom made. I also decided to treat myself to an exotic present, something I hadn’t done for four or five years. Mick and I used to find all kinds of trick stuff and test it all. Some worked and some didn’t but since Mick went back to work and as the economy has taken its toll, I make do with what I’ve got, until now. With levels of guilt I haven’t felt since that first time I lied to my mother, I graced the Roubaix with Di2. I tested it in a race for the first and only time at Pescadero and, like I told my embarrassed teenage daughters, it was like having sex, not a feeling you usually get from riding a bike.

When you’re all by yourself with days between races and you’re as annually retentive as I am, everything is checked with a fine tooth comb and no stone is left unturned in preparing for a National Championship. I was ready to race!

It was a hot one, nothing like Louisville last summer but at race time it was about 89 degrees. Because the course was close to my hotel, I did my usual warm up in my air conditioned room. Then strapped on my new ice vest with the special attachment for cooling the hypothalamus and headed for the start.

I had a plan. One that was part related to words of guidance from John Hunt and also those from Mick. After getting my ass kicked in the finale at Pescadero two weeks ago by Chris Wire because I lollygagged up the first 1 ½ kilometers of Haskins even knowing I couldn’t respond to Chris’s finishing kick and getting a miserable third, John Hunt told me told me something I never considered in a bike race, “remember who you are!” He reminded me again on Thursday after the time trial, it’s my new mantra. Mick’s advice on how to win was more familiar and something that comes natural to me, “make it hard, hurt them every chance you get!”

Sixty three guys at the start, I was friends with a few from Canadian Nationals over the past half dozen years and had familiarized myself with a few key others. It’s the benefit of having the time trial before the road race. I had the numbers taped to my top tube of anyone who was within a minute of me in the time trial.
I waited until the first time up the 2 kilometer kicker and went to the front and went hard. I didn’t want to get away alone, just wanted to “make it hard”. It left half the race behind at the top of the course. We screamed down the descent, it was a little bumpy. These roads suffer tough winters in eastern Canada and the surfaces reflect it. As the descent flattened a bit I shifted from my biggest gear… Wait a minute; I shifted from my biggest gear? No I didn’t. My drive train wasn’t shifting! My drive train wasn’t f*#@% shifting!

Now for those of you who know what happens when your Di2 battery dies, you probably know what’s going through my mind. For those that don’t, the derailleurs automatically shift to the biggest gears and stay there, permanently! To almost coin a David Bowie song lyric, it was panic near Detroit (you see Detroit is just across the lake from Toronto). What do I do now? Can I ride the entire race in my biggest gear? No frickin’ way. Can I see any wires hanging loose? Nope. Press the button to see if I can get any response, nothing. Press it again, and again, and again…, nothing.

We’re now getting to the 150 meter kicker near the start finish line. I’ll give it a try. I can barely turn the cranks by the time I reach the line, then I am swarmed by the pack. How can I possibly make it up that 2 kilometer climb in a real bike race? My friend Sylvan, who won the road race last year, rides past me and knows what’s happened. He offers his condolences.

All kinds of crazy thoughts are going through my mind. One lap into the championship and am I headed for home. No way in hell. I’ve got to figure this out, and quick. I put my hand up to signal for neutral support. Surely they carry a spare Di2 battery. They pull up beside me and I ask them. They look at me like I’m speaking Russian or like I’m kidding. Of course the answer is no. I decide to remove the battery and then put it back while I am riding, but to do so I have to get rid of my bottles. I can’t ditch them in this heat with another 2 ¼ hours of racing to go. I ask the neutral to hold my bottles while I try to remove the battery, no easy task when, with every pedal stroke, the crank arm crushes my hand.

I can see the peloton heading out of sight so it’s now or never. I get the rhythm down of turning the crank and working the battery between strokes. I get the battery clamp loose and pull the battery away from its contact and snap it back down. I put the clamp on and joyfully see a green light on the console. I try a shift. It works!!! I am back in business baby!!
I call the neutral support back and they see a big smile on my face and know what’s happened. They give me my bottles back with some sage advice, “don’t panic, they’re not far up the road, you can get there without killing yourself”. My response with all the adrenaline cursing through my veins, “I’m going to win this f*%#ing race!”
Slowly I pull them back. I reach them just before the start of the crucial climb. I catch my breath for 30 seconds and then attack with everything I’ve got right from the back. They can’t respond and I get a good 200 meter gap by the top of the climb. On the descent, I get my senses back and realize I’ve got 6 ½ laps to go and it’s windy. I need some help.

Somehow I need to draw a few guys out and have them bridge up to me, so the next time we hit that climb I tempo it. I look back and see a yellow and black jersey coming across. Now on the podium of the time trial, the bronze medalist, who was 10 seconds behind me in the time trial, wore the same jersey I see coming up behind me. If it’s him, this would be perfect, a strong man to work with me. I let up and he catches on. Sure enough it’s him. He asks me how I feel and I say “I feel great, do you want to work with me?” With a strong affirmative, we begin the task of putting distance between us and the rest of the race.
He was a perfect partner, pulling as long and as hard as me, never missing a turn. He’s strong too. Keeping in mind Mick’s advice, I push it hard every time up the climbs. I test him a few times, he loses a few feet from my wheel when I do but always fights hard not to lose contact. I still need him so never hit it so hard that I discourage his work.

With two laps to go, we get a time check, it’s three minutes. The race is now just between us two. How do I win?

This being Canada, fair play is the norm. After all, we kick the crap out of each other in hockey games and shake hands immediately after and go drinking together. I’m torn with this in my upbringing. This guy is playing fair and so should I.
On lap seven I decide to go really hard up the climbs but not pimp him by sitting in just before and attacking him. From what I’ve seen so far in our break, I think I just might crack him. If it doesn’t work, I also think the finish suits me. He bends but doesn’t break. I can get no more than maybe 10 feet on him then he comes back on over the top. Same plan on the final lap, same result.
Okay, now it’s time to execute the finale, I need to be second wheel coming into the chicane. Job done.

He kicks at the last part of the chicane. I hold his wheel easy. He sits up. I sit up. Cool, he doesn’t seem to have a plan. He starts to go again at the bottom of the 150 meter climb to the finish. I’m having an easy time on his wheel.

It’s time to go with everything I’ve got! I pull off of his wheel away from the wind on his right and start my sprint. I hear him shift gears but it sounds like more than shifting gears. It doesn’t matter. Head down going as hard as I can I look under my left arm and see nothing. With 20 meters to go I take a chance and glance over my left shoulder and he’s not there. I cross the line with the color commentator screaming my name, my first Canadian road racing championship; I am fried but feel no pain.

I wait for him to come across the line and he tells me he dropped his chain going to the small ring. Bummer, I feel sorry for him, I’ve been there and done that.

So from going from the devastating thought of having to quit with a mechanical to winning a strange finale, it was a good week in Canada. I took deux!!!

My Nationals Recap

2011-06-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

This year Junior Road Nationals were in Augusta, Ga. A week before Nationals started I gave my bike away to Larry Nolan, so that would not have to pay an extra fee to fly my bike out to Georgia. Which means I had to ride a bike that did not fit me for an entire week, then race Nationals. When I got to Georgia, the first think I noticed was the heat and humidity. Day by day I began to not notice the heat or humidity as much. This was because I was drinking Gallons of water per day. My first race was the Time Trial. I don't specialize in Time Trialing, and to make it worse I did not have a Time Trial Bike, so I was on my Specialized SL2 with Zipp 303's. I got a good warm up and set off. I had already road the Time Trial course the day before so there were no surprises on the course. After my Time Trial I felt like it wasn't my best and was not my worst. But I knew that the Criterium was the next day and that I would do better. Before the start of the Criterium it was hot. The team got there about an hour before the race and we started to get cold so that we would perform better. During the race I had 3 full bottles in my bottle cages and my pockets. I quickly drank one bottle on threw it to the parents. But the rest of the race I struggled to drink water. Just because the pace was so high and the pot holes were all over the road. After the race I rolled-out and road back to the parents where the parents were waiting with water and ice/ ice vests. We cooled down and road back to the houses so we could recover for our final race of nationals, the Road Race. The race started at 8:00am local time. Which is 5:00am California time. So I was a little tired as we drove up to the parking lot. But, as I started to move around I woke up and was ready to race a hard race. I came to the line 20 minutes before the start and everyone was there. So I started at the back. But, during the race I moves up with ease. On the last lap, coming up the final hill I fell of the pace of the pack. At this time I thought we still had another lap to do. So I was going to crest over the hill and drill it back in to the pack, but as I saw the finish line I noticed that everyone past the finish line were sitting up and the race was over. Even though I did not get the laps right it was my best road race I had ever done. And that is what happened to me at Nationals.

Every second counts -- sounds familiar, where have I heard that before?

2011-06-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It sure feels better when it's the former of the two.

Six laps of the Canadian Masters Time Trial course in the two days prior to the race and you'd think you had it pretty much dialed in. Think again.

With my finish in last year's championship, I was the last man to start in this year's race. If my memory serves me right (I'm on the road so don't have the results at hand), and at my age that's always questionable, the man starting a minute in front of me today finished 11 seconds slower than me last year but that was after I dropped my chain shifting to the small ring on the last hill on the course so 11 seconds isn't really apples to apples. Nonetheless, I had a great carrot in today's race.

It was a 21.5 kilometer loop with five corners, I caught him with 3 dead straight kilometers to go and decided to bury it from there, perhaps a little far out to give it absolutely everything. At the 1k to go sign I remembered an intersection. I took a quick peek and noticed a course marshal flailing his arms, especially the one holding an orange flag. Totally asphyxiated and seeing stars, my reasoning abilities weren't at their best but for some reason the orange flag caught my attention and I sat up. With the reasoning capacity of an intelligent door knob at that point, the best I could figure was he wanted me to turn right.

Now in the six training laps in the prior two days, never once did the course turn right here, it was dead straight to the finish line. Why the hell did he want me to turn right??? As I braked and started my turn, I yelled at him "which way do I go?" With a surprised look, he yelled "go straight, go straight!"

Correcting my turn to get back on course, I destroyed myself to the finish line but was deeply puzzled by what just happened. I started to convince myself that it didn't matter because I still finished in front of my minute man and no way would anyone best his time?

Cooling down I saw a course marshal that looked like the guy with the orange flag, surely he wasn't an identical twin. I asked what happened out there? He apologized and said he was waving at the cars to make sure they didn't enter the course and assumed no rider would be paying attention to a course marshal, especially with 1k to go. Darn, my survival instincts got the better of me. At least my wife and daughters can draw comfort from that notion.

Well, to make a long story longer, here I sit in my Maple Leaf jersey, Canadian Time Trial Champion in the Masters 50 to 59 category, a mere 1.33 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Being the winner, I can forget about the man with the orange flag. Had I lost by 1.33 seconds, it would have haunted me to my dying day. Every second counts.

Before I sign off, I have to give a big shout out to my man John Hunt. A year ago at this time, after years of trying, he finally convinced me to come and see him so he could get me in a better position on the time trial bike. I finally listened and after he made some major changes, I now have two National Time Trial jerseys. Oh yeah, he just had surgery on Monday to repair a hip he broke a few years ago. Thanks John and here's to a speedy recovery!

Nationals 2011...hurt so good.

2011-06-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

My whole season has come down to this one moment, Nationals. All of my hard work and training leads up to these races. It is a test of strength, ability, and knowledge. You are racing with many junior racers you have never seen before, everyone is a threat. You hope and assume that your coach has brought you to the highest peak so you will be at top form at Nationals. This is how I view Nationals, my 2011 Nats were bittersweet, but my encounters unavoidable.

Day 1, the Road Race. Usually road races are 50-80 miles, well not when you're 14! My race was 33km. Shorter than the elite criterium and the U23. I headed over to the road race course getting pumped for my efforts in the race. I was riding around the course surveying the turns and the straightaway to the finish. I roll up to the loading zone, 20 minutes prior to my race start. There was already half the field! We jumped out of the loading zone, I stuck out my elbows and darted to the start/finish line. I managed a top spot on the line. The group and I sat there for about 10 minutes. I tried to control my breathing and give my legs as much oxygen as possible. 3...2...1... and we're off! The first lap I felt really good, the field was on every single move. We blasted through the finish to see 2 to go. I led up the climb after the finish and through the tight turns. I tried for a breakaway once again, but nothing got away. It was approximately 1.2km to the finish I was sitting 2nd wheel following one of the most recent attacks. The rider cuts to the right, takes out my front wheel and I'm on the ground. Kids after kids riding into my chest and falling on top of me. I lay there for a second, get up and walk off the pain. My bike was wrecked, my National Road Race was wrecked. I assessed the bodily damage, and nothing was internally hurt. My shifter was broken, the rear Zipp 303 I was riding was broken, I couldn't go on. I see down the road a big man, with a strut like Larry Nolan. It was Larry! Who almost walked a mile to make sure I was okay. Lots of road rash and tire marks/bruises on my chest. I got a ride to medical where they cleaned me up. You always know when your teammates love you when they are told to go away from medical because they are crowding. I love you guys. I walked over to the van, got in and we started to drive away from the course where my skin was left. We did a little adventure! Off-roading in the team van, made me laugh quite a bit. I knew that for some reason that wasn't my race to win. I told Larry, "Jesus did not want me to win today, he wanted me to win the next day, and the day after the next day!" I definitely think that my attitude affected my TT, quite a bit. When everything looks or seems for the worse, brush it off your shoulder and hope for the best the next day. I was not completely disappointed about the RR, I still had two more days to receive a jersey. I went to sleep, on my right side hoping I would not ruin the bed sheets with my fresh-cut wounds.

Day 2, the Time Trial. My second race was the time trial, my specialty. For most of the day I hung out around the house. Awaiting my TT, awaiting the pain that I ride for. It was about 2 hours before my race, I did about 30 minutes of complete spin to open up my legs from the day before. Then I rested. It was about an hour to go to my start and I started my warm-up. I was in the zone. The pain of the day before seemed to slip away. I was ready to do what I do best. I was in the start gate. 10......5...4...3...2...1 and I was off on the most excruciating 10km of my season. It had big rollers with a nice descent that followed. I maintained the same ratio I had over the flats, on the climbs and clicked it up to my hardest gear and flew down the descents. I was in deep trance to catch my 30 second man. The gap kept closing, I kept going faster. I started my final kilometer of my TT and railed to the finish, catching my 30 second man on the line. My time was 13:35. The closest time was 13:41, and still one rider to finish. The last rider comes through with a time slower than mine. I am National Champion. I become swarmed by Matt, Larry, and my coach Felicia. I saw a tear come from my Mom's eye as well as Larry and I. It is the best feeling in the world to win such a title for a sport you are so passionate about, and to win after the worst luck the day before the TT. I think it was staying positive that helped me win, and the ability to shut out all pain that could have let me lose the race. I am just about the happiest kid alive.

Day 3, the Crit. I did my normal routine, ate breakfast made by the one and only Mrs. Nolan! I acquired all my stuff and headed over to crit course. I warmed up and watched the other races go down. It was now my turn to race. They called me up to the line, I had a top spot. My race started, there were many early attacks. I had to really dig to respond to those attacks, I lost my pop after the TT. There was an attack with 12 to go that really lasted for about 5 laps. I gambled. Following my contenders attempts to bring it back. It didn't last. I sat in to respond to attacks rather than attacking myself. I waited for the sprint. It was 1 to go! We sped around the course we were about to embark into the 3rd turn only 400m from the finish. I had fourth wheel, there were 3 kids competing for 5 wheel. All of a sudden my rear wheel locks up and I skid for about 20m. I did not go down, but dragged my competitor. His bike was tangled in my frame. My rear wheel lost about 4 spokes and my frame was cracked. I was pulling pieces of tape and hood out of my rear wheel. I noticed the blood on my bar tape, no idea where it came from! My crit was also ruined by something unavoidable. I was in perfect position to sprint. Oh well, I still brought home one jersey, in the race of truth. It was bittersweet. 2 DNF's and one win, but I have 4 more years to attempt to claim the title in the Criterium or Road Race. I can't wait for next year! Thanks for reading. I also wanted to thank the team and anyone else involved for making this a great experience. Again, thanks for reading.

-Jack Maddux

Nationals 2011

2011-06-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

I got into Augusta, GA on June 22nd; just 1 day before the National Time Trial. I got off the plane, jumped in the car, and drove straight to the team housing. Team housing was great and I can't thank enough to Susan O'Donnell for all her work to stay at these nice houses that were right near every course. I got to the house and immediately got dressed and drove out the the TT course. I slept on the way over there and didn't want to ride at all. I got out on the course and got in a good rythm and was wide awake. I liked the course and was excited for the next day.

It was bright and early and my group (17/18) were 1st up. The humid air hit all of us as we warmed up on our trainers and rollers and even with ice on our backs, we were still melting. I got out on course and felt good compared to most TT's that I've done. I ended up placing 34th out 108 riders and I was satisfied enough with that result considering that I got there a day before.

The criterium was the next day and I was the guy for everyone to work for in the 50km race. It was fast from the start; as expected and it was hard to move up. We had guys follow all sorts of attacks but nothing was getting away or getting more than 10 seconds. Unfortunately, an attack went in the closing laps and we missed it. We started to set up for a field sprint, so I had Jeff Perrin help me move up into position for the sprint (he crashed bad earlier in the crit and still managed to help lead me out). Hot Tubes came up right before turn 3 and I jumped on their train and sprinted to a 6th place overall (3rd in field).

We had a rest day before the road race but it was still an early start at 8am. It was only 95km long but it was sure to be a tough race. We were up there in almost every big attack and it looked to be a field sprint with only 10 miles to go. That is until 2 guys got up the road and I realized it was a Hot Tubes guy and nobody was chasing. I attacked out of the group through a small hole where only few could fit through and was able to bridge solo right away. We worked together for 4 miles or so but that's when I realized I couldn't keep doing those kinds of pulls if I wanted to win a National Championship. I took a short pull and got yelled at; I took a pull off completely to catch my breath and really got yelled at. Eventually, the non-Hot Tubes rider kept riding and the Hot Tubes rider sat on me while I was waiting for just to pull through so that I can catch my breath but instead he attacked me to bridge back up to the other rider. I didn't have the jump at the time and went onto time trial mode trying to chase them back. I was averaging 28-30mph trying to catch back up to them but I just stayed at 10 seconds behind then. The field was also charging hard, trying to catch the lonely 2 up the road and myself trying to chase. There's a hill that lasts for 600 meters in the last 1.2km and at 800 meters to the line I got caught by the field and my chances at podium and top 3 and possibly winning were over. Marcus went on to finish strong for 8th place.

Overall, it was a good trip for the team as Jack Maddux won his TT in his age group (13/14) and we had a couple other podiums. I would like to thank all the parents that came out and put their time and hard-earned money to let us race our bikes to have the chance to win a National Championship. I would especially want to thank Darryl and Tania Smoth as the adults for the house I was in as they everything organized and everything was smooth. I also want to thank Larry, Wyatt, Steve, Fred, all of our sponsors, and anyone else who contributed to this amazing trip and experience. I'm looking forward to returning to Augusta next year for U23 Nationals!

Thank you for reading.

--James LaBerge

(written at Augusta Regional Airport)

Nationals Countdown - 10 Days To Go!

2011-06-13T23:47:00.001-07:00

Ten days away from the start of the 2011 USA Cycling Junior Road National Championships in Augusta, Georgia. Fourteen teammates in total and we’re highlighting our 5th athlete in this blog.

Dean Haas (racing age 17), hometown: Lakewood, CO, 1st year with Team Specialized

Dean caught everyone’s attention when he pulled in the fastest climbs at the USA Cycling National Camp in October 2010. USA Cycling coaches use these two tests to gauge a riders development and to peg them with a power to weight ratio (at this one a point in time). Thankfully Dean had already caught the attention of Team Specialized masters teammate Billy Innes while Billy was directing the USA Cycling National Team in Belgium during the summer of 2010. We invited Dean to join our team. He's been a solid addition to our squad.

Similar to a professional team our juniors may not have a teammate to ride and race with. Unfortunately, Dean is about a thousand miles away from his teammates. This fact tests the motivation of a teammate and forces one to change and adapt to new routines. Think about that for a minute. Would you put in as many miles as you do today if your favorite ride or best friend just wasn’t there for you? Would you start up a new ride? Move on to new friends?

Dean spent a little over two weeks racing in Europe in May 2011 with the USA Cycling National Program and learned just how passionate (and fast) the Europeans are. It’s been fun for me to see his confidence and drive return. I'm confident that he’ll be a threat in the road race and criterium in Augusta.

Good luck in Augusta Dean Haas! Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Director

Nationals countdown - 11 days to go!

2011-06-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Eleven days until the 2011 USA Cycling Junior Road National Championships in Augusta, Georgia. Teammate number four of 14 as we count down to the first day of championships.

Matt Valencia (racing age 15), hometown: Los Altos, CA, 2nd year with Team Specialized

Matt Valencia brings a lot of attention to the team, and not always in a good way. Let me explain. Matt is one of the youngest and smallest riders on our team. He races often. Eighty times in 2010 and 37 so far this year. He often races with his category 3 peers, which is to say very few are 15 years old, most are in their twenties. Well, when a junior rider is completely comfortable in the middle of the pack of riders going through tight corners at 30 miles per hour it offends riders that have been trying to perfect these skills for so many years. The truth is, adults don’t mind competing with children, they just don’t want to lose to them!

Thankfully, Matt is gracious when he beats them to the line, as he often does! Matt has enough points to upgrade, he's just waiting for that big win.

For our team, we want to see our juniors get comfortable in large packs of riders, we want them to race often so they gain as much experience as possible and we want the juniors to be gracious when they win, place or get dropped.

Matt is heading to Augusta with a solid confidence. He medaled twice at the 2010 Road Nationals, and is the current Track National Champion. He also has helped to execute perfect teamwork with Diego and Phil. We’re looking forward to the show!

Good luck in Augusta Matt Valencia! Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Director

Nationals countdown - 12 days to go

2011-06-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Twelve days before the 2011 USA Cycling Junior Road Nationals in Augusta, Georgia begin. We’re taking a closer look at the fourteen teammates that make up Team Specialized over the final two weeks leading up to Nationals.

Diego Binatena (racing age 15), hometown: Playa Del Rey, CA

Diego Binatena attended the 2010 USA Cycling West Coast Development and Talent Identification Camp. As the camp manager/ head coach Diego quickly caught my attention. Diego can climb like an angel, and sprint like a demon. This is a powerful combination to take into any event. His time trialing has improved so much over the past year that he is catching the attention of all of his rivals. Seeing his time trialing improve is not a big surprise to us as we witnessed his solo breakaway victory at the Sea Otter road race. That was impressive!

Diego is generally a quite person in a large group. When you get to know Diego you realize how thoughtful and analytical he is. He can replay specific details of the last lap of any event he’s done and is always appreciative of his teammates. In fact, Diego, Phil, Jack and Matt have shown impeccable teamwork when they raced together at Valley of the Sun, San Dimas and Sea Otter.

Team Specialized believes in learning from your race experience. Do a lot of racing and you will gain more experience than one would simply talking about racing. Live the experience. In that regard, we also love to see riders prioritize races. We’ve been working on this with Diego. You see, he wants to win every race he enters! We love that about a rider, but to best prepare for the important races we want to see work on specific skills and tactics in less important races. For Diego it turns out to be a relief because he was putting pressure on himself to win every race. Better to learn a new trick every event and have fun than to be disappointed in losing more than you win (a harsh reality of our sport).

For Nationals we are looking forward to seeing what Philip, Diego and Matt can do against eight Garmin Holowesko teammates and 100 other top USA riders. Sacrifice for the good of the team and the ability to deliver the win are of high importance with our team. We look forward to the show!

Good luck in Augusta Diego Binatena! Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Director

Nationals Countdown - 13 days to go

2011-06-10T23:14:00.001-07:00

Thirteen days until USA Cycling Junior Road Nationals and we’re rotating through the fourteen riders that make up the 2011 Team Specialized junior squad. Youngest to oldest. On to the 15-16’s

Philip O’Donnell (racing age 15), hometown: Suwanee, GA

I met Phil less than an hour after his winning the 2010 USA National Criterium Championship. The team was at the 13-14 year old criterium cheering for Jack Maddux and Matt Valencia. The two put on a show taking 7th and 5th place. We were celebrating over dinner in Bend, Oregon when Matt introduced us to Phil, who had wanted to talk to us about our program and 2011. Team captain Andrew Lanier Junior grilled Phil but he was unfazed and still wanted on the team. Think about that. We have this 23 year old professional and masters program, and a new junior program and this 14 year that has just won his 2nd national championship title of the 2010 Junior Road Championships wants to join out team! Not too long after that meeting we learn that Phil’s mother helped to publish the “Coaching Junior Cyclists” book. Think about that. The O’Donnell’s wrote the book on Junior cycling and they want to join Team Specialized!

Phillip has been a pleasure to work with. Firstly, Phil is highly motivated. Being on Team Specialized can mean that teammates do not live near you. Just like a professional cyclist, the onus is on Phil to stay connected to friends and group rides that will push him to new heights. Secondly, Georgia is a popular place to ride, but the junior numbers are relatively low. Our team asks its juniors to compete with their category peers because the larger field sizes help to prepare the riders for international racing.

On the bike, Phil is a rare “triple threat” in that he can sprint, time trial and climb. He also carries a calm leadership in him that helps to bring out the best qualities in his teammates. Not only has he proven himself in team events at Valley of the Sun, San Dimas and Sea Otter, but he’s been racing with the pros in the south which have helped to get Phil ready for Nationals in his home state of Georgia. Everyone that supports the team wishes you well Phil!

Good luck in Augusta Philip O’Donnell! Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Director

Nationals countdown - 14 days to go

2011-06-09T16:21:00.001-07:00

Fourteen days until USA Junior Road Nationals begins. We have fourteen juniors on our squad. One day at a time, I’d like to introduce you to my young teammates and share some of the experiences I have enjoyed with them. I’ll start with our youngest teammate.

Jack Maddux (racing age 14), hometown: Fresno, CA

Jack joined Team Specialized in 2010. His 2nd place in the individual time trial at Junior Nationals in 2009 in the 10-12 age-group caught the attention of our team, but it was Jack that sought us out. After meeting Jack and his family, it was easy to see that taking initiative came naturally to him. I share this with you because reaching for what you want is a strong characteristic common to all good cyclists. Jack’s tenacity on the bike and his willingness to listen and learn from his teammates off the bike is exactly what we are looking for in young recruits.

Jack’s personality helps to define our team. It’s obvious to outsiders that our team works hard and has fun. We can always count on Jack to play both roles. On the bike, Jack has had a dramatic 2011 racing season. He did some cross racing and put in some good base miles in the winter, including long drives to Fremont in January to mentor new racers in the Early Bird Crit Training Series (thank you Maddux family!). At the first race of the year he got caught up in a crash and was banged up internally. If that was not enough, a car broadsided him a few weeks later. He lost his Specialized SL2 and broke the driver’s front windshield! Thankfully, Jack bounces back. Since March, he’s made great strides in his confidence, strength, speed, position in the field and ability to read a race. He’s worked hard with his time trialing, his position on his Specialized Transition and went on to win his third consecutive California state time trial championship.

Good luck in Augusta Jack Maddux! Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Director

OUT OF THE SEAT...ON TO THE PODIUM!

2011-06-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I remember my first crit race last year…I hung in okay and placed 4th in the Jr. 13/14 race. After the race my parents mentioned that I never got off of the seat to sprint for the finish. Looking at photos, sure enough they were right! I was down on the seat while my competitors were standing on the pedals, out of the seat and sprinting. In the following weeks I practiced standing up and sprinting on training rides or whenever I thought of it. This was working okay but my mom suggested that I should go to the track for some high speed cross training. So we went down to the track and signed up with Track Coach, Tim Roach. I borrowed my neighbor's track bike and started riding the track on Monday and Wednesday nights.

The track is different than the road. The bikes have no brakes and you cannot coast. They call it fixed gear. After a couple of sessions of basic training I was given the okay to participate in the nightly group warm up of 40 laps or so. After the warm up we would do various exercises from sprint training to intervals to time trialing and mock races.

Keep in mind I went to the track to improve my sprint but found out the track is really a lot of fun and a great workout. I increased my top-end speed, developed a smoother pedal stroke and improved my bike handling skills. Sure enough with my new found track workouts, I was able to sprint for wins in local races, sometimes with total dominance. Especially for crit racers, there is no better training for the road than racing on the track. Bottom line is, if you ride the road you should ride the track, and if you ride the track you should ride the road. Fast forward to 2011, I’m still training at the track and winning some crits and road races thanks to cross training at the track.

See you at the track….

Diego Binatena

Dunlap TT

2011-06-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the NCNCA (Nor cal/Nevada) State Time Trial Championships in Davis, CA. It was raining the night before but luckily the rain held up while we did our TT's. Jack Maddux was 1st in the 13/14 age group and won! Congrats to him as he has been on a tear this year so far. Next up was Matt Valencia in the 15/16 group and finished in 2nd. 2 straight podiums and it was up to us, the 17/18's to deliver another win and state championship to the team. Chris, myself, and Andrew were up 1st going that order respectively. Andrew had a fast time and ended up finished 3rd and Chris and I finished 10th and 9th, respectively. Marcus and Torey were up next and they both posted some really fast times. Marcus came in to finished 5th, and Torey had the fast time of the day and won! Overall, we cam away with 6 victories at Dunlap TT including wins in the p/1/2, masters 35+, 45+, and 55+! It's great to such winning style by the team and I'm glad to be apart of it because National Championships are coming up and that's our end goal.

On Saturday, Marcus Smith raced at Dash for cash by himself in the wet weather and braved himself to a 9th place and earned him $100 for being the 1st U23 accross the line. Congrats Marcus! With nationals coming up soon, it's great to see our strengths starting to come out.

Thank you for reading,

James LaBerge

They must be on drugs…

2011-06-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

...the cows, they are so big in Belgium, they MUST be on something…

Now back to what I was originally going to write about, my trip to Europe with the US Junior National team. I set off to Europe on a Monday morning. The travel day went as smoothly and hassle-free as possible. All was good as I arrived in beautiful, sunny, warm Brussels. It even said gullible on the ceiling of the airport! In all seriousness, it was a typical Belgian day, cold, wet and cloudy. I met up with other juniors that had been invited on the trip. Dean Haas, my friend and teammate from Team Specialized, Ben Wolfe from one of the states on the east coast that isn’t New York so I could never remember it, Austin Boswell from a place where they shoot animals to feed themselves (Bend OR), Eric Volotzky from one of those small cities by LA that isn’t LA and where there are always wildfires, and Kristo Jorgenson from that place up north where they grow potatoes (Boise ID).

Now that we know who I spent nearly three weeks living and sleeping with, let me tell you how the actual trip was. Racing in Europe is literally having someone else’s’ handlebars brushing up your hind side and a crash/some kind of traffic furniture/attack/150 guys in front of you at all times. Sounds fun!

The first race we started was “3 Ettapen de Rundfarht”. This was started off with an 8km time trial through a park near Frankfurt. With 3 turnarounds and 5 turns, this sure seemed like a tough little course. I finished around 50^th on the day. Not very satisfied, I was greatly looking forward to the next day, a 113km road race with approximately 5,000 feet of climbing. (I must have overlooked the climbing part to be so excited about it). Unfortunately that was not a fantastic day for me either; I got dropped going over the cat. 1 climb around half way through and rolled into the finish with a gruppetto. Now would again be a good time to state that gruppettos are not really easy. In order to make time cut, we non-climbers still have to go pretty hard throughout the remainder of the stage. Now to the final stage, a 100km or so out and back road race with only two cat. 3 climbs, not too bad, except for the rain. By that time, I started to get acclimated to the feeling of racing in Europe I sat pretty well that day and finished with the pack.

The second race we did was “Driedegaase van Axel”. Another 3 day race, this time in Holland, with testing factors such as cobbles, massive crosswinds and extremely narrow roads. Excited about racing in such conditions that would suite my strengths more as a “rouleur”, I readied myself for stage one, a hectic 120 kilometers with six sections of cobblestones, the first one coming just within 8 kilometers of the beginning. I finished in the top 60 on that day, unsatisfied again but it was an improvement. Unfortunately, that day had taken a lot out of me and I never felt as sharp or fresh the remainder of the stages.

In the end I was proud of being able to race at such high level races in Europe and being given the opportunity to do so was exceptional. The amount you are forced to self-teach while racing in such tough, fast and arduous races is second to none. I am able to bring all the knowledge back here to the United States, and with nationals just around the corner, I could not feel anymore ready to succeed. Hopefully I will be given more opportunities to keep moving up in the cycling scene and return to my home continent in the near future.

Finally, I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped make this trip possible and ran it as smooth as possible. Ben Sharp for giving me the opportunity to race in Europe, Viggo (soigneur) for always being there at the races and around the house for just about anything we needed including massages! Aaron Fairley and Andrew Haggerty for being great mechanics and van drivers, and Nicole for making us some incredible meals while we were at the house! At last but not least, I would like to recognize Billy Innes. The amount of work and time he put in the make sure everything went perfectly and all of us need not to worry about a thing was amazing. Even when we ran into trouble that was out of everyone’s control (top secret story, will divulge in return for money) he kept his cool and still managed to get us to the race almost seamlessly.

Thanks for reading!

-David Benkoski

Going Up

2011-06-05T20:00:00.001-07:00

In Northern California our bike racing season is really long. We start competing in January after months of training and preparation. With a little luck we’ll race through August and into September before shutting it down for a break.

Junior riders look for early race successes and the opportunity for a selection to the US National Team abroad. Mid-season (now) means District Championships and in a few weeks, Nationals. For masters this is pushed out even further with Districts in June and August, and Nationals in early September followed by Worlds.

Such a racing schedule means it’s nearly impossible to have good, let alone peak, fitness for the duration. Cushing early season races is great for confidence but brings the risk of being too good too early, and flat later in the year when it really counts. Conversely, going out and getting beaten over and over in the season’s opening weeks is as challenging as the hardest workout, and requires an unwavering discipline to keep moving forward without losing motivation.

Over the past couple weeks we’ve seen hard work and patience pay off. The juniors have won District road race, crit and TT championships as well as taken top podium honors at nearly every other race contested. All this bodes well with Nationals just around the corner, where the culmination of fitness, confidence, racing skill and patience will pay off.

-Chris Lyman, masters teammate

Got competition?

2011-06-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

I sent a note to the masters encouraging them to share more stories on their racing -and- I gave them an update on the 2011 results: 35 wins for the juniors, 15 wins for the masters. Oh, that must have gotten under their skin because the masters went out and won the P/1/2, M35, M45 and M55 events at the Dunlap time trial today!

Chris Lyman 1st P/1/2 and 1st M35; Craig Roemer 2nd P/1/2 and 1st M45; Kevin Metcalfe 3rd P/1/2 and 2nd M45; Rob Anderson 1st M55.

Add in the NCNCA district championship rides by Torey (17-18) and Jack (13-14) and we had six wins in one day!

Of course, a time trial is all about putting out YOUR best effort and less about the placing (really!) so a big congratulations to Chris Laberge (10th place and 32 seconds faster than 2010); James Laberge (9th place and 16 seconds faster than 2010); Marcus Smith (5th place and 55 seconds faster than 2010); Andrew Lanier (3rd place with a 42 second improvement); Matt Valencia (2nd place). Congratulations to all for some big efforts in the "race of truth"

Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Europe Trip 2, 3 Ettapen de Rad, Frankfurt, Germany.

2011-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Back on the plane after 10 days at home is a shock. Jet lag never left my brain and hangs over me like wet scarf, but I’ll have to hit the ground running even though I get in a day before the riders. David Benkoski is on this trip, which will be his first time racing in Europe, along with Erik Volotsky, Kristo Jorgenson (both already in Izegem), Dean Haas, Austin Boswell, and Ben Wolfe. The guys are registered for two 3day races: 3 Ettapen de Rad in Frankfurt, Germany, and Driedaagse Van Axel in Zeeland, Netherlands. Both are well known junior races that will quickly sort out the best riders.

After a few days of good jet lag removing training Aaron F. (mechanic) and Viggo C. (soigneur) packed up the White Sprinter with all of our gear, which was extensive, and headed over to Koblenz, Germany for a night in a hotel. This would leave us a small drive time to Frankfurt the morning of the first stage. Spirits were high and the dinner at the hotel was excellent, even though we’d used the wrong bowls for salad. The waitress was visibly perturbed, but we’re not from there, so…

Of course, the following morning the Sprinter wouldn’t start and after a moment (or 5) of panic we adapted, got the boys into Seal Team 6 mode, stripped down gear and went light. Viggo went to talk to the hotel manager, who went above and beyond to help us. We packed only the bare essentials and the entire team into the Passat and drove slow to the Hostel where all the teams were staying. Viggo and Aaron dealt with the Sprinter mechanic who showed up to diagnose the van and the team and I hoped for the best. I crossed everything I could cross, for luck.

The other team directors asked me where all our gear was, where the van was, where our soigneur and mechanic were and I explained the situation. “Oy yoy yoy, this is not possible.” they said. “Oh, very possible” I replied, “But it’ll work out.” I told them. Secretly I was a mess, but what can you do? Just keep calm and cycle on, right? The guys got settled into their rooms, they ate lunch, I attended the director’s meeting, had more coffee and still no word from Aaron or Viggo. It was time to go, so we packed up our gear once more, stuffed ourselves into the Passat and headed over to the TT course.

The guys unpacked their kit and prepared to race when I got a phone call from Aaron explaining that it was a bad ‘O’ ring in the fuel line and they were on their way. 4 hours and 400 Euro later the big white sprinter appeared out of the forest, kicking up a cloud of dust as she came vaulting over the lot, just as the course was closing. There was an overwhelming sense of calm that spread amongst the guys. Maybe the trip was looking up after all!

The time trial was a short effort around a park that was just outside the Frankfurt airport-about a 12’ effort. Time trials in Europe are staged so each director can follow their riders one at a time, in a team sequence with about 10 minutes between sets of riders. After the first round it flows very well but it still takes all day to do. TT’s are a draining affair. Warm ups, spread across the bulk of the day, riders going, coming in, checking bikes, checking times, checking race radio, talking to the riders, getting guys into and out of the car, eating something, finding a place to pee, wishing success, and off we go! Blast out of the start gate, down the ramp, right turn, straight, honk the horn, scream out the window, 180 turn, get the car sideways, blast back up to your rider, megaphone from another team car, two honks-you’re below 45kph, speed up, right, traffic furniture, 180, straight, find that 14, watch the bump, faster, 180, hard right, chicane, through the trees, horn blaring, right, hard left, watch the dust and gravel, sprint finish. Repeat x 6.

Kristo posted the best time and now he sat in 9th, just a handful of seconds behind the leader. The guys did extremely well, considering the stress of not knowing what was to become of our van and I was pleased with their calmness throughout.

Pack up, drive back for dinner, wait for results and ponder strategies for the next day over another cup of coffee.

Billy Innes - USA Cycling 17-18 Juniors Director Sportif / Team Specialized Masters

Racing in the Rain (Almost)

2011-06-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

On June 4th I was signed up to race the Cat. 1/2/3's race, at 2:45, at the Dash for Cash Criterium in Pleasanton, CA. In the years before, when we go to this race, the worst it has gotten has been light sprinkles and mid to high 60's. This year was not like any years before, in that the weather report was low 60's and 90% chance of rain. But, at around 9:00, my older brother, younger brother, and my dad drove to Santa Rosa, Ca to buy a car for my older brother. When they left my dad told me to get the bikes ready to go so that when they get back we could all leave right away. I finished getting the bikes cleaned, wheels on, and lunch packed at about 10:00. I sat around the house for the next three and a half hours, until I got a phone call from my older brother. He said they were still filling out paper work and they were not going to make it in time to make the races. So, I decided to unpack all the things I had already packed up many hours earlier. This took a long time because I was so bumbed-out that I was not going to race with my teammate Marcus Smith. An hour into my unpacking I realized that the next day was Dunlap Time Trial in Davis ,Ca, and Marcus was signed up for that race as well. I got so happy I almost threw the bananas into the freezer. The rest of my day was happy and I was in Davis in no time.

Europe

2011-06-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wake up at 8 am. Jump out of my bed. Eat my muesli and yogurt for breakfast. Ride at 10. Chill for the rest of the day. A usual day in the National Team House in Izegem, Belgium. This was a great experience for me to be on the junior national team. I raced with 5 other team mates, Austin Boswell, Kristo Jorgenson, Erik Volotzky, Ben Wolfe and Team Specialized's very own David Benkoski. We raced the 3-Ettapen Rundfahrt Frankfurt, Germany and the Driedaagse van Axel, Netherlands.

Europe really is a different place; the food the culture and the customs are different than ours in the United States. The biggest thing I found that was different was the roads. Although they still drive on the right side of the road, I found the road to be extremely confusing which I have to say is a good thing I wasn't driving! I found myself very confused most of the time in Europe surrounding simple things like roads. Pasta, bread and oats in different form became a staple of my diet (not that they aren't already). During my stay at the hostel in Frankfurt I had pasta for every meal for three days straight and I actually got sick of it! Europe all and all is a great place to visit and I found it a huge honor to be invited to race there. Staying at the house is really a great lifestyle. Your only obligations are to ride your bike, eat and do an occasional load of laundry. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to race across the pond! I want to thank USA Cycling and Team Specialized Racing for making my Euro trip possible!
-Dean

The Perfect Race

2011-05-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

It has been said that there is no such thing as a perfect race. There are always things that can be done better or slight changes that could change the outcome of a race. Well, at the Panoche District Championships there wasn't much that we could have done to have a better race.
The team was in complete control of the 105km race from start to finish We all worked for Torey to win solo. And as the race turned out thats exactly what happened. Team Swift launched an attack going into a strong cross wind section, Torey covered it and since we put the whole field in the gutter the field was shattered and none of us were going to chase Torey. After the turn around Alistar attacked, I followed. Marcus was trying hard to bridge to Torey and Swift's John Piasta. When Torey went past us after the turn around alone I knew we had won the race. With Marcus on his way to John and just behind them Alistar and myself we clearly had the right odds if for some reason Torey was brought back. With Torey well out front the first chase group of four including, Marcus Smith and myself, we just followed the attacks doing little work all the way to the finish. I led the sprint into the last 500m when Alistar was the first to jump I was on his wheel when John came past me with Marcus right on his heels.
Although a podium sweep would have been great we raced this race exactly how we had planned it. With Torey winning Marcus in third and me in fourth it was a very good day for Team Specialized!

Thanks for reading,

Willy Zellmer

Team Specialized

2011-05-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

I moved out to Northern California from Colorado a month and a half ago to get in some warm California racing! I got a small studio apartment with the help of my parents in downtown Palo Alto. I was a bit nervous because I have never lived by myself before. Being out here living by myself I didn't know many people, and didn't know any rides or races. One of the best aspects about it has been the support of everyone within the Team Specialized organization. A team parent said to me at a race this past weekend "What would you do without me". And it's true without out the continued support of the riders, management and team parents I would not have known what to do. The team structure is incredible and has helped me more than words can describe.

Auburn Classic Criterium...A criterium, not to miss out on.

2011-05-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

This last weekend my Mom and I ventured out toward Wente, then to Auburn. Auburn was the best, everything turned out just right for my teammates and I. The junior race was a team trial for Andrew, Torey, Matt and I, but definetely a good thing to get used to the course and test your abilities in the swooping turns. We started the 3s which contained Chris Laberge, Matt, and I. It was pretty fast the first 2 laps, with weak attacks. There was an attack on the backside which I followed and countered. I was off solo, soo early in the race. I asked myself, "Can I do this?". I went all out, no guts, no glory; I went as hard as possible really drilling the backside knowing I would be rewarded with a descent. Every lap I tested my abilities through the turn and gained time every lap. 12 grusome laps alone, it was now one to go. I went even harder on both climbs of the race, and completed my last downhill to coast into the finish, arms raised giving glory to God. I had no enthusiam after I did my victory salute and jumped off my bike, my energy was gone. Nothing left. I couldn't have done it without my teammates Chris and Matt. Larry always states, "Solo'ing to a win is glorious!". I felt the glory going into the finishing straight away, Larry does not lie it feels great! Larry's words of encouragement on the last lap made me laugh, even though I barely could. Great weekend for the Specialized crew, Auburn is definetely a race to return to, the course fits many of our riders. Maybe it was my early birthday present, and brand new, bright red SL3 always gets you in race mode, thank you Specialized. The bike handled very well, I couldn't ask for more. Congrats to everyone else who raced well this weekend. I owe all of it to my teammates.

Jack Maddux

Copperopolis and Easter Sunday Classic

2011-04-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Copperopolis, a race that is known for having really bumpy roads. I decided to race with the category 3's instead of the juniors 15-16. On the first lap, the field was riding at a decent pace but riders were getting popped off the back on the first climb. After the second climb, my seat post started to slip. I didn't have any tools with me, so I had to pull it back up as far as I could hoping it wouldn't slip again. There were no attacks on the second lap, but a group of three riders got away on the flat section of the course. They had a minute gap from the field because no one wanted to chase them. On the first climb of the third lap, we hammered it up again and most of the field got dropped leaving about fifteen riders. The field wasn't getting any closer to the break until the last lap. One of the riders from the break dropped the other two riders and we were able to catch one of them on the flat section. We were coming up on the last climb, when the field split again. The group that I was in was able to catch back up on the descent. I was getting ready for the field sprint when we caught the other rider from the break. I finished 5th in the field sprint and 6th overall. In the end, there were only about 10 riders left in the group and we started with 50.

Today was the Easter Sunday Classic, a very windy and tricky course with two hairpin turns. A Mike's Bike rider went off the front on the third lap and gap the field. I waited for someone to make the move. One rider jumped and I followed and we caught the Mike's Bike rider. I was then in a break of three and we were all working well together. Our gap was growing and I saw riders were trying to bridge to us but were unsuccessful. Coming into the finish I could not go around the other two riders because of the strong head wind. I ended up finishing 3rd.

Overall, I had a great weekend of racing and I am looking forward to Wente Road Race and Auburn Crit next week.

Matt Valencia

Belgium Adventure

2011-04-19T11:21:00.001-07:00

I am in a very exciting time in my life right now. For two weeks, I get to stay in Belgium and do some of the biggest, most challenging races in the country. I am here racing with the U.S. National team and staying in the town of Izegem. Over the weekend, we did two one day races. The first one was a Kermesse, which is a typical type of Belgian race. It is basically like a circuit race. The whole race was about 60 miles in length and about 90 juniors started. The whole team did well. Matt Lipscomb got an excellent result taking second place, narrowly missing the win. The other guys all finished highly too. For me, I tried going with a risky attack about a mile away from the finish. Unfortunately it did not work and we got caught going up the final climb. The team morale was very high after the race and we were pretty pumped to race the next day.

On Sunday, we had a really big race called GP Bati-Metallo. From what I hear, this is one of the biggest one day races in Belgium with all the best teams and riders going to it. Before the race it was a really cool experience going up to the team presentation and having our team announced. It felt like we were about to be in a pro race. Shortly after that, the race began with about 190 starters. After a short neutral zone, the group just went into an all-out sprint as most races like that do. We went all out for about 20 or so minutes and it settled down a bit. I just sat comfortably in the field for a while and then crashed, but got right back in. After the crash I realized that I should have been closer to the front. It was a pretty good learning experience. When I got back up and got it, I rode closer to the front. Then, the real bad luck came about 1: 40 into the race, when the top bolt on my front bottle cage came loose. It fell down and got stuck in the way of my cranks. This made it so I was unable to pedal and I had to drop back and get a spare bike. By time I got on the spare, the caravan had already passed and that was the end of my race. I was not the only one on my team who had bad luck. Tyler Williams had a flat early on and Matt crashed and got a spare bike but got back into the group. Our other teammate Colby had a very bad accident. He hit a pole and broke his finger and fractured his wrist. Scott, Gregory, and Matt all did well though and finished in good positions. Just finishing that race was an accomplishment. About half the people who started did not finish. Although the team had bad luck, it is a race I will not soon forget.

The next big event for us is the Ster Van Zuid Limburg, a four day stage race here in Belgium. It starts off with a time trial, which I am really looking forward to. There are three road stages after that. After the race ends, I am going home the next day. I will miss it here in Belgium and I hope to go back later in the year.

Kyle Torres

Junior development trip to Belgium

2011-04-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Europe trip #1 by Billy Innes

Izegem, Belgium. This little farm town out in West Flanders is where the USAC cycling house is and where we base most of our 15-16, 17-18 and U23 racing trips. It’s a house full of rooms and bunk beds, bike rooms and wheel holders, and a grand dining table usually full of hungry athletes refueling after a long day in the saddle.
This year I received an email detailing the trips I was heading over for. My first adventure is a two week trip, with a bunch of races consisting of a kermesse, a Junior Interclub (think big, important Junior race), and a 4 day stage race, Ster van Zuid Limburg, then I come home get over jet lag and head back to Belgium 12 days later (but that’s another story).
We’ve got 6 guys ready to compete here and are rearing to go, Gregory Daniel, from Colorado, Matt Lipscomb, from Georgia, Tyler Williams, Kyle Torres and Scotty Stern, from California, and Colby Wait-Molyneux from Washington. It was unfortunate that David Benkoski came down with the flu just prior to this trip and stayed home, but we hope to see him over here on the next trip in early May. All the guys flew over a few days ago, dealt with a bit of jet lag and after a couple of light rides are ready to race. Scotty has been living in Belgium for the last month or so, familiarizing himself with all the subtleties of Belgian racing and he’s become the source of information for the others who haven’t been here yet.
Today is their first race, a kermesse in Geluveld, which is only about 30 minutes from the house, therefore logistically super easy. 15 laps of a 6.2km circuit will make for a quick day, about 2.5 hours and then we’ll be back home eating dinner and preparing for Sunday’s Interclub race. Kermesses are local affairs with a start finish line taped to a road, a beer tent, a casual feed zone and no caravan. They are the most basic of Belgian races, but some of the most difficult to win. Local team politics and where a rider is from can influence a kermesse like nothing else. Imagine there were a lot of races in America, local races that had riders living near or in the towns where they were held. You’d do anything to win in front of your Mom, wouldn’t you? Belgium has this scenario in spades. For example: today, a Saturday, there are 13 races, for different categories, in West Flanders alone. West Flanders is about 1200 square miles, around the same size as Rhode Island.
Sunday’s Interclub race, being held in Pommeroeul, Wallonia (the French speaking region of Belgium, 6600 square miles) is a much larger race and one that resembles our National Championships in terms of size and material, but these races take place around 4 times a month, or more. It will have a managers meeting, free coffee for all who attend (important to me), race bibles, podium girls, flowers, trophies, a feed zone, an extremely hectic caravan, race radio, and a lot of spectators. Suffice it to say that Belgians are used to more in their races than we are back in the States-sometimes on a Wednesday.
Having a house in Europe, as a base of race operations is unbelievably crucial to the development of our athletes, wherever they may land and wherever their careers take them. The lessons learned from racing here go so very far. Parking lot criteriums will not make Olympians.
Much more to come…

R-L: Matt Lipscomb, Colby Wait-Molyneux, Tyler Williams, Gregory Daniel, Kyle Torres, Scott Stern

Team Specialized Racing

2011-04-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I traveled to Upper State New York to race Battenkill. If you are unfamiliar with Battenkill, it is a one day road race through small 'villages' on both paved and dirt roads. In it's 5th year, it is already the biggest one day race in North America.

We don't have any teammates anywhere near New York, but the Team Specialized Racing influence is still strong there. Many competitors came up to me and asked if I knew different teammates around the country who they had raced against. They were always so positive. They usually said something about how strong our teammates are and then about how they talked to them after the race and how nice they were. They asked asked if I had any teammates at the race, because they knew that when we show up with a team at a race, we race as a team. One 17 year old competitor in particular talked about a race where he almost beat Phillip O'Donnell. He was so excited just to finish close to Phillip.

We have worked hard to form a good image of racing hard and being respectful, while also having fun. It was great to see how the image of Team Specialized Racing has spread around the country.

I went into the race hoping to repeat on last year and win, but I had some bad luck. We started the race with 75 17-18s and 50 15-16s all in the same pack. I rode near the front on the climband felt great. We thinned out the field to around 50 riders after 20 miles, but then I went around a turn and hit four pot holes flatting quickly. I continued to ride with the group while waiting for the follow vehicle, but it too far back. I lost the group once we hit some pavement. The support vehicle finally made its way through the shattered groups of riders to me and about 5 other riders. I got a new wheel, but I was already 5 minutes off the pack. I decided to make the best of it and go as hard as I could to the finish. I pulled a shuffling group of other riders for the next 2 hours as we caught and dropped riders. I was disappointed that I was out of the race, but "it's racing" and I had to make the best of my situation.

Marcus

Racing in the South

2011-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend I ventured over to Anniston, AL for the NRC Sunny King Criterium and Foothills Road Race. This race was circled and underlined on my race schedule. The day started off with the Juniors race at 11:30. This years 15-18 year old race started off in 80+ degrees temperatures. Promptly after the start, Frazier Cycling animated the race. I would say that I did 85% of the work to keep these riders with in a reasonable distance. As soon as one of the Frazier riders had been brought back, another one went. After bringing them back several times by myself, I decided to let the next attack dangle; letting me keep them in sight with out killing myself on the front. By the end of the race, I found myself on second wheel coming in to the last turn. This race also solidified my confidence in my sprint; taking the win by a bike length.

The major focus of the day was my category 2 race. The race started with 120 riders on a .6 mile circuit. I was very happy with my race. After about 10-15 minutes of racing, I took off on a solo break. Lap after lap went by with a 5-10 sec gap. Meanwhile, in the field, a 20 person crash happened on turn four. As I came through the home stretch the riders were being let out of the neutral pit! Before I even passed the pit, riders were almost moving at my speed. Those 20 riders filled in the gap between me and the field. At that point, I was not a happy camper. After about 3 laps of rest, I wanted redemption. I chased up to a group of 3 off the front. I restructured their move. Another rider came up to help and we forced the pace, releasing 2 of the original break riders. Another great move with at least 10 seconds or more. Another strong break. This one lasted even longer. But, eventually the field got anxious and brought us back. As a sat in the final 7 laps or so I started setting my self up for the sprint. Coming out of the last turn in a disappointing 15th or so, I managed to make up ground for 7th!

The next day was the Foothills road race. Just looking at the start list and seeing these teams: Kelley Benefit Strategies, Bissell, RealCylist.com, Chipotle, Pure Black Racing, Pista Palace, Kenda, Jamis, Team Type 1, and Mountain Khakis, I knew it was going to be a tough race. The course featured some tough climbing, a climb with switch backs and a speedy descent. I knew what I had predicted was correct; a day in the pain cave. But I stayed strong in the pack, racing with guys who make a living doing this! As we hit the final two miles of flat country roads, dropping off the plateau, the racing was fast. I hung in the draft watching what some will watch on TV during the Tour of California. Teams battling for position, bumping, and surging. In the end, Cole House of RealCylist.com took the win, with me spinning away mid pack with 25th place. I was very happy. The race was one of my proudest cycling moments to date.

Next up for me is Sea Otter Classic where I will reunite with my teammates to throw down an onslaught of fury. Not to mention catching up with sponsors! Come check out the demo bikes from the Specialized tent and drop by the team tent. It is sure to be a fun week!

Turlock Lake RR

2011-04-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today at 8am Kevin Metcalfe, Dean LaBerge and myself hit the starting line for the 1st annual Turlock Lake Road Race. It was going to be a long 107 miles in the middle of nowhere other than a lake. We headed out without talking before the race and knowing that there would be a good possibility of a breakaway getting away with Cal Giant and Kirk Carlsen there. Many people tried to get away and for the ones that did, they were kept on a short leash of no more than 45 seconds. After the 2nd lap of 4, Kevin started bringing out some attacks and the "real race" was getting started.....that is until we were short-noticed by an official as we are barreling towards the turn at 30 mph. We came to an immediate stop and were told that there was an accident and the races had to be stopped. Earlier in our race, there was a nasty crash on the pothole section (luckily we were all up at the front and were safe). We heard that there was a more serious crash from the women's race and 2 medical helicopters had to come in and take them to a local hospital. We laid down on the warm pavement for over an hour, stretching and talking and having fun making jokes. It even got to the point of Kevin and I talking about how we could be blogging at the time about the race while we were stuck for the hour. After the delay, we were able to finally continue our race and oh did my muscles not feel the best after sitting and stretching for an hour and racing for the previous 3 hours. It took a good 1/2 lap to get back into the rhythm of racing again and I felt good. We came into one lap to go as a single group and we knew the last lap was going to be fast. My dad, Kevin, and I were all at some points at the front making attacks, pulling at the front to create gaps and try to pop off anyone. Eventually with about 10 miles to go, Steve Reaney made an attack and the field didn't even move. Kevin immediately went after Reaney and was able to catch him and they started working together. Behind, the field chased the rest of the way to the finish with a couple attacks and eventually Kirk was able to bridge the gap and it was the 3 of them. We closed in on the 3 in the last km and it almost seemed like a bunch field sprint. There were many lead out trains as I hoped from one to another hoping I would find the right one, but didn't. I was finally able to sprint after 107 miles and finished 14th. Kevin got caught and passed with 200 meters to go. This race was proudly presented my Rabobank and they really helped make this have a great venue for being out in the middle of nowhere, so thank you! Hope this race continues next year and see you then!

Thank you for reading.

--James LaBerge

Most Fun Training Ride Ever

2011-04-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, I had no racing going on over the weekend so I headed out for a nice long ride in the hills. I ate a filling breakfast and fueled up with a couple cups of coffee before heading out the door and riding into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was very cold and cloudy outside when I left and after about 15 minutes, it started pouring. There is no better way to keep your body warm than by climbing a hill. Luckily I had a lot of hills on tap for this route. The excitement didn't start until about an hour into the ride when I began climbing the incredibly steep hill, Prospector Road. About halfway up, the side of the road was sprinkled with snow and by the time I got to the top, I was getting pelted with snow and hail. I was staying pretty warm going up the climb but when you go up, you must also go back down. It was now time to start the descent down Marshall Grade into a headwind. The snow and hail was smacking me in the face on the way down the hill. I got to the bottom and immediately found a gas station so I could thaw out a bit. I usually don't like gas station coffee too much but on a day like this, it tasted so good. I felt warm again so I hopped back on my bike and headed back home....into a headwind with an occasional 40+ mph gust! It never stopped raining and the wind only got worse as I rode on. Luckily, my Specialized SL2 handled great on the slick, serpentine descents that I faced on my way home. I finally reached my driveway and rode into the garage. I was drenched, frozen, and exhausted but it was definitely one of the most fun times I've spent on the bike. Torey Philipp

San Dimas Stage Race

2011-03-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend Team Specialized headed to southern California for the San Dimas California. The 14 juniors filled out three fields. Willy Zellmer, Dean Haas, David Benkoski, Andrew Lanier, Marcus Smith ,Torey Philipp and I lined up for the Category 2 field. There were 4 Juniors in the 15/16 field Jack Maddux, Matt Valencia, Diego Binatena and Phil O'Donnell. And in the Junior men 17/18 field we had James Laberge, Chris Laberge and Kyle Torres.

The first stage was a 4 mile uphill time trail averaging about 5%. The fastest time by the team was set by a 14 year old! He did the climb in 14:17 averaging about 16 miles and hour and his ride put him in the leaders jersey. Kyle Torres was not far behind at 14:22 and the team now had 2 leader juniors in the lead of their categories. The category 2's didn't have quite so much success but everyone got some good efforts in.

Saturday was a road race on an 8 mile circuit with a flat finish. All the juniors categories started together and so we had two yellow jerseys in one race. There was a crash early and Phil was caught up in it but the team rallied and came back and got him back to the field. In the field sprint James was second and the team kept both leaders jerseys. In the category 2 field the team patrolled the front but let 2 guys escape on the second lap thinking the race was long and we would get them back. Then the field got neutralized on lap 4 of 8 because we were being passed by the pro field and the lead of the now 4 leaders ballooned. In the sprint David came away with 8th.

The final day was the criterium on a mile "L" shaped course. The junior race was wet and fast. A break of 5 went up the road containing both Phil and Kyle. But with 4 to go Kyle slid out in a corner and crashed. He got to the start and was told he would get the same time as the break who he was with. Phil stayed in the break and they both came away with the overall wins. In the Cat 2 field we attacked and attacked but nothing was going away but it kept the pace fast. We planned to lead out David but when we got burned with still about 2 laps to go. Then on the last lap on the second to last corner someone slid out and forced Marcus, David and I outside the cones and we couldn't get back in the race.

The race was a great race experience for the team. We learned a lot and the team had success.

Local Racing

2011-03-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

My name is Phil O’Donnell. This is my first year on Team Specialized Racing. I’m a little different than the rest of the team though. I live on the east coast about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, Georgia. This weekend I did a local race in Union City, Georgia. Because it is still early in the season and everyone has not gone off in different directions to race, the race actually drew a descent field. Team Type 1 fielded 8 plus riders, not to mention riders from Kenda, Hincapie Devo, and Chemstar Pro cycling.

The racing started Saturday with a short time trial. I ended up winning the Pro ½ TT! This came as a surprise to me because some of these guys done the UCI race in Uruguay a couple of weeks ago. Later in the afternoon was an hour long Crit. I played it cool. Tried to get in a few breaks but after a while I realized nothing was going to stick. I tried to stay consistent on someone’s wheel so I picked Matt Lipscomb, a junior on Hincapie Devo. As the finish approached the bumping increased. The highlight was when a TT1 rider did a “stoppie” in to the 3^rd to last turn. That dropped me back a few spots so in the sprint I had to settle for 15^th.

On Sunday the road race started in downtown and headed out for 73 miles around central Georgia. The race was fairly uneventful. Realcyclist.com rider Oscar Clarke set up a long 5 man break that we did not catch until 5 miles to go. Just like Saturday though most breaks were not sticking. Eventually though a group broke away from the lead group before we caught them. It contained two TT1 riders, Ty Magner and Tanner Putt, and an EDA/Aerocat Procycling rider. The EDA rider took the win followed by Magner and Putt. When the field hit 1 kilometer coming through downtown I hopped on what was left of TT1’s leadout train. Spinning on my junior gears I managed 6^th in the field sprint putting me in 9^th. As of Sunday night the omnium results had not been posted but hopefully I’m still in the top 5.

Great weekend for me! Glad to have the S on my chest. Specialized has been great! Next up for me is San Dimas Stage Race in southern California! Heading out on Thursday to hang out with teammates and race our bikes! Stay tuned…there is much more to come!

-Phil O’Donnell

Racing in the Almond Blooms.

2011-03-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Hey there,
During this past month I have encountered some wonderful racing, which included Merco and Madera Stage Race. Merco GP was a great weekend and experience for me. At the beginning of the season, I had encountered crashes, such as getting hit by an SUV on a training ride, that almost scared me out of the peloton. In the Merco elite 3's crit, I started to get back my assertive racing skills and started riding in the front of the pack. The race started and for about 15 laps I was stuck near the back but managed every lap, to move up at least 1 or 2 spots, By 12 to go I was riding in the top 15, which helped me get the placing I received. 7 to go, Kyle just dropped back to the peloton after being in the break for most of the race, Chris, Matt and I got on the front. Dave Towle was going crazy at the sight of the Specialized train on the front driving the pace. We sat back in the pack, I attacked attempting to bridge to the break at 7 to go. I made the break with one other guy and start doing my share of work to keep us away from the peloton. Bell lap and the finish came down to the sprint, my legs were wrecked after bridging to the break; I finished 7th, being the last of the breakaway. Matthew finished a fine 8th place,winning the bunch sprint. I was extremely happy with my results and wanted to do another 3's race after regaining my confidence in the peloton.

The following day was the Merco Almond Blossom Road Race. There were disappointments to my race. At about 18 miles into the first lap of the road race, my teammate Kyle got a flat. Matt and I stopped to assist him and to help him chase back to the peloton. The follow car was far behind so Kyle told Matt and I to go. It was hard efforts to get back in the pack, but we made it. Matt and I were in fine position after the feed zone, then I started to hear the disappointing sound of my front wheel losing air. I flatted on the 2nd lap! I waited for my replacement wheel and back to the car. I agreed that Saturday's race made up for the losses in the road race. This was my hardest race of the year, but I grew and learned through it. I can't wait for next year.

This last weekend I woke up in the early morning excited to race in beautiful Madera. I was ready for a world of hurt in the mornings time trial. I started my warm-up after watching the successful attempt by teammate Marcus, to flatten the coins under the train on the railroad tracks, which were on the other side of the road. That's one to go in the scrapbook. I was extremely warmed up for my time trial and eager for the pain cave. 5,4,3,2,1 go! And I was off, reaching high speeds due to a nice tail wind. A right turn, I came blazing in and accelerated out of the turn, getting back in rhythm. Then another right turn where we came onto a false flat which was hard after 6 or 7 miles of the time trial. Riding by one of the houses I saw a strange, black, loud animal come running out of the driveway; Time to kick it up 2 gears and get away from the vicious animal! It did get me closer to my 30 second man. I finished, completely dead, grinding in in my 52x14. My final time was 24:07.58. We refueled and headed to the criterium. Matt, Chris and I warmed up with the infamous Lar Bear on the streets of Madera. We came to the start line ready to race. And we were off, all squeezing into the first turn. It was about a 1/4 done and I attacked, getting followed by Cody Tapley, we had a gap but the peloton didn't feel like letting anything go so we were caught and fell back in to the pack. I tried to stay at the front but was gassed by my recent efforts so I sat comfortably in the pack. It was all together now and I knew it was going to be a bunch sprint. I heard the loud bell, "ring ring ring, one to go!". I attacked at full effort, trying to breakaway and get a good place in the race, but I was caught, on the backside of the course in the headwind. Matt and Chris were at the front ready to sprint, Chris 3rd wheel out of the corner, sprinted to a wonderful 2nd place in the 3's field, Matt and I finished in the pack.

The next day was time for the road race, and I couldn't wait for the 68 miles that waited ahead for me. We led through the neutral section, preparing ourselves for the acceleration out of the neutral zone. We were in the front sitting safe, when there was already a break away that had a big gap so me and about 4 other people bridged to the gap, with 3 other riders following. The peloton closed the gap and we sat in the pack for rest. We hit the "Paris Roubaix" section, where I planned to attack and was followed by 3 friends. Unfortunately, we were caught yet again at the end of the "roubaix" section. Now I sat in and waited for the finish. There was a break up the road that had approximately a minute gap on the field. They started the chase, I tried to stay protected out of the wind while the other contenders did the work. It was almost 1 lap to go, Matt flatted! It was now only Chris and I left in the group. We hung on while the group blazed to the finish. I thought my legs might absolutely fall off. I finished with the first group, which put me 16th overall in the GC. I couldn't ask more of my body. All I could say was, "shut up legs!". I am pleased with my recent results and am ready to kill it at the next stage race. See everyone in San Dimas in 2 weeks.
-Jack Maddux

Dinner and a Training Ride with Freddie Rodriguez

2011-03-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

I am having the chance to live a life that is not typical of an average 16 year old. My name is Kyle Torres and this is my first year on Team Specialized Racing Juniors. I live in Southern California and am a first year 17/18 year old. One of the great opportunities that I receive on this team is being able to be mentored by Freddie Rodriguez. Not many 16 year olds get to interact and learn from a pro cyclist who has won races all over the world.

While I was at the Merco Stage Race last weekend, I had the chance to eat dinner with Freddie and 5 other teammates (Matt, James, Chris, Jeff and Torey). I was sitting next to Freddie, so I had the chance to talk with him a lot. It was so interesting to hear what he had to say about his experiences in racing. I had the chance to learn a lot about how the professional cycling world works.

I am staying in Northern California this week in order to get ready for the Madera Stage Race. Today, I went on a training ride with Freddie and teammate, Willy. We met up in Berkeley and rode through the hills. We got to go on some really cool roads and go up some pretty challenging climbs. It was so cool to be riding on some of the best roads in California with one of the greatest American cyclists.

Life is good!

Shock to the System

2011-03-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

Home Depot Center Velodrome, Carson, Califronia
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Photo Credit: Steve Ryan www.JuniorVelo.com

Home to America's only indoor track, the Home Depot Center track certainly gives most track racers the chills when you walk in. Especially when you are used to an outdoor, low banked track. Although not the fastest track in the country, just being in the presence of a facility that is mostly dedicated to track cycling is like a candy store for a trackie. With banking that reaches forty-six degrees, and heights of almost two stories, it is certainly a thrill to ride and race. Especially when you are one a nice set of Zipp 404 tubulars.

This lat weekend I was unable to do Merco because of the amount of school that I would have had to miss so instead I made the trip down to LA to race at the track and a local crit in Long Beach. I was very quickly reminded why I love track racing so much, especially on a track like this one. Feeling the G-force through the turns is quite a sensation and pulling straight up the track in the turns and then diving back down is quite an experience, and with a reasonably small field, ~17 riders, there was a lot of speed and also tactics involved in the racing. One rider in the field that has some notable accomplishments was the current women's track world champion, and with worlds coming up she was on good form! The first race was a 60 lap points race with sprints every 10 (every 2.5k). It took awhile for me to get into the mindset of paying attention to laps and getting into position in time for the sprints. Although it did come back to me, but I then realized that this was a bit of a shock to the system. So when it came to the sprints I did not have that much of a jump compared to everyone else. I was able to race aggressively and almost won the last sprint, but got caught on the last lap. Even though I did not score any points for the omnium from this race, I was happy with that I was able to race aggressively. The next race was a miss 'n out, which I normally do well in, but I failed to establish a spot in the top 4 spots of the pack and was forced to play devil at the back, which is not a good position for me. I was able to get by for a bit, but was roughly the 6th rider pulled. Really early into the race. I was not too happy with this, but it is March and just a low-key race. The next and final race was a 20 lap (5k) scratch race. I knew that this was going to be a relatively active, fast and short race. The Guatemalan national team started the race attacking, but they also sent riders to the front to block which made me fairly upset and when teams use tactics such as blocking I usually change my tactics for that race to make sure they do not win. So at about halfway through the race when they had two off the front and the pack just slowed I rolled to the front and pulled the two in (~half a lap gap). They then sent two guys to the front and started to do a lead out, with about 2k to go. Just a bit early, but I was sat third wheel and the rider at the front was moving fairly fast so I wasn't complaining. But with ~2 laps to go the raced slowed and there was a shuffling of positioning and I lost my positioning. Overall it was a good weekend of racing and speed. Definitely a good start to starting to work on the top end speed that is going to be needed for the big races in June, July and hopefully August! The being in a smaller gear than most of the field was also great because by doing that I get used to riding at 120 RPMs consistently and having to accelerate above that and hold it for a while, which will be needed at races such as track nationals and also l'Abitibi. In addition, it was a great start in seeing how much I need to work on my top end speed and what areas of it I need to work on.

It was definitely a trip worth taking and also great to race on the track and cannot wait for racing to start at Hellyer!

Merco Stage Race

2011-03-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was Merco Stage Race in Merced County from Thursday to Sunday. Besides the extremely hard competition and domination by Bissell Pro Cycling Team, I had a lot of fun and learned more than I have ever learned in cycling in a 4-day span! I got the oh so valuable time to get to sleep in the same hotel room as "Fast Freddie" Rodriguez.

No matter what time it was in that room, he was always available for questions and he would be ready to answer in a heart beat and be able to provide an example and relate it to his career and eventually something to learn from for me. Now, with me staying with Freddie for 4 full days, this gives ample amount of time to ask plenty of questions and get lots of answers and learning in just the 4-day span. If there was something I could take back from this past weekend, it would be the results and the racing, haha. But it was still a great weekend despite not having the legs to compete.

Thank you Freddie for letting me stay with you and be able to share all of your stories. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to get to know you more as the year goes on! Your a great example of American cycling and it was great to get the information straight from your words in front of me. Unbelievable. If for some reason you have the chance to room with Freddie, take it! You will learn a lot and will be a very valuable experience.

Thank you for reading.

Merco Grand Prix & Road Race

2011-03-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

The highlights of yesterday's Elite 3 race were Kyle Torres in the break for over 20 laps, Chris and Kyle with a prime, Jack, Chris and I formed a train trying to bring the break back, and Jack bridged to the front leaders at 2 laps to go. I ended up getting 2nd in the field sprint (9th overall), which was a nice finish after nursing injuries from Calville the previous weekend.

Sunday's road race was wet, cold and windy. At 500m to go, one of the Clement brothers attacked and Erik Volotzky and I followed, but we took off to early and got caught. I ended up finishing in the middle of the pack.

The best part of the weekend was spending time with Freddie Rodriguez at dinner and at the race. Thank you Freddie for sharing your race stories and pre-race advice. You're a great mentor! Hope you heal quickly from today's crash.

A thank you also goes out to our sponsor, ClifBar, for our water bottles!

Matt Valencia

Snelling Road Race

2011-03-01T15:03:00.001-08:00

Just for fun I thought I’d do the Pro/1/2 race at Snelling this year. It was going to be way too cold for the 8am Master’s 35+ race and getting into early season 45+ races is like getting Springsteen or Stone’s tickets and that race was long sold out. Besides, it’s fun to race with the Pro’s and it’s also great training. The sleeping in angle was not to be ignored either…

I love this race, especially when it is windy. It brings me back to my formative years of fighting in the cross winds at the Sacramento South River Ride. (In it’s hey day, one of the greatest group rides anywhere.) I love that stuff! It was still cold for our 12:15 VPST (Velo Promo Standard Time) start, but much warmer than in the morning.

David, Andrew and I spoke briefly before the race. We made two decisions. One, David would be our guy to finish it off in a sprint. If he was around we would work for him. Two, if I got up the road, the plan was, don’t chase, but also don’t block. Let the other teams bring it back together and we could set up David for the sprint. And finally, with 14 riders pre entered, no break was going to stick if it didn’t have at least a couple of Giant Strawberry riders.

The first lap was nervous. It was a little windy so we spent some time groveling in the gutter, dodging puddles and everybody and their brother wanted to get up front. Half way through the second lap, just past the Merco RR finish a group got away. It had been aggressive and guys were a bit tired and looking at each other. I followed a few wheels to get to a good position and was able to jump across alone. Two more riders came up shortly afterwards and we were off to the races.

There were about 12 riders in the group. Eric Wohlberg (Form Fitness), Andy Goessling (Clif Bar), John Bennett and Jesse Moore (CalGiant), David Albrecht (Chico Corsa), Joe Innarelli (Yahoo), Hendrick Pohl (Webcor), Sam Basseti (Firefighters), and a rider each from Garmin-Cervelo, Divine Electric and HDR Lombardi. We had good horsepower and the required 2 Cal Giant riders, and that was the last we saw of the main field. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the group worked well together the whole rest of the race. Usually breaks that big don’t cooperate so well.

Nothing of note happened until the fifth lap. After the “big hill” towards the end of the fifth lap you could tell that there were some tired legs. A couple of guys took digs on the next rollers and when we paused it seemed like a good time to go and make something happen. I attacked and got a nice gap. Partly because it was a good time to go and probably at least partly because not many of them knew about me and figured that I was not a danger. Which is at least partly true. Even my ego isn’t big enough to think I was going to solo the last lap and change and hold off THAT group. But I did hope that it would cause a reaction and perhaps three or four guys would bridge up to me. Alas, that was not to be. I got just enough gap to tempt me into thinking “just maybe”. Maybe they’ll start looking at each other…

The reality was that I spent the next five miles beating what little I had left out of my legs and I was caught just before the feed hill. Thankfully nobody attacked when they caught me and I made the feed hill without much trouble. The drag up to the Merco finish was something else though. I made it, but just. The final “big hill” was a concern for me. We did hit it very hard, but I made it over the top in pretty good position. Yeah for me! But it cost me. The next roller was a bridge to far and I could not follow the next surge. I chased the rest of the way in with Albrecht, Innarelli and another guy, but we never got very close. I felt like Randy in “A Christmas Story”, “You guys! Wait up! Wait up!” I think that there were still two t-shirts on the line, but I totally blew the sprint, going way too early and I think two of the three guys with me came around. Final place, maybe 11th or 12th, but I’m not positive. John Bennett of Cal Giant won.

I have mixed feelings about the end result. Part of me was happy to be on the pointy end of a pretty good pro/1/2 field and at least trying to go for the win. But part of me wishes I would have cooled my jets and waited for the fireworks at the end of the last lap. I wasn’t going to win that sprint by any means, but a mid top 10 was probably possible if I played it right.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On the road to Recovery

2011-02-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

The past 3 weeks I have been sick to some extent and has put me off the bike most of the time. Thank god for doctors! I don't what i would do with out them. My temperature was ranging from 94F to 103F and would change in a matter of minutes. Not only did my temperature change but my throat, head, stomach would all be constantly pounding my immune system to the ground. Three weeks after being sick, I'm finally back on the bike and riding on a daily basis. I lost quite a lot of muscle and it will be a process to get back up to speed.

Meanwhile, I tried to race at VOS 2 weeks ago in sunny Arizona and didn't go to plan but it's all a learning experience and we definitely learned our lesson and we are all eager to get our next shot at SDSR in LA in a couple weeks. I was scheduled to race at Snelling RR in the pro/1/2 field this past Saturday but when the weather called for possible snow and frigid temperatures during the afternoon, I knew it wouldn't be the best idea to try to race in February when I'm on medications and still technically sick. My teammates David Benkoski and Kevin Metcalfe participated at the frozen tundra and didn't come up with the results they were looking for but I'm sure they are all excited and pumped for Merco Stage Race that is coming up next weekend!

I'm currently on the road to recovery and trying to get back to where I should be soon. Even though I am sick and stuck inside a lot, it gives me a lot more motivation to go ride more, which is why I can't wait to really get back on the bike and be healthy again.

Team Specialized Racing was also at Calville Stage Race just outside of Las Vegas this past weekend. They fielded Jrs in the cat 3's, 2's, and Jrs races and did an awesome job! Kyle Torres was in the leaders jersey for a day in the cat 3's race, Jack, Matt, and Diego worked very well together in the Jrs race, and to top it all off Marcus, Willy, and Jeff were able to get multiple top 5 finishes in the category 2's race throughout the stage race! Congrats to all of them!

Team Specialized Racing will be fielding at Merco Stage Race starting Thursday for the pro/1/2 guys (including Fast Freddy!!). We will also be having some Jrs in the category 3's race and masters in the masters race I believe. Should be a strong weekend of racing with some Tour of CA teams coming to participate in the pro/1/2 field. Looking forward to another great weekend for the team!

Thank you for reading.

My favorite ride

2011-02-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

After racing in 70-80 degree weather at the VOS stage race in Arizona with my teammates. I was surprised to come back to Napa, Ca to a weather forecast with a high of low to mid 50's and continuous rain for near to a week. For most people they would ride in rain, snow, flood or drought. I would prefer to ride on the rollers, and do intervals. So, that is what I have been doing most of last week.

Until, I looked on The Weather Channel and found out that there was going to be about 4 days of no rain. I leaped out of my seat with excitement. Then mid Leap I realized that I needed to choose a loop to ride. I sat back down and suddenly remembered the loop that my dad took me on over a month ago. At that moment I realized that I was craving to ride on the loop again. This ride consisted of a flat start on Silverado trail for just over 25km. Then I would turn on to Sage Canyon Rd, which would take me about 20km up hill to Capell Valley Rd. Capell would stay flat with few rolling hills for 10km. Until, I meet up with Monticello Rd which last for about 18km, and goes to the top of Mount George. Once I would get to the top I would descend the west side of Mount George into the north east corner of Napa. In the end I will end up with about 80km of riding, and around 1,000m of climbing. After having road the loop twice I can already tell that this is going to be one of my favorite rides.

Valley of the Sun

2011-02-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

Valley of the Sun was the first major race for the team this year and it was also a great time to get to know some of the new riders and practice working together as a team. I raced in the Cat 2 field along with David Benkoski, Dean Haas, Willy Zelmer, and Jeff Perrin.

The stage race started off with a 14 mile TT in the desert. I received some good tips from a few of the masters who raced earlier in the day about what kind of conditions to expect out on course. I hopped on my trainer and began my warm up and also get myself mentally prepared for the half hour I was going to spend in the pain cave. After about 15 minutes, it was time to roll on over to the start house. Not the best warm up I've done but it will do. I was a bit nervous in the start house since it was the first TT of the year and I didn't quite know what my body's limits were and how hard I could push myself. The last TT I did before this was at l'Abitibi back in July. 3...2...1...go and I was out on course. I rode conservatively because I didn't want to blow my engine in the beginning of the race. The first half of the course was very difficult. The road is a false flat almost all the way to the turn around and to make it even harder, there was a nasty headwind which isn't the greatest for a skinny guy like me. I kept looking down at my Garmin, checking the speed and how many kilometers I had left. I caught two people by the time I made it to the turnaround and when I made the u-turn, I couldn't even see the riders who started behind me. Coming back, I finally got into a solid rhythm and got myself into a very aero position. I remembered all the times Chris Lyman has told me to tuck my head down low kind of like a turtle in its shell. I kept my eyes focused on the white line painted down the road and began to pass more guys as if they were standing still. Coming into the last 2 km, I gave every last ounce of energy I had in me to get to the finish line as quick as possible. I crossed the line and my legs shut down. My time was 31:43, exactly a minute faster than my time from last year. I was very pleased with the result and it put me in 10th.

The next day we headed out to the venue for the road race which could be a set for a wild west film, middle of the desert with cactus and mesas surrounding the area. The wind was picking up as we got our bikes ready and put our kits on. We were racing 90 miles in the bright, Arizona sun. The first lap was relatively slow with a couple of attacks but none of them ever got too far up the road. On lap two as we headed up the climb, some guys to the right of me were getting a bit aggressive trying to fight for a wheel and ended up causing a big pileup which Jeff was involved in. The crash split the field up and I was in a group of about 30 with David and Willy. David and I, along with many other riders from other teams went to the front to drive the pace. For about 10 minutes, we all took turns at the front trying to bring the tiny peloton to the finish without anyone rejoining the pack but other teams lost motivation and the pace dropped and riders caught up in the crash were now back together with us. On lap three, another crash occurred in the same spot as the previous lap. This time someone slammed into my rear wheel pretty hard which knocked my brake out of alignment. I hopped off my bike, fixed it, and chased back on with David, who was involved in the pileup. Fortunately for us, a semi truck passed us while we were chasing back on so we were able to get a little draft back to the pack and the race official was okay with it. Next time up the climb, David bridged solo up to a breakaway. Instead of focusing on my spot on GC, I immediately began to do what I needed to do to make sure the breakaway stayed away to give David a shot at the "W". I covered attacks and disrupted teams chasing at the front until I knew the break had a big enough gap. With half a lap to go, I rolled off the front in an attempt to finish ahead of the pack which contained many guys that were high on GC. A few kilometers later, the pack caught up with me and the leader's jersey was at the front with a few others trying to bring back as many seconds as they could to the break. Since I knew David was far enough up the road and was never going to get caught by the peloton, I went to the front to pull back as many seconds to help with my GC standing. The breakaway survived and David managed to get an impressive 3rd place, even after crashing. I rolled across the line with the pack and dropped to 13th on GC which isn't too bad. I also got the my first tanlines of the year. Yes they are pretty bad!

The final day was the criterium. Our race was only 45 minutes on a somewhat technical course. I rode in the pack and stayed out of trouble. There was no need for me to be fighting at the front and bumping elbows with the big sprinters. I knew that all I had to do was cross the finish line in the pack to keep my 13th place on GC. The bell on the final lap was a great thing to hear and then we all crossed the finish line. Stayed safe and finished 13th overall! I also got the first few upgrade points to put in the piggy bank.

It was a great weekend of racing and spending time with the team. I am sure we all learned things in our races and we will be ready for the upcoming ones! I also want to thank Kyle Torres and Diego Binatena's parents for hauling the RV's all the way to the races. It was great being able to relax before the start of stages in the RV and make lunch afterwards. Made us feel like ProTour riders!

Valley of the Sun Stage Race

2011-02-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

My name is Dean Haas from Lakewood, CO and I am new to the team for 2011. I traveled with Team Specialized to the Valley of the Sun Stage Race in Arizona. I raced in the Cat 2 men's field with my team mates Jeff Perrin, Willy Zillmer, Torey Philipp and David Benkoski.

Stage One was the TT and this race basically determines the GC for the race. The course is a 14 mile flat out and back and is fast. I didn't get the best warmup and along with being from Colorado where racing doesn't start until April, my time wasn't that fast. I did a 34:04 which put me in 48th in GC out of 85. Torey was down by about a minute with a 10th place finish, Willy was 40th, Jeff was around 60th and David got a flat tire.

Stage Two wasn't great for me either. The course is about a 16 mile loop where we did 90 miles in the cat 2 race. I put my race wheels and went through my whole pre race routine and to my misfortune, I had a mechanical problem at the very start of the race. My derailleur was malfunctioning and was actually broken and would not shift in any cog lower than my 19 tooth. I ended up getting dropped about 7 miles into the race and dropped down to near last in the GC. David however, was 3rd on the stage and had bridged a gap after crashing lap three. Torey finished with the gruppeto and Willy was not far behind. Jeff went down in a crash on lap two.

Stage Three was a great turning point for me, we raced the shortened 45 minute criterium in Downtown Phoenix. The course was kilometer long technical course with many turns and I had a lot of fun. We were down to four riders after Jeff's crash the day before. I went off the front a few times including on three laps to go which I thought might stick but didn't. I even won a $25 prime and I was chopped in the last corner but I still managed a 10th place in the final sprint.

I had a lot of fun riding and racing out in the sun with my team mates, regardless of my fitness level. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this such a fun experience, including the new equipment I received from Specialized! I can't for the next trip to San Dimas in March!

On the Road to Valley of the Sun...

2011-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

My name is Diego Binatena. I’m 14 years old and a new addition to Team Specialized Racing Juniors. With Valley of the Sun coming up this weekend, the team’s first big stage race, I was anxious to test my fitness this past weekend at So Cal’s Boulevard Road Race, a very demanding 44 mile road race.

Boulevard Road Race
I rolled up to the start line in my Team Specialized Racing kit for the first time. As all 100 Cat 4 racers arrived, a rider moved over to me and said, “Hey kid, where did you get that kit?” I said, “I’m on the Junior Team.” He gave me the thumbs up and wished me a good season. This kit is so pro!

Lap One – Look Good, Feel Good…
The race started with a short climb and was followed by a bombing descent that covered about 7 miles. I didn’t have any problems staying in the front on the descent. There were no attacks at all, as all riders knew what was coming up in miles 10 through 21.
The race really took off at mile 10 with a 3 – 6+% climb. At around mile 12, the 100 member peloton split and at least 30 riders dropped off the back. The pace up the remaining 5 miles spit out twenty or more of the field. I was still in good form at mile 21 and waved to my parents as I completed the first lap in 4th position.

Lap Two – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly…
After the short pitch climb we had the bombing 7 mile descent again. I felt so good that I thought maybe I should have skipped the 4’s race and gone straight to the Pro1-2 race. However, as we started the final gruesome 4 mile climb to the finish, the engine room notified me that we were losing power. I couldn’t maintain the pace and began to drop off with about 10 other racers. Now, it was every man (and one Jr.) for himself as we struggled to the finish.
I crossed the finish line in 28th place. The race was 42.11 miles long with 3,928 feet of climbing. This wasn’t the finish I wanted, but considering I was laid up for 10 days sick with the flu, I finished ok.

Red Trolley Crit
The next day was the Red Trolley Crit in San Diego. Great So Cal weather and the Cat 4 field maxed out again at 100 racers. This was a short, .6 mile fast course with a swooping climb out of the fourth corner. The last lap of the race was scary fast with bumping and banging. I lost some spots coming out of the last turn but managed to sprint for 9th place. Again, not what I wanted, but decent given this is only February and I’ve got a long season ahead of me.

All in all it was a good weekend of racing. Next up, “Valley of the Sun Stage Race” in Phoenix, AZ, where I get to spend 3 days and race with the best team in USA- Team Specialized Racing Juniors!

Content with Disappointment

2011-02-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

Ah....the 2011 racing season is official upon us!

Cherry Pie crit is the official season opener here on the NorCal racing scene. With all my bottled up excitement that had been accumulating over the off season during the long base miles (see here if confused: http://teamspecializedracing.b

logspot.com/2011/02/more-then-just-miles.html), I was ready to unleash some of it in the Pro/1/2 race. Knowing Freddie Rodriguez would again be there to guide us throughout the race and set up a perfect lead out, I knew I had an outside shot at victory. With that in mind, Larry Nolan, our team director, gave me the nod to miss out on the very early and short junior race earlier that morning in order to arrive fresh at the starting line of the latter race.

All started off in a rather cordial fashion. The usual early, unplanned moves getting reeled back, the occasional "hey, watch it!" and the ever so common, rather rough, elbow bumping up the hill, that occasionally can turn into colorful expletives. The usual testosterone filled crit racing. I knew either a breakaway with me in it, or a well planned field sprint with the help of Freddie Rodriguez would suite my style and abilities of racing. During the first half of the race, I covered a couple moves that looked somewhat serious along with the help of fellow teammates Marcus Smith and James Laberge and Larry Nolan. A few times, a half dozen of racers would get a gap of a few seconds, but no worry was needed. The moves where always brought back by acceleration from the field, usually brought on by either Rand Miller (Webcor/Alto Velo), Mike Sayers (former professional on BMC) and Logan Loader.

With approximately 3 laps to go, I knew the race would result in a field sprint. All I needed to do was coordinate with Fast Freddie how it would play out between us. He stated as long as I remained on his wheel, I would be up there. With two laps to go, everyone was fighting to steal Freddie's wheel from me, but no, it was mine, and I did not learn my childhood lesson, I never share! Coming through the start/finish on the last lap, Kirk Carlsen (Garmin/Cervelo) put in a huge pull at the front to help Freddie lead me out. Carlsen pulled a majority of the lap ( I guess being in the ProTour makes you strong...) Coming through the last real turn on the course, Mike Sayers hit it, coming around, Freddie, Carlsen and I, with Logan Loader on his wheel. Freddie and I jumped on their acceleration out of the turn, but when they hit the gas and went 60+kph, I was suffering. As we went through the chicane with about 300m to go, Sayers was fading, there was a small lull, but as we hit the base of the small hill with about 200, to go, Logan launched his sprint with Freddie on his wheel and mine on his. As Sayers started drifting back, I found myself boxed in for a few seconds, enough time for Sam Bassetti to come around me, as I was finally able to launch my sprint, it was to late to make up to loss and I had to settle for 4th place...

Not a bad result one might say, but not what I was looking for. Freddie Rodriguez did get second place, (...and I quote, roughly... " I could have won if the sprint had started off faster, I can't sprint at those speeds, it was like a track sprint"...again, somehow having been or being in the ProTour just makes you fast I guess...) As you can easily tell, again, having Freddie on the team to guide us through the sprints and teaching us how to fluidly stay in the front but out of the wind is priceless information that can really make the difference in the end.

Cherry Pie 2011

2011-02-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

This years Cherry Pie race was hot and windy, which I appreciated because the past three years the weather was always cold and wet. The Juniors race started in the morning and there were seven Team Specialized Juniors that lined up with the field. On the first lap Jack Maddux crashed, which took him out of the race. Later teammate Andrew Lanier got into a break with one of the All-Sport rider and they stayed away for a long time. In the field, we were answering all of the attacks and controlled the front. On the last lap, Andrew and the All-Sport rider still had a slight lead, but at the back side of the course, the pace was fast and we were closing in on Andrew and the other rider. We finally caught them at the chicane and it became a field sprint to the finish line. James LaBerge had to close a gap which got him 2nd in the 17-18's. I stayed behind Marcus Smith and went around him to come in 4th overall and a win in the 15-16 category. We learned a lot riding as a team and also won some cherry pie!

Thank you Clif Bar for providing the fuel to help me win and Specialized for the cool glasses and shoes!

-Matt Valencia

The unsung heroes at Cherry Pie

2011-02-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give thanks to all of the parents that support Team Specialized week after week. What a great group of parents we have! Not only have they stepped up to provide help for our team (optimized trailer space, bike racks, mounts, a ladder, spare tire, and so much more) but they have fun while they are there. Our parents are one of the reasons our team is so successful. Their support is appreciated by this team manager. Hopefully a weeks notice is enough time for the juniors to show their love and appreciation for their parents support!

I'll start with the early Valentine's Day gift... my parents (Bob and Maureen) came out to Napa yesterday to watch me race and watch me direct the juniors. They like to see me having fun and they have been a big part of my support system all of my life.

I didn't take the top step of the Cherry Pie podium yesterday. I bridged to Greg Betonte (Safeway) in the M45 race and the chase behind stalled. The pack was probably thinking that two sprinters would look at eachother and stop working. But its early season so Greg and I worked together until the last lap. Greg has a better sprint than me, he knows that, so it's my job to get away from him or take him at the line. With teammate Kevin Metcalfe gaining on us I stopped working, Greg led the whole last lap and rode a perfect razor to the line. I was 2nd and Kevin was 3rd. New 45+ teammate Steve Cassani was 7th and crit racing teammate Rob Anderson took 3rd in the M55 race (we raced together).

In the 1/2/Pro race they saw me working to keep a field sprint where Freddie Rodriguez took 2nd and 17 year old David Benkoski took 4th.

I have to admit that I'm still having fun racing on this course (21 years ago this was the District Champs course)

Jess Raphael and my mom at the 2008 Cherry Pie Crit

Thanks for coming out to the races mom and dad. I love you both! Larry

More then just miles...

2011-02-03T08:33:00.001-08:00

A few thoughts come to mind when one thinks of the “off season” in cycling. One can look forward to taking anywhere between one week to one month off the bike to both physically and mentally rejuvenate, and start the following year as fresh as possible. Others might just look forward to regaining weekends to spend time with friends, family, and if you are a junior bike racer, having an opportunity to pretend you are a normal adolescent for a few months. Personally, when the thought of the off season comes to my mind, long, treacherous, cold, slow miles are what I think of. To some cyclists, this might seem like necessary dirty work that needs to be completed in order to reach the finishing line first in when it counts, but to me, it’s more than just miles.

As I got back on my bike after taking what seemed to be the longest two weeks off the bike, I began slowly revamping the training and piling on the base miles. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to talk to a great number of professionals and top level amateur cyclists. To my surprise many of them had expressed their dislike in training. It seems not all, but some seemed to view training as a requirement that needs to be fulfilled in order arrive at the starting line of a race fit. In my point of view, training can sometimes be a drag. (Usually when it is extremely cold or rainy…but considering we live in beautiful California it is usually not the case…knock on carbon…). This all led me to an epiphany; training time is reflection time, reflection on not just my day or my week, but also racing in general. These long arduous miles are a fantastic time to reflect on the previous season, reminisce on great times, re-live the sorrow of the close calls, remember the pain of the crashes, but most importantly, it is a great time to psychologically prepare yourself for the upcoming season. My thoughts tend to digress during 4+ hour rides, and spend a majority of the time getting mentally prepared for what awaits me, and in this case, it was the 2011 racing season, possibly what will be my toughest, most crucial season of my so far short racing career. I usually think of dream scenarios that would play out in order for me to win races I’ve always wanted to stand atop the podium of.

All in all, most of the preparation for racing is done during the base miles, whether it be the headwinds, climbs and just general tough times you suffer through, or the amount of hours you spend mostly by yourself, left alone to reflect on what the upcoming season will be like, and the toughness you will have to endure to persevere to a higher level. Something we all aspire to…

EB#4

2011-01-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
Today was Early Bird #4. It was a wet day, with only one crash. The weather was excellent until the middle of the 1,2,3s race. It started to pour, and Larry went off the front with David McCook. We were very active at the front and launched some strong attacks. Today"s race definitely clarifies why "Fast" Freddie is called "Fast Freddie". It was 2 to go and Freddie started to drill it on the back straight away at approximately 50km. WOW, he is one fast guy. It was a good race. Thank you Freddie for coming out today. You RIPPED the legs off the field, including me. I look forward to watching you destroy pro races. Again thanks for coming out, good to see you, Larry, Torey and Andrew.
-Jack Maddux

USA National U23 Track Camp

2011-01-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

photo from 2005 World Championships in Carson (Tien Mulder wins the keirin)

Billy and I took a quick trip to Carson, CA to visit with National Team Coach Benjamin Sharp and to catch up with Team Specialized graduates Charlie Avis and Eamon Lucas who are now a part of the U23 National Team Program. The athletes were on their fifth day of track workouts, but they looked fresh to me. Ah, the advantages of youth! USA Cycling benefits from these camps as they not only test the speed of young talented athletes but they also chose the one event where teamwork is required (and rewarded) in the team pursuit. 30 hours door to door and worth every minute. I am pumped up about team pursuiting! Larry

2011 Early Birds

2011-01-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

The Early Bird Training Races have a reputation as a great place to start bicycle racing. The past three weeks have been well attended with close to 300 newly licensed juniors, women and men racers. Team Specialized is highly involved in this five-week series with its leadership and mentoring. Which brings me to the point of this note:

We ask our 14 junior teammates (8 live in Nor Cal) to help mentor the new racers as part of their development. Questions from new racers help to solidify the juniors experiences and get them to anticipate the next set of new racer questions (I think we all agree that cycling is a complex sport!). It's been great to have our Nor Cal juniors helping the new racers. Thanks Marcus, Andrew, Torey, Jack, James, Chris and Matt!

We also ask our juniors to race in the 1/2/3/P training race. We always encourage them to give it their best and to race, not just sit in the pack. Juniors will always amaze you when you ask them for slightly more than what they had thought to be their limit. And, they are always pleased when they exceed not only their expectations but the teams as well. See you on Sunday, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

Early Birds #3- Racing with Fast Freddie

2011-01-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

Making it to the ProTour level in cycling is a great achievement and certainly the dream of anyone who has every pinned on a number with intent to win. Now being at such level, competing in 10 grand tours, winning stages in the Giro D'Italia and being runner up to non other then Mario Cipollini is legendary. When I learned that Freddie Rodriguez was to join our team for the 2011 season, I was ecstatic. Already having former USPS ride Dylan Casey mentoring us with all his knowledge was incredible, but adding on Fast Freddie would be just a dream.

The third Early Bird training race was the first time I was to race in the same colors as Fast Freddie. As we lined up, I had no intention of repeating last weeks win in three man break. I knew it would be nice, but I was also realistic in thinking the pack was not going to let another breakaway fly with me in it. After an unfortunate crash about twenty minutes into the race, the field was neutralized while the rider was cared for. This was when Freddie, James Laberge and I came to the conclusion I would be the one to sprint for the victory. With three laps remaining, I was just trying to stay among the top twenty spots in the pack. On the penultimate lap, Larry Nolan put in a great pull on the start/finish straight which helped string out the field. After turn one with less then a lap to go, Dylan Casey took the lead with Freddie on his wheel, and I on his. I was thinking to myself, "how are two guys going to last a combined kilometer and a half?" Turns out being in the ProTour teaches you a few tricks. I knew all I had to achieve was to stay on Freddie's wheel, and he would bring me into perfect position for the win. As we came around turn two, with about 1k to go, the pack began swarming around me. That is when Freddie yelled "jump" and Dylan gave one last ditch effort to whip up the pace, which in tern brought Freddie and I into perfect position. (Freddie behind a Cliff rider going all out and me on Freddie's wheel). The mixture of excitement that came over me when reality set in that I was truly being led out by one of the formerly fastest sprinters in the world was overwhelming. I knew I had to stay on Freddie's wheel or die trying. As we approached turn three, Freddie swung around the Cliff rider and dove into the turn. From there, I knew it would just be up to me to stay on Freddie's wheel while he launched his acceleration to the line, and from then all I had to do was come around. With a 52x14, I must say, it was a tough task, but when the thought of me making Freddie, Dylan, and the whole rest of the teams work for nothing, a rush of adrenaline came through, I got out of the saddle, and stomped on the pedals to come around for the victory.

After the race, Freddie and I took a cool down lap. He gave me specifics on how he managed to stay up among the top 5 wheels in the race, and how to keep a great lead out going even when you are short a few riders. It was wonderful insight only someone of that caliber could give. We ended up back at the team tent near the start/finish of the race. There, with the whole team, we had a great debriefing. I received congratulations from teammates, when I should have actually been congratulating my teammates for setting me up so perfectly. I could never do it so well without them, and I look forward to returning the favors!

Early Bird Mentoring 2011

2011-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

Mentoring races this year has been so much fun, we all get a chance to help new riders. Teaching new kids is fun because they will be racing soon. We have been teaching kids how to corner safely, be comfortable taking their hands off the bars, and what to do in real life situations with cars on the road. We are teaching kids the basic fundamentals to be safe and how to race. But when were done with mentoring we race the Pro 1,2,3 race. Racing with the team has been a great experience with learning how to race as a team. It was also fun racing with fast Freddie because he was giving me tips during the race.

-Matt Valencia

Early Bird Mentoring

2011-01-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

For the past three weeks, the team and I have been mentoring 400+ new riders. It has been a great experience because we get the opportunity to help grow the sport of cycling and have fun in the process. I have been working with new juniors and we have been having a ton of fun. We started with simply riding a pace line to now bumping and no-handed drills. The new juniors are picking up skills really quick.

I have been mentoring the clinics and races during the morning and then getting mentored in the afternoon by our Master teammates. They are teaching us skills and tactics throughout the P123 race. The Early Birds is a great race to learn from them, because they are racing next to you and they see what you see.

Props to David for winning the last two weeks.

2011 season

2011-01-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start a new season by winning 2 of the 1st 3 training races of the year! It is truely remarkable to look back at who we were and how strong of a team Team Specialized Racing was just a mere 3 years ago. We had about 7 jrs, all split up in the junior ranks and hardly any of us were cat 3's or even cat 2's. Today, we have 14 juniors on the squad and have expanded nationally not only on the western states but as far as GA (5 cat 3's, 8 cat 2's, and 1cat 1). I've been on this team ever since this junior program has started and it is almost unbelieveable of what kind of turn around we have had and the big learning and physical jumps we have made each and every year.

Not only did we win yesterday at the EB crit, but we worked as a team at the front, countering each others moves and did a successful leadout on the last lap. It wasn't necessarily just a jrs team win or a masters getting a work out in, but it was a TEAM win. And this is exactly what we love to see in the sport and I am very proud of all the guys on the team whether they were there racing with us or not, I can already tell this will be a memorable year for me not only because it's my last junior year, but I can see the fire in everyone's eyes and see how much they want to succeed and perform to the best of their abilities this year.

Looking forward to the 2011 season with all of my teammates! Thank you for reading.

How Team Specialized Racing is living up to Innovate or Die.

2011-01-24T22:05:00.000-08:00

Mid-January, 90 rider field with some riders on race wheels, former Giro de'Italia stage winner Fast Freedie, and former US Postal rider Dylan Casey. Thankfully for us, Fast Freddie and Dylan are both teammates so when they ride us off their wheels it is not too bad, more importantly they are not only able to talk to us but also show us how to race as a team and show us how to do a lead out, how to chase a break down as a team, and many other of priceless bits of information. To have riders like these available is truly a great experience, especially when you see them lead out your 17, soon to be 18 year old team mate for the win! Definitely an extremely cool site to see. It is even better when they talk to you and show you how to do it and are willing to be there and do it with you over and over again, and that is how Team Specialized Racing is living up to the challenge set by Specialized, Innovate or Die. We are taking those who have lived the dream and raced in Europe, done and won the big races and putting an eager to learn group of juniors with them and learning how to win cat. 1/2/3 races even in January. We are taking junior racing and transforming it from a race of individuals and making it a race of teams. We are taking control of not only our junior races but also elite races with our master teammates who are truly masters of the sport!

EB#3 with some FAST guys.

2011-01-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, was the Early Bird#3. The second one I attended. It was overall a fun day, mentored a bunch and raced the 1,2,3's. The 1,2,3's race was erratic, we were neutralized for most of the race and then they started us with 4 to go. This definetely made the race more interesting because when finished with about the same starters. Although, there were some important assets to this Early Bird. We had a new addition to the team, Freddie Rodriguez. He's great to talk to, gave me some great tips while racing. Thank you for coming Fast Freddie, you definetely made the race more interesting! Also thanks to Dylan for the tips during the race, will help in races soon to come!
-Jack Maddux

Early Birds 1/23/11

2011-01-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the third Early Bird Criterium of the year, second for me. That day we all raced in the pro 1/2/3 field which contained around 90 racers. That was a special race because we all got to race with our new teammate, Freddie Rodriguez. During the race I got to talk to Freddie Rodriguez. It was a good talk and a fun race. I can't wait to race in a similar field.

Chris LaBerge

Memo to self: it's always better to start a race with everyone else.

2011-01-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

I did the EB road race today and stepped where I thought I would never go. I now know how my friend and teammate Larry Nolan felt.

I dragged myself out of bed at 4:45 this morning and decided to give it a go even though the lung infection I picked up I think in Brazil in September reared its ugly head on Wednesday night. When it hits, at times I feel like I'm suffocating, I'm guessing it's what asthma feels like. The weather was perfect for racing today and I just couldn't resist. The 45s started 55 minutes after the 35s so it was an easy choice to get an extra hour of sleep.

My race plan didn't go quite the way I drew it up in my head as for the first time in my life as a bike racer (maybe 500 races), I missed the start. No need to explain why, it just changed my day significantly. The race was 3 or 4 minutes in front of me when I figured this out so, my lung condition aside, I did a individual time trial for the first half hour into head and cross winds for 19 km before I finally made contact with the peleton. It was all out and I was wiped when I finally caught them.

It gave me about 12 km to recover before we hit the climb. My original plan was to sit in until we got to the climb then hammer it, maybe get away on my own and solo the second half. Well "the best laid plans of mice and men ...", you know the rest.

When I finally caught up to the race, instead of looking forward to the climb, I was now starting to dread it to some degree, likely having to hold on as best I could and see what happens, forget the idea of attacking. I managed to stay close to Cale Reeder, Carl Nielsen, Clark Foy and Arthur Jones up the hill and made the turn around about 20 to 30 seconds behind them. Hunter Zeising and Jan Elsbach were stuck to my wheel and we hit the turn around together and ripped the descent. One problem though, 3 guys were now chasing 4 and both groups were going all out in rotation. Strangely enough, Hunter pitched in with Jan and me for the first half of the chase even though Cale, his teammate, was in the front group, my cajoling seemed to work. That stopped with about 10 to 12 km to go and he started to sit in just when we were agonizingly close to catching the front 4.

There wasn't much choice for Jan and me and we stayed in rotation going as hard as we could. I finally got sick of Hunter sitting in and told him if he didn't take a pull I would sit up. I really think he wanted to win the race so with about 5 km to go he started to work again. This happened just when the front group started to splinter under the pace, first Carl came off and then Clark. Now Hunter was really done pulling and Jan wasn't interested in towing him anymore either. Cale and Arthur were only about 75 meters in front of us with a kilometer to go but I was the only one interested in still trying to catch them. An exercise in futility on my part which doomed my finish. Hunter and Jan jumped past me with about 100 meters to go. Cale won, Arthur second, then Hunter, Jan and me.

One hell of a workout especially that first 19 km time trial. Man I love racing my bike.

2011 Winter Team Camp

2011-01-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

With the 2011 season coming fast, the junior team spent last week training together, touring Specialized, a day in San Fransisco and a ride with Fast Freddy among other activities. Below you can find some videos of the week, however they are not as professionally created as the one posted by Marcus.

Psychology Specialized Commercial

2010-12-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Commercial for a school Psychology project.

Specialized Transition from Cameron Vaughan on Vimeo.

What do you suggest for juniors? Endurance with intensity - part 2

2010-12-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

For juniors on endurance and intensity ... I wasn't kidding that this topic can be highly controversial!

Firstly, the whole topic started as "off-season" so I wanted to point out that the majority of a riders time is going to be with endurance. It's the amount of intensity that is up for debate.

Secondly, the good old days were all about "base miles" in the off-season. Today riders are adding intensity to their off-season so that their "base miles" have more quality to them. Yes, too much early intensity can lead to burnout, or feeling stale.

Thirdly, if endurance rides are the main focus, then let's define endurance for a minute. Endurance is the ability to resist fatigue over time. If a juniors longest event of the year is 3 hours we are not talking about 4 and 5 hour rides in the off season.

Next, let's define how a junior accumulates endurance. If a junior rides 10 hours a week during the season, but does so only through local group rides, it will be difficult to prescribe hours of solo rides in the off-season. I like to recommend that riders break up their endurance rides. For instance, they ride solo before joining the group ride, and then ride solo after the group ride ends. Doing so allows them to warm up properly, get the group ride in, and think about their training and fitness on the last part of the ride.

Bottom line, the off-season work for a junior should be aligned with their goals. Here's three examples with varying advice:

Athlete #1 going into their second season: I'd advise that they keep their riding fun and fairly unstructured (frequency and intensity), but still have them track the weekly hours (volume) so that they understand the importance of off-season work and how it correlates to late season performance.

Athlete #2 is about to start their fourth season, has huge expectations and a past history of "burnout" at the end of the season: first I'd look further into the "burnout" and determine if we're talking physical or mental. Typically young athletes just need more variety in their workouts or a break from the bike. Secondly I'd explore their huge expectations to see if they were real. If their expectations were not I'd advise intensity and only endurance rides if fun and social. If the huge expectations are real, then the athlete may need to refresh their perspective on how the off-season work helps them in their goal events (goal setting).

Athlete #3 is also going into their fourth season, has huge expectations, can stay motivated all year long and has no prior signs of "burnout": cycling rewards consistency and persistence. If an athlete can get enough variety into their workouts (solo/ group, road/ mountain/ track/ cross, weights/ cross training/ stretching) I have no problems advising that they up the endurance in the off-season and pepper in the intensity a bit.

Kevin has a lot more than four years of experience, but this is what he does. Lots of varity and a true love to ride his bike.

If you haven't already read it I highly recommend Kirsten Dieffenbach's "Bike Racing for Juniors". I hope this helps. Cheers, Larry Nolan

Jan. 2, 2011 Nutrition and Racing Clinic

2010-12-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Nutrition Talk with Stacy Sims, PhD.
and
Race Ready 2011 with Larry Nolan
Benefitting Team Specialized Juniors

Stacy Sims, PhD gives an exciting and meaningful presentation that you will not want to miss. Her work with national and pro cycling teams is cutting edge, yet practical. Arm yourself for the New Year with information and motivation!

Larry Nolan is an Early Bird leader, has over 30 years of racing and coaching experience, and currently manages Team Specialized. He will provide you with tips and tactics that you can use in your next race.

When: January 2, 2011 from 5pm to 7pm
Where: 48989 Milmont Drive, Fremont, CA
Meeting @ Mission Springs Community Church
Cost at the door: $10, discounted to $5 for teammates, Early Bird mentors, U23s and Jrs. Donations are tax deductible so bring your checkbook!
Who: Experienced athletes of all levels.
Questions: Contact Larry at TeamNolan@hotmail.com

off-season: intensity, or long-slow-miles?

2010-11-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

Coaches love to argue this one... what's your optimum off-season INTENSITY level?

Since there's never an easy answer on this one I called my teammate Kevin Metcalfe last week to argue it.

Kevin and I have been teammates since 1995. When competitors ask how Kevin puts the hurt on everyone year after year they assume he's a genetic freak that can climb and time trial. Well, the truth is, he works very hard to improve every aspect of his cycling. This guy is more serious about his training than any three racers that I know. You guessed it, Kevin drills it in the off-season. How much is his secret!

What's your off-season intensity look like?

Larry

MTB polo reflections

2010-10-31T18:51:00.001-07:00

As a guy I look at MTB polo as pure fun... on the bike, in the sun, with friends, enjoying a beer afterwards.

As a teammate I look at MTB polo as an opportunity... to have fun together, to communicate, and to score!

As a coach I look at MTB polo as a chance for teammates to develop their competitiveness, their skills, and their tenacity.

For all of these reasons I thoroughly enjoyed today's game. While the juniors won 13-11 I couldn't help but notice the improvements that all of the juniors had made in the past year! MTB polo is all about getting into the fray and none of our teammates backed off or gave an inch. Chris, James, Andrew, Matt, and Peter brought the game to a whole new level!

Oh, and we will have a rematch on Jan 1!

USACDF Marin Classic

2010-10-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I geared up for the Marin Classic ride. I was a little tired because my old school's homecoming was the night before but with a double shot espresso and 1 and a half cups of coffee, I was ready to ride! Steve McCauley, the director of the Development Foundation invited me on the ride to help out and be able to talk to the supporters about my trip to Europe. CHP was out to block off intersections and keep cars from bothering us. It was awesome! Taylor Phinney was the guest on the ride and I got to talk with him a bit which was really cool. It was a great opportunity to be able to ride with some of the supporters of the USA Cycling Development Foundation and be able to chat with them and thank them for the support. Without these guys, people like Peter, Eamon, and I would not have these incredible chances to go over to Europe and race with the National Team. It was also great to see Ralf Medloff, the mechanic for the National Team while I was in Europe. Ralf and Steve were in the follow car for the ride and they would have me drop back and point out people who were struggling so I could help them out. I pushed people up hills and brought others back to the group. After the ride, we had a delicious lunch at a very nice house. It was probably the biggest house I have ever been at. The owners of the house were very kind to provide food for thirty hungry cyclists!

Up next, 'cross racing!

Torey

Mount Diablo Challenge

2010-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the Diablo Challenge. My goal was to break 50 minutes. I followed Kevin to the front row at the start. The first half mile is horrible road. I was worried about getting a flat (got 2 flats there the week before). I led the group through the bumps and then positioned myself near the front of the group. The first half was really hard, but uneventful. Going up the the halfway point Chris Phipps counter one of Kevin's moves. I got on his wheel and he kept surging to and trying to drop me. Soon the two of us had a small gap. I should have stayed steady and dropped off his wheel in the beginning, but I fought to stay on. At exactly the halfway point I fell off. I ended up in the 2nd group. 4 riders were up the road and I was in the next group of 4 with Kevin. We rode hard and I was in the "pain cave". With 4km to go Kevin started surging to drop the Berkeley rider. He dropped me multiple times and I fought to catch up again. In the last few kilometers I tried some attacks, but didn't get far. We finished together up the final pitch. Kevin ended 6th and I finished 7th. I didn't worry about my time during the race, but looked up at the end and saw 48:24 and completed my goal.

At the top all the riders hang out. I saw Matt and Tommy Barger, who are Founders. It was great to talk to them and hopefully I will be able to ride with them this fall.

Thanks to Kevin, Rob, and Peter for all their help getting ready for and during the Diablo Challenge. In Septemeber, when I asked Kevin and Rob about strategy they told me how to race near the top. I thought I would be dropped and by myself for most of the climb. It was motivating knowing that they thought I could stick with them and the other fast riders.