The Junior's Biggest Sponsor

Recently I have been noticing at bike races that a lot of the junior athletes I compete with have been getting into conflicts quite often with their parents. I'm not trying to call just one person out because there are many riders who are in the scenario. Everyone has been in this situation at one point or another in their life. Maybe it's something they said or something they are making us do, it could be almost anything. I know I am not always in agreement with the things they want me to do. What I'm trying to say is even though they might not always be there for our enjoyment, they are always trying to do what's best for us. Because of all of their hard work they put in, I think we as juniors should show a little bit more respect and thankfulness toward them. After all, they are the ones that bought your first bikes, took you to bike races and paid race entry fees, and so much more. Even before you could love them back they loved you. I'm not saying that you always have to be best friends with your parents, but a little respect and thankfulness goes a long way. Next time your mom or dad says or does something you are not in favor of, think about how much they really do for you.

Thank You Mom and Dad!

The Benefit of Teammates/Iron Horse

The biggest race in Durango each year is the Iron Horse. There are events all weekend and many locals come out to watch. The road race is normally 50 miles with 2 mountain passes with a peak elevation of 10,000 feet. This year the passes were snowed out unfortunately and the race was cut in half. I was lucky to have Gage join me this year and we were excited to see what we could do in the pro field. For the first time the race wasn't sanctioned by USAC. There were two options to compete in the road race, the 2,000 people citizen's tour or the 200 person road race. Many people who signed up for the road race didn't necessarily belong in the same field as the fastest riders. For this reason Gage and I were sure to be on the front row of the 200 person field. The pace wasn't very fast throughout the first 10 miles on the flat. However as soon as we hit the climb with 13 miles to go it completely broke apart. Gage and I went up the road with 4 others, including two local legends Todd Wells and Ned Overend. After the first 10 minute climb I started feeling badly. I didn't have the best few days leading up to the race and I ended up throwing up. I dropped back and threw up about 3 more times. It wasn't very fun, as you could guess. Gage was able to stay with the lead group and fight for a very solid 3rd place. I ended up 7th.

I was upset that I felt badly, especially during a local race when I had a chance to stay with the leaders. However having a teammate end up with a great result made the bad day much better. I learned last weekend that road racing truly is a team sport and I was happy to have Gage there. We've had many similar races this year as a team. Sea Otter was a dominate performance for us and everyone helped each other in benefit of the team. I'm glad to be apart of this team and I'm looking forward to more great results.

-Christopher

The Benefits of Track Racing

Besides the fun atmosphere and fast racing, the velodrome provides many benefits that translates to road racing. When looking at the 2014 Tour of California results, many of the pros that did well in the TT, GC, and sprint stages all come from a track background. The velodrome helps riders with their sprints through the speed of racing and the pursuit helps riders with pace for time trials and even road races when they are off the front. Developing speed and sprints on the track is key because it is translated directly to road races in the last few kilometers of a race. In this years Tour of California we witnessed 2x Madison world champion, Mark Cavendish win two stages. Mark Cavendish comes from a strong track background winning multiple national championships as a junior. In the pursuit, pacing is key for having a fast time. Riders have to find a good pace where they are going as fast as possible but still have to finish strong. Developing pace on the track is translated on the road in time trials, as seen by multiple world track world champion, Bradley Wiggins, winning the TT and eventually GC at the Tour of California. Former pursuit world champion, Taylor Phinney also displayed his pacing effort on stage 5 of the TOC winning solo and also at the USA time trial national championship winning by about 51 seconds. Track racing is fun and it has many benefits that helps racers on the road. 

-Matt Valencia 

Nationals- Approaching Quickly

           As Nationals is only a little over a month away everyone is making sure they're good and ready for the biggest races we will look forward to in our seasons. Being part of NCCF/ Team Specialized Juniors I understand how important these couple races in LA and Wisconsin are to myself and the whole team. We train all year, doing races and races and these are merely just practice racing for the real thing in early July. As a team we've rode strong all season and proven that we are major contenders to beat at this years Track and Road National Championships. I am proud to say I am part of a team that brings their A-game every time they pin on a number. Whether you're having a bad and you communicate with your teammate that you want to work for him, we always seem to have at least one rider contending for one of the podium slots. This year I say willing that our team has greatly developed, with better communication, great sacrifices, furthering the ability to push ourselves, and overall having a great time.

Overall I'm very excited for Nationals this year! I think everyone on our team will accomplish their goals and we'll have a great time.
Grant McElroy

Keep Calm and Carry On

Every race you start, you should have a plan.  You should be able to envision how the race is likely to play out and what you can do to maximize your chances to win.  However, bike racing rarely goes to plan.  In the end, you need to stay calm, read the race, work with your teammates, and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Last week we raced the Berkeley Hills Road Race.  Baker, Buckley and I went up against several teams with larger numbers, so the plan was to be attentive with the breaks and wait until the final lap as attrition should dwindle the field.  However near the end of the second lap our field got mixed in with the field in front of us and a small group of riders from the main teams got away without representation of our team.

My first thought: 'damn, I missed it.  Now I have to go.'  So I got to the front.  I attack.  I pull.  It really doesn't get me anywhere.  As the field regrouped, Buckley and I checked in and worked our way near the front.  It was unlikely that the two of us would be able to pull back the break and still finish well, so the goal became creating an advantage for us.

On the back side of the course, Buckley was the first to go, lining the field out for about a km.  I was able to slot in about 10th wheel and as the paced slowed, I hit it.  With other teams busy reacting to my teammate, I was able to get away solo and work on bridging to the break up the road.

Fortunately I had the legs to make the catch and out climb the breakaway riders on the final hill.  But what made the day was how we worked together to turn a disadvantage into our advantage.

Carry on,

Jeromy

 

 

State Road Championships

 

 

       This years state road champs was definitely something to remember. I came into this 50 mile road race with a ton of confidence with the intension of winning or helping my teammate Jules win. Each lap being 25 miles each I knew going solo would be something very difficult, especially on this course. Every lap had a fair amount climbing in it, so I guess you can say it was a course for the climbers.  

 

        About 20 minutes into the race we finally reached the first of the few hills and as soon as the group settled into a rhythm, I attacked. Distancing my rivals I got about a minute gap until the cable to my shifting snapped off leaving me in the small ring for the remainder of the first lap. I was eventually caught by the field and trying to hang on the back spinning my brains out trying to keep up. As I started the climb to the finish I stopped on the side of the road and Mr. Castellano stuck a rock in my derailleur so that I can get into my big ring.

 

         I eventually got back into the group and as soon as we started to ascend on the second lap, I attacked with anger because I don't find it cool to attack someone when having a mechanical and I was definitely going to finish what I started. I quickly opened up a 3 minute gap and it continued to grow from there. As I approached the finish I took a quick look back and I was finally able to relax. I sat down on the hot pavement totally exhausted waiting to see how my teammate Jules would finish and he came away with an excellent 3rd place. I must say Jules helped me a lot in this victory by pushing the pace on the steep grades. Jules and I celebrated with another win for the team.

 

             

                                 See you next time, Sean



Growing

In the last year or so I have grown about a half a foot. Let me tell you, body size makes a big difference for cycling. For one, it means a new, larger size of all equipment. I have gone from a 49 to a 52 frame size bike and my regular shoe size went from a mens 7 to 9. I've put on roughly 20 pounds since last season and at first it really affected my climbing. But, as I've started to fill out my new body size, I've noticed an increase in something I've barely ever had. Power. I can push bigger gears up climbs and sustain hard efforts for longer. I never knew how much power mattered in climbing because I had mostly been good at it due to my small body. But now as I am growing and my weight has been increasing, power is the only thing keeping me with the leaders on the climb. I've been doing a lot of velodrome and criterium racing this month so when I started climbing again a few days ago, I didn't expect to be fast at all. Well, thanks to the power I've received from the velodrome, hard criterium racing, and my growth, I actually climbed like a beast. Of course to get better at climbing, you have to climb; but, training my power really helped my ability to do so. Growing can be a bit of a burden with all the new things that follow it, but with cycling it means more power. That is why I am so glad to be finally growing and hope that my power never stops growing as well!

To the benefits of growth!
- Jules