Monday, April 30, 2012

Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors Europe-bound

Five Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors are heading to Europe to compete at the highest level of the sport. 

cypress gorry, whiskey off road
Cypress Gorry wins the Whiskey Off Road 25 Proof.
 
Fresh off his win at the Whiskey Off Road 25 Proof this weekend, Cypress Gorry will be joined by Sea Otter Classic winner Kate Courtney as they compete in the World Cups in the Czech Republic and France on May 13th and 20th.

Kate Courtney, sea otter classic
Kate Courtney wins the Sea Otter Classic XC.

Also heading for international racing in May are Josie Nordrum, Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton, as they participate in the USA Cycling Junior XC Mountain Bike Race Camp. 

Kate Courtney, Josie Nordrum, sea otter classic
Josie Nordrum on the Sea Otter Road Race Podium.

Confirming their strong spring campaigns thus far, Nordrum, Newcomb and Skelton will compete against some of the world's best Juniors at the Grand Prix d’Europe in Belgium on May 27th and Swiss Bike Trophy in Bern, Switzerland on June 3rd. 

shane skelton, bonelli short track
Shane Skelton on his way to winning the Bonelli Park XCT Short Track. 

josie nordrum, sea otter classic
Lucas Newcomb takes a bottle on his way to a podium finish at the Mellow Johnny's Classic.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sea Otter Success!

Five wins and nine podium places spells success for the Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team at the 2012 Sea Otter Classic.

Sean Bennett, Silas Blunk, sea otter classic
Sean Bennett and Silas Blunk take the top honors.
 
Sean Bennett and Silas Blunk go 1-2 in the Junior 15-16 cross country race, with teammate Ben Spurr in 5th. Kate Courtney and Josie Nordrum followed suit with a 1-2 finish in the Junior Women's event as well, with Mackinzie Stanley 5th.

Kate Courtney, Josie Nordrum, sea otter classic
Kate Courtney and Josie Nordrum go 1-2 in the Junior Cat 1 Women

In the Junior 17-18 race, Cypress Gorry finished in 2nd place only 21 seconds down to an on-form Keegan Swenson, fresh off a 3rd place World Cup finish in Houffalize, Belgium. Jacob Albrecht and Lucas Newcomb rounded out an extremely competitive top-five in 4th and 5th. 

cypress gorry, sea otter classic
Cypress happy with a strong finish in only his first race of the 2012 season. 

After a strong ride in the junior women's cross country race the day before, Josie Nordrum tried her hand at road racing with the best possible result. 

josie nordrum, sea otter classic
Josie Nordrum with the win in the Cat 4 Women's road race. 

Even girls team coach Julia Violich got out there and led by example with wins in the Cat 1 40+ XC race and Cat 3/4 criterium. 

julia violich, sea otter classic
Girls team coach Julia Violich takes the Cat 1 women's race. 

sea otter startline
On the startline, ready to rock!
 
kate courtney, josie nordrum
Josie and Kate were all smiles post-race. 

sean bennett, silas blunk, sea otter classic
Job well done for Sean and Silas. 

sean bennett, silas blunk, sea otter classic
Dedication, Integrity and Fun!

Check out all the team's top-10 results of 2012.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Another Strong Weekend for Whole Athlete-Specialized Team as Riders Make Final Preparations for Sea Otter Classic

With the major Spring target Sea Otter Classic coming up in only a few days, the Whole Athlete-Specialized Team showed it's ready for the challenge with strong performances throughout the weekend.

sean bennett, ben spur, norcal race
Sean Bennett and Ben Spurr on their way to a 1-2 finish in the NorCal JV race.
 
Four wins and eleven podium finishes capped off a weekend of high school, U23 Pro and collegiate racing. Casey Williams led the team's charge with a convincing victory in the SoCal High School Varsity race, while Kate Courtney and Josie Nordrum swapped the top two places from last week, once again going 1-2 in the Varsity Girls NorCal League race. 

casey williams, socal
Casey Williams takes the SoCal Varsity win.

Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney, Mackinzie Stanley
Kate Courtney, Josie Nordrum and Mackinzie Stanley go 1st, 2nd and 5th in the highly competitive Varsity Girls race.

Continuing their Junior Varsity dominance, Sean Bennett and Ben Spurr went 1-2, with Silas Blunk hanging on for 6th even after a broken chain. Undefeated Sarah Ogden won her 5th consecutive event taking the Junior Varsity Girls race honors, while Jacob Albrecht and Lucas Newcomb showed a well-timed rise in form with 2nd and 4th in the extremely competitive Varsity event.

sean bennett, ben spurr
Sean Bennett and Ben Spurr on the top two spots of the Junior Varsity podium.

sean bennett, ben spurr
Jacob Albrecht and Lucas Newcomb take 2nd and 4th in Varsity.

Following his win at the Keyesville Classic last weekend, Tony Smith showed his consistent form with a strong 2nd place at the Napa Valley Dirt Classic Pro race. Nick Newcomb also showed that his fitness is coming on with a hard-earned 2nd place in the Western Collegiate Championship Road Race in Reno, qualifying him for the National Championships in Utah next month. 

nick newcomb
Nick Newcomb with a strong 2nd place at the Western Collegiate Championships.

Check out all the team's top-10 results of 2012.

Monday, April 2, 2012

A Perfect Weekend? Wins Across the Board for Whole Athlete-Specialized Riders

It's hard to imagine, but every single race contested by Whole Athlete-Specialized riders this weekend ended with a victory for the team. From the NorCal High School races in Monterey, to Pro cross country races in SoCal, to road races in the Central Valley, the team earned wins in every race and category entered, totaling 9 victories and 16 podium placings!

Zach Valdez
Zach Valdez wins the Sycamore Canyon US Cup, his second Pro win of the season.
 
Tony Smith opened the team's race weekend with a victory on Saturday in the Keyesville Classic XC, marking Smith's first win as a U23 Professional rider. Zach Valdez quickly followed suit on Sunday, winning the US Cup pro race in Sycamore Canyon, while Casey Williams won the junior event. And on the road, Alex Yeh did more than his share by winning the stage one road race and the overall Cat 2 Topsport Stage Race.


Marcus Segedin leads Sean Bennett and Silas Blunk in the NorCal Junior Varsity Race #3.

Meanwhile at the NorCal High School Race #3 in Monterey, Jacob Albrecht earned a well-deserved Varsity win, Josie Nordrum and Kate Courtney went 1-2 in Girls Varsity with Mackinzie Stanley in 4th, Sean Bennett, Marcus Segedin, and Silas Blunk finished 1-2-3 in Junior Varsity, and Sarah Ogden won her 4th consecutive race, earning the Junior Varsity Girls title. Simply amazing riding by the Whole Athlete-Specialized juniors all around.

Jacob Albrecht
Jacob Albrecht takes his first win in the NorCal Varsity race.
 
Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney, Mackinzie Stanley
Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney and Shayna Powless in the Varsity Girls race.

Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney, Mackinzie Stanley
Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney and Mackinzie Stanley go 1st, 2nd and 4th in the ever-competitive Varsity Girls race.
 
Sean Bennett, Marcus Segedin and Silas Blunk
Sean Bennett, Marcus Segedin and Silas Blunk sweep top three on the Junior Varsity podium.

Check out all the team's top-10 results of 2012.