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 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 takes the SoCal Varsity win.

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 and Ben Spurr on the top two spots of the Junior Varsity podium.

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 with a strong 2nd place at the Western Collegiate Championships.

Check out all the team's top-10 results of 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 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 takes his first win in the NorCal Varsity race.

 

Josie Nordrum, Kate Courtney and Shayna Powless in the Varsity Girls race.

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 sweep top three on the Junior Varsity podium.

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

Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors Score Again in NorCal High School Race #2

Cold and rainy conditions could not dampen the spirits of the Whole Athlete Juniors at round two of the NorCal High School League Series in Monterey, CA. Following consecutive wins at the Mellow Johnny's and Bonelli Park XCTs, Kate Courtney took her third victory in three weeks, winning the Varsity Girls race. Following Kate's lead, Sarah Ogden also won the Junior Varsity Girls race, while the Junior Varsity Boys swept the top-four places for their third race in a row with Ben Spurr, Marcus Segedin, Sean Bennett, and Silas Blunk.

Ben Spurr leads Sean Bennett and Marcus Segedin in the Junior Varsity race.

Josie Nordrum and Mackinzie Stanley also finished strongly on the Varsity Girls podium in 3rd and 4th, and in the Varsity Boys race Jacob Albrecht, Miles Lim and Lucas Newcomb all landed in the top-10, taking 5th, 6th and 9th. Three wins and nine podium appearances marked the riders' results for the day.

An elated Kate Courtney takes her third win in three weeks. 

Conditions were none too kind to riders' equipment. 

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

Another Podium Sweep for Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors!

This time it was the 15/16 Juniors at the Bonelli Park ProXCT sweeping the top-four cross country podium spots with Sean Bennett, Marcus Segedin, Ben Spurr, and Silas Blunk. Kate Courtney went two for two, winning the Junior Women's event, while Shane Skelton took a strong 2nd place in a national-class XC Junior 17/18 field.

The team earned a total of seven wins and 11 podium appearances over the weekend. 

Whole Athlete-Specialized riders go 1-2-3-4 with Sean Bennett, Marcus Segedin, Ben Spurr, and Silas Blunk. 

 

Kate Courtney takes her second consecutive ProXCT Junior win.

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On Day 2 in the Short Track race, Shane Skelton took the win in the combined Cat 1 event, as Zach Valdez earned his biggest result to date with 3rd place in a highly competitive Pro field. 

In only his second year as a pro, Zach Valdez hits the podium in a ProXCT!

 

Shane Skelton on his way to victory in STXC.

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Adding to the team's successful results tally, Mackinzie Stanley, Victoria Yoham and Julia Violich each won their respective Cat 1 Super-D races, while Sarah Ogden took the win in her first Cat 2 cross country. 

No time to look around for Mackinzie Stanley as she rides to victory in the Super-D.

Zach Valdez on target.

Kate Courtney climbs alone.

Casey Williams and Jacob Albrecht in the 17/18 Junior race.

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

Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors Sweep in Texas

The Mellow Johnny's Classic in Dripping Springs, Texas marks the first stop of the ProXCT national race series, and Whole Athlete-Specialized riders came ready to ride. Casey Williams, Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton swept the top three steps of the Junior men's podium, while Kate Courtney won the Junior women's race.

Whole Athlete-Specialized riders go 1-2-3 with Casey Williams, Lucas Newcomb and Shane Skelton.

 

Kate Courtney takes her first win as a 17/18 Junior.

Casey took charge of the race on the first lap, flowing through the highly technical, rocky course with smoothness and speed. 

 

Casy Williams on his breakout ride.

 

Even a broken rear rim could not keep Kate from taking top honors on this day.

 

Shane rode a super-consistent race to complete the Whole Athlete sweep.

Lucas riding strongly in his first 17/18 Junior race.

First stop on the ProXCT.

The rocky course took its toll on wheels.

Shane and Casey warm up.

Tremendous team support. Thank you, Specialized!

First Race Weekend a Huge Success for Whole Athlete-Specialized Team

Whole Athlete-Specialized riders wasted no time shaking out the winter cobwebs this weekend as they earned four wins and 13 podium placings in NorCal and SoCal events, showing the form that dedicated training brings.

Whole Athlete-Specialized riders sweep the top-four Junior Varsity podium places at NorCal High School Race #1: Sean Bennett, Ben Spurr, Marcus Segedin and Silas Blunk.

Silas Blunk gets the hole shot in the start of the Junior Varsity race. 

In the opening NorCal High School League race at Granite Bay, Junior 15/16 riders swept the top four podium places with Sean Bennett (El Cerrito), Ben Spurr (Marin Catholic), Marcus Segedin (Redwood) and Silas Blunk (Independent). In the Varsity boys race, despite being caught up in a challenging start, Jacob Albrecht (Santa Cruz Composite) took a strong 2nd, Lucas Newcomb (Drake) finished 4th and Miles Lim (Drake) 7th. 

 

Sarah Ogden wins the Sophomore Girls race.

 

On the girls' side, Sarah Ogden (Redwood) took her first win with a dominant performance in the Sophomore race, while Josie Nordrum (Redwood), Kate Courtney (Branson) and Mackinzie Stanley (Drake) all hit the podium with 2nd, 3rd and 4th in Varsity.

Josie Nordrum and Mackinzie Stanley on their way to 2nd and 4th podium spots.

 

SoCal High School League Race #1 Varsity podium: Shane Skelton 1st and Casey Williams 5th.

Meanwhile, in the SoCal High School League, Shane Skelton took an impressive win in a very competitive Varsity race, while Casey Williams rounded out the podium in 5th. 

Zach Valdez wins the Black Mountain Pro Cross Country Race.

And with the Juniors focused on their high school events, U23 rider Zach Valdez took to his first race of the season with zeal, winning the Pro field at the Black Mountain Cross Country in San Diego.

Zach Valdez on his way to his first Pro victory of 2012.

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

Valdez Takes First Win of 2012

After a dedicated Winter of training, Zach Valdez earns the team's first win of the 2012 season at the Black Mountain Pro Cross Country Race in San Diego, CA. Congrats, Zach!