Getting the feet wet...

The Cherry Pie Criterium marked the intro to the race season for a handful of Whole Athlete juniors. Here's Tony Smith's perspective on the race:

1) Cherry Pie Criterium, Napa
2) Date: 2/7/10
3) Category raced: Junior 17/18
4) Placing: 7th

Teammates: Zach, Bobby, Nick, Joe, Roman, Carl

The week before this race wasn't a good one. I was really sick and was only able to get out on my bike once with Bobby and Joe, having to turn around half way up big rock ridge due to my sickness. Nevertheless, I had heard great things about Cherry Pie and I didn't want to miss it, so I decided to go.

This race had the biggest junior turnout that I had ever seen. Over 60 juniors lined up at the start, and I was really excited to get going. Because I was one of the last kids to get my gearing checked, I had to start at the very back of the pack.

The race started out pretty fast, with kids attacking left and right. I just sat in around the top 15 and made sure not to do any pulling and stay safe. Two Team Specialized kids made a break about half way through the race, but I didn't go with them, thinking that the pack would pull them back just like the other failed break attempts. Well, this break just kept getting farther away and nobody could pull them back. I wanted to be able to break away from the group and catch the riders up front, but I knew that I wasn't strong enough to bridge the gap. I should have just broke away with them initially.

So, with those 2 specialized riders going for 1st and 2nd, the main group was racing for 3rd. On the last lap I tried to move myself up into the top 5, but I was only able to get within the top 10. With about 50 yards to the finish we started sprinting, and I somehow managed to get 7th, just missing 6th by half of a wheel length.

I'm pretty happy with this result, seeing as I was really sick the week before and not feeling on top of my game. Also, I got 4 points for coming 7th, so I'm 1/4 way through to becoming a cat 3.

I also raced the Cat 4 race, but it was very uneventfull besides a really brutal crash. Some guy got boxed out and front flipped over a curb and into a tree. Ouch!! I gave the junior race everything I had, so I didn't have much left for the Cat 4's. No breaks got away, and when the sprint came I got around 30th, having to slam on my brakes before the finish because some guys in front of me almost went down.

All in all it was a really good weekend of racing and I had a lot of fun. Good job to Joe, Roman, Bobby, Zach, Nick and Carl!!

Tony

Winter Team Camp: Kicking off 2010 in style!

Team kickoff featured in Cyclingnews.com and in Velonews.com.

The Whole Athlete Junior Development Team recently kicked off its 2010 season with a two-day training camp in Marin County, California. The team of twenty junior and U23 riders spent two busy days filled with sponsor presentations, season planning meetings, yoga, and plenty of riding, all in preparation for what promises to be an ambitious third year for the squad.

The team was treated to beautiful riding including Pt. Reyes, Limantour & Mt. Tamalpais, team photo shoots (thanks to Ronnie Lenzi of Through My Eyes Photography), great food (thank you Whole Foods), sponsor presentations, including a visit from local company owners Burr Purnell of Elemental Herbs and Can Do Kid Bar owner, Deborah Luster. We were well-stocked with gels, chews and drink mix thanks to GU Energy, covered with gloves and eyewear from Specialized and inflation/repair kits from Genuine Innovations, and enjoyed a team yoga workshop (thank you Turtle Island Yoga).

Team kickoff also featured in Cyclingnews.com and in Velonews.com.

More camp photos>

The Whole Athlete Cycling Team is embarking on its biggest season yet. Registering as a UCI (International Cycling Union) trade team, we are providing the opportunity for ten riders to compete at the international level in the World Cup Finals in Windham, NY at the end of August. This will be our third of three nationwide camps and event-specific trips, the first being the "Spring Classics" of MTB XC racing, the Fontana and Sea Otter ProXCTs, followed by our now-famous Tahoe-Colorado Nationals Altitude training camp, which will include the Colorado Springs ProXCT and MTB XC National Championships - a major target for the team in mid-July.

Providing these opportunities for the kids is made possible through tax-deductible contributions to the Velo Development Foundation and the volunteer work of our coaches and mentors. Please consider making a donation of any amount to help support the Whole Athlete Development Program.

Front row: Sven Beer, Max Houtzager, Colby Pastore, Tony Smith, Sofia Hamilton, Victoria Yoham, Bobby Zidek, Alec Kassin; Back row: Will Patterson, Taylor Smith, Will Curtis, Joe Yoham, Davis Bentley, Alex Stevenson, Roman Brockley, Zack Berman, Nick Newcomb, John Bennett (not pictured: Riley Predum & MacKinzie Stanley)

Coaches/ Mentors

Davey Simon, Adam Waskow, Dario Fredrick, Abbie Durkee, Patty Brockley, Steve Cherry (not pictured: Peter Nicholson & Carl Hesselein)

DEDICATION

3.5 hrs of training in the rain. 6500 ft. of climbing -
These are the days where races are won!

INTEGRITY

Most of the kids will be racing on the road as well, with the Junior and U23 Road National Championships in Bend, OR in late-June as a major target for the skinny tires.

FUN
The gun show!

Restorative Yoga

Sofia Hamilton and Victoria Yoham on point

Ronnie Lenzi (Through My Eyes Photography),

doing what she does best!

Joe Yoham & Nick Newcomb (state road champion)
showing how it's done

Whole Athlete Feminin!

We are Specialized!

The Whole Athlete Development Team/Specialized partnership was inaugurated with a tour of Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill, CA. We were led by global marketing guru and tour leader Nic "Part-time comedian" Sims, treated to an impressive, if not entertaining experience at the epicenter of "S".


Immediately upon entering the building we find a museum of bike, featuring original works including "Deadly" Ned Overend's World Championship machine from 1990 - the first-ever mountain bike cross country world champ - to Christoph Sauser's 19.4 lb. dual-suspension (yes, I said sub-20 lb. dual-suspension) 2009 Epic.



Then it was into the classroom at Specialized University, where Sam "Ask me any question" Benedict took over. You might think sitting in a classroom would be the last thing a high school student would want to do during winter break, but if Sam were a high school teacher, kids would look forward to class. After learning nearly 20 names in only a few minutes, Sam took us through the ins and outs of the bikes we'll be riding this season, showed some of the cool and impressive innovations they've employed, and of course, answered any and all questions with comedic style.



Next stop was the helmet testing and design area, where helmets were put through various states of torture to ensure our brains are well-protected - then made into cool and effectively cooling and surprisingly light shapes.




Of course, what's the point of working with bikes if you don't ride them? On to the self-proclaimed "world championship" noon ride we went, a brief yet brisk road ride with Specialized employees/cyclists under the winter sun. We were then treated to a burrito feast (thanks, Geoff!) and with our legs stretched and bellies full we continued the tour...


We checked out bike design (sorry, no rogue photos of future products...), the creative center of innovations and the testing facility, where products (frames, cranks, wheels, etc.) were hooked up to state-of-the-art computer-aided hydraulic machines and put through extremely rigorous and thorough stress-testing prior to even consideration of production. These guys instill real confidence in using Specialized products.


All in all, we were treated like we belonged - a welcome part of the company - a company that pushes the limits of performance in their products, driven by the highest standards, striving to exceed weight and stiffness limitations, optimizing the interface between rider and bike with a coolness factor defined by creativity, speed and fun. We are Specialized!

Team training and artistic expression

--Team Ride at the top of "Marshall Wall"--

One look at the Whole Athlete Team juniors and you see dedicated athletes with integrity who know how to have fun. They simply love riding their bikes.



Yet they apply these qualities to other areas if their lives as well. Take Will Patterson and Max Houtzager, who are not only excellent riders continually improving, but artists as well. As a convenient prologue to our Saturday team ride, on Friday evening Max and Will held an art show at the Sam the Butcher Gallery in Ross, CA., displaying an array of photos from "Here and There."

Post-T-Day Team Ride

Only the brave (or those still in town this weekend) showed up for the Whole Athlete Team ride. We set out from Fairfax on the road bikes on our mini-adventure...The route:

Fairfax, Samuel P. Taylor dirt, Olema Hill, Bear Valley, Inverness, Mt. Vision, Limantour Rd, Bear Valley, Olema, Hwy 1, Bolinas, Stinson (ripping tailwind), Coast View, Pantoll, Panoramic, Mill Valley, Scott Valley trail, Fairfax, home (pumpkin pie!). Epic...

Gratitude

The annual Turkey Day ride, or appetite seminar as it's affectionately known, was held under perfect conditions today - warm weather, hero dirt and hundreds of people enjoying it.

Thanks to the whole team for making riding so fun.
Happy Thanksgiving!

High Flyin' Houtzager wraps up the season in style

Max Houtzager finishes his season in style with a solid ride at the Northstar Downhill final. This talented 16-year-old is equally comfortable in a full-face helmet soaring jumps on a downhill course as he is on a cross-country course with tough climbs.

Max's Race Report:

Class: Junior Expert 17 and under
Conditions: 32 degrees, overcast, snow showers
Course: 5 minutes of high speed berms and jumps with some really loose rutted parts, rocks, and snow!
Result: 2nd

I got my bike set up dialed during the week and dropped 4 pounds from ~43ish to 39 (the wonders of lighter tires and tubeless), and also did some DH riding and sprints for training. I drove up on Saturday morning, and did 15 runs on livewire only! I was feeling faster and faster on the course, but if I did any more runs I'd probably collapse. When I woke up there was an inch of snow outside and it was easily sub 30. Riding the gondola up in order to maintain any feeling in my hands (as opposed to the normal chairs), I felt like I was competing at a world cup because there was snow all around and they always have gondolas. I managed to get five practice runs in, which included some ice drifts. One of my goals was to not crash in practice by riding with Evan from downieville (like my last 2-3 dh races at N*), but on my fifth run my front wheel decided to leave me in a berm, throwing me on the ground. I instantly thought wow there goes my race just like the last times, but it wasn't that bad and after some advil I was feeling race ready.

It was snowing on and off waiting around at the top, so I had to do everything I could to keep warm in my skin suit. I pedaled hard in my race run (and enjoyed it cause it warmed me up) and my upper body got a little cold and was feeling pretty fatigued. I hit all the corners smooth, rode all my lines, and pumped as hard as I could on all the jumps (but nothing crazy fast). Pedaling was my strong suit, and that went well also, except in some spots it was unnecessary as I came up short on the jumps unlike in practice when I wasn't pedaling my eyeballs out (faster to ride smooth). Overall I had a pretty good clean run and got my first podium in Junior Expert Downhill! After the race there was a chainless division which I entered and it was awesome! I put down a respectable time but could see that my pedaling helped me out in the actual race (chainless was one giant category so my time didn't stack up against any of the pros). What a great way to end the season!