Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team Preps for National Championships with High Altitude Training Camp

For the third consecutive year the Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team will prepare for the Mountain Bike National Championships with a three-week high altitude training camp.

With the Nationals course in Sun Valley, ID at 6000 ft., the team will prepare by acclimating to the thin air of North Lake Tahoe while training and racing for the three weeks prior to the main event. The camp kicks off with the Annadel XC race in Santa Rosa on Saturday June 25th, then it's up to the Sierra's, where the following two weekends include the Peavine Challenge XC in Reno, NV and the Downieville Classic.

True to Whole Athlete's holistic approach, the team camp includes daily yoga, highly nutritious meals, mental training sessions with the team sport psychologist and of course, epic riding. The camp is truly a team effort and the young riders share the cooking, cleaning and bike maintenance responsibilities. Eight junior boys, four U23s and five junior girls will represent the team at Nationals, with Kate Courtney and Keegan Swenson each defending their 2010 Junior titles.

Follow the young riders during their camp adventures here on the team blog and Facebook.

Whole Athlete-Specialized National Championship Team

U23 Men
Zach Valdez
Will Curtis
Will Patterson
Riley Predum

Junior Men 17/18
Keegan Swenson
Tony Smith
Max Houtzager
Taylor Smith
Eliel Anttila
Bobby Zidek

Junior Men 15/16
Lucas Newcomb
Jonny Kaufman

Junior Women 17/18
Sofia Hamilton
Mackinzie Stanley
Victoria Yoham

Junior Women 15/16
Kate Courtney
Josie Nordrum

Double Victory in XC & Super-D: Valdez in Big Bear, Houtzager in Ashland

U23 standout Zach Valdez took his first pro win at the Kenda Cup Final in Big Bear, CA. Zach has been close to that top step with multiple podium finishes this season, while that elusive win has been just out of reach - until now!

Meanwhile, "All-Mountain World Champion" Max Houtzager showed once again that he is one of the most adept bike handlers in the junior ranks by sweeping the Ashland Mountain Challenge in Oregon, winning both the Avid Chainless Challenge and Super-D.

From California to Colorado - Wins across the West

To say the Whole Athlete-Specialized Team is on a roll would be an understatement. At the halfway point of the year now, the team already has 43 wins and over 100 podium finishes!

This past weekend was no exception, as riders found success from California to Colorado. At the 17th annual Skyline MTB XC race in Napa, CA, the team took three wins and eight podium finishes across the various categories, ranging from Junior to Cat 1 to Pro:

Placing	Rider	Category
1st	Tony Smith	Cat 1 18-39
1st	Kate Courtney	Junior Women
1st	Dario Fredrick	Cat 1 40+
2nd	Max Houtzager	Cat 1 18-39
2nd	Mackinzie Stanley	Junior Women
2nd	Eliel Anttila	Junior Men
3rd	Will Curtis	Pro
3rd	Sofia Hamilton	Junior Women
4th	Victoria Yoham	Junior Women
4th	Bobby Zidek	Junior Men

Tony Smith and Max Houtzager go 1-2 in the Cat 1 race

Kate Courtney, Mackinzie Stanley (not pictured), Sofia Hamilton and Victoria Yoham (not pictured)
sweep the top-four places in the Junior Women's race

Meanwhile, young Lucas Newcomb took a convincing win at the Hotter than Habanero XC in Colorado Springs, finishing not only first Junior, but Cat 1 overall as well! The hotly contested race was part of USA Cycling's Junior MTB Development Camp and a qualifier for their European Race Camp in August.

Lucas Newcomb

Next up for the Whole Athlete-Specialized riders is the Annadel XC race in Santa Rosa, CA, the Wisconsin ProXCT, the Mont Sainte Anne (Canada) and Windham (NY) World Cups, the Downieville Classic, and of course the National Championships in Sun Valley, ID.

Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Podiums on Two Continents: Swenson in Switzerland and Valdez in Santa Ynez

Whole Athlete-Specialized Junior Keegan Swenson showed his talent once again by taking an impressive 2nd place at the Racer Bikes Cup (Swiss National Series) in Granichen, Switzerland. After a strong race in his first-ever World Cup in Offenburg, Germany the weekend before, Swenson once again faced a world-class field of juniors in Granichen, this time landing squarely on the podium.

Swenson on his way to the podium

In his first year as a U23 Pro, Zach Valdez is already making waves. He has consistently finished as one of the top young riders in the spring ProXCTs in both short track and cross country. Only two weeks after a strong 2nd place finish in the Big Bear Kenda Cup cross country, Valdez once again hit the podium with another 2nd place behind former Australian National Champion Sid Taberlay (Kenda H20 Overdrive) in the Santa Ynez US Cup Triple Crown short track.

Valdez hot on Taberlay's heels

Swenson and Valdez are looking to carry their momentum into the North American World Cups in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada and Windham, NY next month, where they will be joined by junior teammates Max Houtzager and Tony Smith.

Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Max Houtzager in action

Swenson

Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors Head to Europe to Take on World-Cup Racing

Standout Whole Athlete-Specialized juniors Keegan Swenson and Max Houtzager are taking the leap across the pond to race with the world's best. Swenson and Houtzager join a small number of elite US Juniors under USA Cycling's National Race Camp to compete in the Offenburg World Cup in Germany next weekend and the Swisspower Cup race in Granichen, Switzerland June 5th.

Keegan Swenson on his way to winning the Bonelli Park ProXCT

This trip marks the first foray into European racing for Swenson and Houtzager and should provide them with invaluable experience at the highest level of the sport. Swenson has shown he's ready to take on the next level after having won every ProXCT junior event entered this Spring and six wins to date. Houtzager has also had a strong Spring campaign, with two wins and multiple podium placings, and the Offenburg race will be his second World Cup race experience after competing at the Windham, NY event last year.

Max Houtzager rounding out the team's Sea Otter podium-sweep

We wish Max and Keegan the best of luck in their European Spring race trip!!

Whole Athlete-Specialized Juniors Wrap Up Successful High School Season

Josie Nordrum sweeps JV Girls Series & CA State Title

Two California State Titles and eight podium appearances at the NICA State Championship Race in Los Olivos this weekend punctuated the Whole Athlete-Specialized Team Juniors' success throughout the 2011 High School season.

Lucas Newcomb sweeps JV Series & CA State Title

Sophomores Lucas Newcomb (Drake High School) and Josie Nordrum (Redwood High School) each took their respective Junior Varsity State Titles after sweeping the entire NorCal series. "Mr. Consistency" Jonny Kaufman (San Rafael High School) earned a well-deserved 2nd place behind Newcomb in JV, while Taylor Smith (Marin Catholic High School) had his best ride of the Spring to take 2nd in an extremely competitive Varsity field. Max Houtzager (Redwood High School) also landed on the Varsity podium with a solid 4th place. On the Varsity Girls side, Sofia Hamilton (Drake High School), Kate Courtney (Branson High School) and Mackinzie Stanley (Drake High School) rounded out the super-competitive ladies' podium with 3rd, 4th and 5th places respectively.

Varsity Girls: Sofia Hamilton, Kate Courtney & Mackinzie Stanley round out the podium in 3rd, 4th & 5th

In the six NorCal and State High School races this season, Whole Athlete-Specialized juniors earned 15 wins and 46 podium placings! Congratulations to all the riders who competed at the State Championship event, and for completing an outstanding season of High School racing.

Varsity Boys: Taylor Smith 2nd & Max Houtzager 4th

Whole Athlete-Specialized Team Continues Its Spring Success

The Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team continued its whirlwind Spring with three wins, ten podium placings and 13 top-10 finishes over the weekend.

At the final round of the NorCal High School Series at Boggs Mountain, Lucas Newcomb (Drake High School) and Josie Nordrum (Redwood High School) completed perfect sweeps, winning all four events and the overall titles in Junior Varsity. Confirming his consistency throughout the series as well, Jonny Kaufman (San Rafael High School) took 2nd behind Newcomb in JV boys.

In the ever-competitive Varisty Divisions, Max Houtzager (Redwood) and Sofia Hamilton (Drake) each completed the series in 2nd place overall, with Taylor Smith (Marin Catholic High School) and Kate Courtney (Branson High School) each 4th and Mackinzie Stanley (Drake) taking 5th, less than a year after recovering from hip surgery.

Perhaps more impressive than any of the top results was Bobby Zidek's ride at Boggs. While he didn't win or even place on the podium, he sacrificed his chances of a high finish by stopping to help a rider who crashed hard in front of him. This selfless act is one we can all aspire to.

Meanwhile in the mountain states, Keegan Swenson continued his superb Spring with victories at the Utah State Championship Series #1 last weekend - against the pros no less - and again at the Rabbit Valley Rally in Fruita, CO this weekend. Swenson already has six wins this season, including all the Junior ProXCT races in the series thus far.

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