Team Newsletter Vol. 4

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What a year it's already turning out to be! With solid local results (including domination of the NorCal High School MTB League) and trips to national events like US Cup West Fontana and the Sea Otter Classic resulting in multiple podium placings, the Whole Athlete Cycling Team is on a roll. We're helping some of the nation's most promising cyclists take their game to the next level while making sure their feet (or tires) stay firmly planted on the ground through mentoring, structured training, and equipment support. This issue of our newsletter includes an interview with one of several team members who compete both on and off-road, an exciting race report from the Berkeley Hills Road Race and news of our upcoming Lake Tahoe Training Camp, where we'll be preparing the team for our trip to MTB XC Nationals in Colorado.

Whole Athlete Cycling Team members Will Curtis and Davis Bentley got the call-up to cross the pond for some overseas competition and training. Based on their strong performances and obvious potential, USA Cycling Mountain Bike Development Director Marc Gullickson invited the pair to the European Junior Race Camp running at the end of June, where they will gain experience racing on the international level. Good luck Will and Davis!

The 2009 Mountain Bike Cross Country National Championships will be held at the Sol Vista Resort in Colorado, over 8000 feet above sea level. Whole Athletes will not only be battling other riders, they'll be fighting the performance advantages of their competitors who live and train year-round at high altitude. You know the Colorado natives are licking their chops at this prime opportunity to better their coastal counterparts - so how do we attempt to level the playing field? We take the Team to Tahoe!

At sixteen years old, Tony Smith is one of the younger members of the Whole Athlete Cycling Team, yet he has more racing experience than many riders twice his age. Coming to Whole Athlete has Tony to continue his steady progression in the sport, with solid results already this year such as winning the first NorCal High School MTB race in the Junior Varsity class and placing third in the Junior 15/16 category at the notorious Copperopolis Road Race. The Terra Linda resident took time out from training and racing (not to mention being a student at Marin Catholic High School) to answer a few questions.

What was your first bike?

Well my first real bike that I could actually compete on was a size XXS Argon 18 road bike that I got for my 9th birthday. I got my first real mountain bike when I was 12, which was a Giant Iguana.

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So the race started out at an easy pace, but a cramp in my thigh made it seem very difficult. Over the course of the first lap I just stayed at the back of the pack, knowing that my legs were not feeling 100% and wanting to conserve whatever strength I had. When we hit the bears on the first lap, Daniel Tisdale of Specialized made a little attack and I jumped on his wheel, realizing that my legs were actually feeling decent.

Although this attack failed to split apart the group, it was a good opener and foreshadowed the attack, also from Daniel on the next lap. When Daniel attacked on the second lap, he and I stayed off the front for a minute of two, before being caught by Ben Sukys and then by Andrew Taylor and our own Nick Newcomb. I was extremely happy to see Nick join us, as he is a very strong team mate and I knew it would be very helpful to have him with us.

On the last lap, my legs started to feel bad again. Luckily we were doing a rotating pace line, keeping my pulls short. I ate a lot of food and drank a full bottle. Although this did not fully remedy the growing cramps in my legs, it gave me enough to last through the lap. I played it very conservatively and was focused on saving something for the final push to the finish.

As a result of some bad luck, I ended up in the front of the pack when we hit the climb on the last lap. Luckily, my awesome teammate Nick zoomed in front of me, telling me he would pull. We rode super slow for the first half of the hill, my eyes stuck on Ben's face, looking for evidence of an attack. Then I heard Nick yell "Will, watch out!" and saw Daniel attack on my left. I caught his wheel, then countered the attack, put my head down, and watched the seconds go by on my heart monitor until I saw the line ahead of me. I looked back and saw nobody behind me and cruised in for my first win on the road! I could have never won yesterday without Nick's help. We worked extremely well together and his selfless actions at the end made victory possible. Thanks Nick! 

--Whole Athlete placed all four junior 17/18 riders in the top-10. Will Curtis 1st, Nick Newcomb 4th, Riley Predum 8th and Zack Berman 9th.