Fall Roads...

The leaves may be falling and the temperature along with it, but that isn't keeping the team off the roads! This past wednesday a group of us got out for a bit of faster past ride, and it was incredible! T-VO, Jay, Bennet, Chase and I showed up for some chilly exercise and I think we all got our money's worth. We started out on the good old Ferris Loop and after warming up, got in 15 min of good tempo that really got our legs going! After resting for a bit and cresting the hill on the return, we kicked it up again, this time practicing attacking and bridging. Though we only had a three man "peloton", it made for some interesting tactics practice. A sprint finish to round the ride out and we were back in W2! A quick jaunt over to the health center for an ice bath before eating absolutely as much as possible! I love riding. Sorry I have no pictures to put up either, but we'll get some good ones from this weekend, parents weekend!

Keep on riding everyone! (and posting, lets keep this going!)

Track Racing 101

Hey, Whittie cyclists!

I hope you all are having awesome summers. Mine is filled with bikes & sun.

I moved down to San Diego in June, and I'll be here until early September when I'll be hopping the Atlantic to spend fall semester in Scotland, land of wool sweaters, wellies, and Chris Hoy. Swappin SoCal rays for Scottish rain will be..interesting. It's always above 70+ here, 85+ inland - gorgeous cycling weather. I'm still getting used to the heat, and I've got the sunburns to prove it. I have to make sure there's a water stop on all rides over 25 miles, reapplying sunscreen all the time, etc.

The main reason I'm here is for the track, although there are plenty of other perks, too (i.e. SUN). The San Diego Velodrome has launched such stars as Chris Horner, and actually in Southern California it's difficult to swing a dead cat (sorry for the visual) without hitting a former Olympian or world champion. My track coach is Dave Grylls, a 2-time Olympian, my road coach is Robert Fagnant, who rode for Jelly Belly, my host dad is Jim Rasmussen, cycling badass, and on the track I've met such cyclists as Connie Paraskevin and Tara Whitten. People here are, in general, fantastic cyclists. Maybe it's because they can train year-round, or the terrain is awesome, or their racing season starts in late January, but in any case it makes for great competition.

Track is FUN. First off, it's drastically different from road. Like, drastically. Sure there are similarities, like most of the bike components are the same, you pedal, there's a finish line, etc. But then there are the changes which threw me for a loop - no coasting, no brakes, the banking, the constant constant sprinting. One thing I thought was funny - on the Encino track there's a sign saying, "LEFT TURN ONLY."

But after two months I'm quite comfortable, and I can already feel a big change in my road abilities. Track helps you 1) spin faster and more consistently, 2) sprint like a bad ass, 3) endure more high-intensity efforts without puking, 4) handle your bike well, etc.

Very useful.

I'm not competing on the road much now except for the occasional crit. Because Southern Californians begin their road season in January, it ends mid-July. Then track takes over until late September. Personally, I think the the early-ending road season is a waste of sunshine, but hey, I'm from Eugene. We take full advantage of any and all clear skies and often racing August includes downpours.

*Oh yeah. All us Whitman riders, we're kind of hardcore. I'm not going to say SoCal riders are wusses because they do train like maniacs, but you get my point. Rain & fog send them running for their SAD lamps.*

August is National Qualifier time for the track, and I qualified last Saturday in the match sprint. I beat the reigning national champion and came in second overall. There's another qualifier this weekend, so we'll see how I do.

I'll miss Whitman come September, but I'll be back in the spring to tear up the road with you all!

Much love,

Rachel

Tour of Walla Walla Success

Hello All,

You are receiving this email because you mean a lot of me and to the team. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you an indepth look at the weekend's events in the Mens Pro category so you could all be a part of the excitement. I hope you enjoy the reading below and again, thank you for helping the team and myself reach this milestone.

* * *

This past weekend the Whitman team put on a great show at the 15th annual Tour of Walla Walla despite facing some of the Northwest's stiffest competition in what has grown into the most prestigious stage race of the year in Washington state. In the Mens Pro category, the field was stacked with the 110 of the best riders from the Northwest and British Columbia, plus the Bulgarian National Road and Time Trial champion and the regional elite Team LandRover Orbea (Pro team '09) which featured two New Zealand national champions.

All the Whitman riders (20 riders spanning all 8 categories) who competed and volunteered, put in their best effort racing with heart and sportsmanship to bring home some huge results. Although I do not know all the results at this time, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the success of our team in the Pro.1.2 men's field. Using a composite team of current students and alumni, we fielded one of the strongest teams in the race and brought home the goods.

My teammates, Alan Schmitz '03, Nick Littman '09, Colin Gibson '10 and team supporter Alan Adams worked tirelessly for my general classification bid, culminating in a 4th place overall. Whitman has never placed a rider so high in the general classification in the Pro.1.2 mens field at this event and as we reflect more and more about the firepower we were up against, we realize just how special this weekend has been.

Friday:

The weekend began with a challenging road race course north of Waitsburg late on Friday afternoon. After Red Truck Racing (Vancouver, CA) worked hard to bring back a small breakaway composed of Hagens Berman Team leader Soren Peterson in the final 15km, Colin Gibson helped me stay safe as the stage came to a bunch sprint finish. He delivered me to the top 5 at 500 metres to go. The sprint began early, at 350 metres and after my initial jump, I was able to dig extra deep at 150m, finding another gear and took the bunch sprint by a wheel. Amazing. All our of 5 riders finished in the bunch (same time) so the next day's time trial would decide our GC contender.

Saturday:

Thanks to the support of my coach David Youngblood and all my housemates and close friends, who covered the road with chalk and waved the flag of flanders at the top of five 5mile hill (approximately half way through the 9.3 mile event), I did a perfect individual time trial, finishing 10th, 50 seconds faster than last year race. After the event I sat 10th in GC, only 20 seconds out of 2nd place.

The criterium in downtown Walla Walla, featuring a section of the Whitman College campus, was great fun. It was a wet and treacherous race with numerous crashes at the top of the circuit (at the Apex store corner), however Colin and Nick did an amazing job of covering moves and staying close to me, protecting me from the wind. In the end colin and I were cornering exceptionally well and although I messed up the final lap (though there was still 1 lap to go) he finished 7th and I rolled over in 9th. Safe, muddy, and accidently completely rested for Sunday's 100 mile road race. Due to separations in the field, I moved up to 5th in the GC, only 55 seconds out of 1st and 11 seconds out of 2nd.

Sunday:

The classic Waitsburg road race features two climbs per lap plus a short feed hill, 90 minutes per lap and at 2.5 laps, the total time of the race was over 3.5 hrs. Colin unfortunately flatted, and although he chased his heart out for 45 minutes, he was unable to catch back on. Alan Adams monitored the front throughout the first half of the race and survived through to the end to help protect me during the final 20km. Alan Schmitz used with big frame to keep me protected in the cross winds through the first lap. Nick Littman pulled back a late (ultimately the race winning move) breakaway in unbelievable style (that guy is so strong), echeloning the whole field for twenty minutes as we drove off the penultimate climb, through waitsburg and into the final 3km, 10 minute climb of the day, leaving the lead group only 30 seconds up the road. Up the final climb I used my knowledge of the climb and partitioned my effort for the best result. Although 7th and 9th in GC attacked at 1.6 km, I let them drift 10 metres ahead. The remnants of the breakaway appeared within closing distance and although the fight for the stage win was out of reach, I targeted the majority of that breakaway group as my goal to ensure my top 5 GC position. Going for the best time, we dropped the yellow jersey and I followed Kevin Rowe (a very talented Team Exergy rider currently 4th in GC) out of the group at 1.4km to go. Over the smooth pavement left hand corner, 7th & 9th powered up the climb just ahead, and as the road tilted an extra 2-3% degrees, I followed Rowe's wheel back up to the two riders at 1km to go. As soon as I passed the 1km to go we rounded a right hand corner, the gradient dropped a few degrees and Colin Gibson, waving the flag of flanders like a madman at the finish, was within my sights. Like every other training ride, now it was time to increase the pace all the way to the line. Up the inside, on the left, 7th& 9th attacked again, and after Kevin (pasted to the right side of the road) moved left just enough for my wheels to get out of the gravel, I surged past, veering left and bridged the 10 metre gap, attacking immediately over the right hand side and opened up the sprint of the line. Moving past the 10-15 riders of the breakaway group (with Sam Johnson '07 of Hagens Berman- ultimately finished 10th in the stage- cheering me on as I blew by) at 300 metres and moved on, powering past Colin at 150 metres, taking it all the way to the line for the best time possible. Finishing 7th on the stage and only 53 seconds back of Hagens Berman's veteran rider Soren Peterson, I moved up to 4th in the GC.

This weekend has been an amazing experience and I am absolutely blown away at the quality of our team and our ability to execute with only a 5 man group (most teams fielded 8 riders). I wanted to thank all our our sponsors and supporters by sharing with you my take on the most successful weekend of racing the Mens team has ever had. I have heard great things about the women's racing this weekend and I look forward to hearing those stories as well.

Without your support, our success would not be possible. I am not going to try to name names because I would miss someone - everyone's tireless effort is what makes our team an important part of the Walla Walla community.

Thank You,

Sincerely,

Ben Chaddock '10

Whitman Cycling

Stage 1: Kellogg Hollow Road Race: 1st

Stage 2: Individual 5Mile Road Time Trial: 10th

(Snagged the yellow for my warmup)

Eugene, OR Spring Break Training Camp

After racing in Eugene and Corvallis, OR last weekend, our team is enjoying some quality time together training in Eugene, OR. Big thanks to Julianna Nowlan and the Snow family for providing homestays for the week. The weather is in our favor this year, and Julianna is again helping us map out some of the most beautiful routes in the local area. Yesterday, our team split into two groups--both riding up climbs and spinning for several hours, with Julianna and John supporting our rides in follow-cars. Here are some photos from the top of the Wolf Creek climb.



The website should be updated soon with more details on last weekend's races, but I want to commend the Women's C racers on our team, in particular, for a great weekend. We had SEVEN women racing in the C field, many racing for the first time. All of the C women kept the rubber-side down this weekend, finished strong, and are excited to continue racing.


Also, we had some rain during the criterium races, and our team crafted a huge tarp fort in the parking lot.
By Emily Rodriguez

2010 Photo Shoot

Thanks Alex Riddenback!

Cycling Class = Tarmac Crushers

Over the past eight weeks I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of young people. With the help of Cross County running coach Malcolm Dunn, I have co-taught Whitman College's first accredited road cycling class. The class, officially "Conditioning for Cycling", has been an idea of mine for a long time and I'd like to thank Dean Snider (Whitman College Athletic Director) and Malcolm for supporting my vision.

Meeting twice a week (usually Tuesday chalktalks and Thursday fitness sessions) all the students, who are also racing team members (although any Whitman College student/staff with a modern road bike can signup) have pushed themselves not only in their fitness but also their bike handling abilities.

Every session these riders tackled our many challenges with vigor, no matter how intimidating. Heart rate max tests on the computrainer, bumping practice on the grass, cornering and agility skills on the asphalt, pacelining, climbing out of the saddle and sprinting have all been on the menu - but they are all still hungry.

Today we had a great ride out of town, tackling a challenging hill and then bringing it back in good time. Everyone is very comfortable now riding in the pack so I am very excited about this season's racing, which starts in just ten days.

Riders - Thank you all so much. You have shown so much heart this whole year and I wish you all fast legs come race day. If I have had a tough training ride and am little down, your energy and enthusiasm is easy to feed off of - working with you all keeps me excited to ride every day I can.

Be sure to keep checking in as this new 2010 fleet heads out for a little cropdusting.

Sincerely,

Ben Chaddock

Mock Race February 27th

Fenders off, shades down, its time to rock n' roll! Whitman Cycling invites you all to participate in our 5th annual mock race in preparation for another tarmac shredding season.

Newbie Ride (Cat5 Men and Cat 4 Women):

Meet: Reid Campus Center @ 8.20am.
Roll Out @ 8.30am sharp
Piste: 1 Counterclockwise Loop of Valley Grove


Elite Ride (Hang On!)

Meet 9.15am: Middle Waitsburg & Rainer Drive (end of Wellington if you take the bridge under the highway)
Roll Out @ 9.30am

Piste: 1 Lap of Tour of Walla Walla Sunday Course (Waitsburg Loop)

Intermediate Sprint: Grain Towers on Lower Waitsburg (35minutes in)
KOM: Top of Middle Waitsburg Climb (70minutes in)
Sprint Finish: Old Finish @ Metal Shed near Airport (100 minutes in)

After each intermediate point section the respective groups can regroup so we can all get more pack practice.

Here at the courses!

Beginner Race Course

Elite Race Course

Pioneer gives cyclists a lift!

Props to Missy Navarro!

Feb.18th Article - Top 5 reasons to watch out for Whitman Cycling

Jan 26th Article - Whitman Cycling Team designs training course

Check out articles from Missy in the future here

Mock Race February 27th

Beginner Course

Elite Course

See facebook event for start times

Tentative Race Flier

Well lookie here! We gon' have us a race.

Race Flier here

The courses are here:

Saturday : Road Race & TTT

Sunday : Circuit Race

Stay tuned.....

2009 Season Wrap

2009 Documentary:

A little slower look at our team

Collegiate CX Nats - 7th

I figured it was better late than never so here it goes.

In December with a huge crew of five housemates, I took off for Bend, Oregon for the collegiate cyclocross nationals event. I attended the event in Kansas in 2007 and having the race on the west side this year made it an easy trip. The course was still frozen for the early morning start, which worked well as the corners did not degrade and I could find the grip level and push. Steve Fisher of Western Washington, a NW area CX chief did a great race and finished 2nd. He should have won though as the guy in the stars and bars is some 35 year old who placed 6th in the US masters category a few days before, so great race Fish!

Even though I forgot to register in time, they still called me up for a front row start. That was very appreciated as passing on the slick course was quite difficult. Essentially we were all just domino's. If you didn't like the way the guy in front of you was riding, he would usually make it easy for you and fall within the next 30 seconds, then you just avoid the carnage and fly right by!

Off the gun, the guy in black, Ian Crane (Western Washington / Hagens Bermann) took the whole shot. I made sure Steve went ahead into the first turn as I just wanted to finish a smooth race and knew, after only two cyclocross races this season and minimal high intensity training, that I wasn't going to challenge him. Out of the first corner, after the usual close call with tape and barriers I rode in fifth. One half of the course was straight dirt, but it was frozen. I really liked that part of the course. There was even some ice! It featured big sweeping corners where you are going fast enough to be right on the edge of grip and if you go down, it would really hurt.

The second half of the seven minute lap was in an in-field section of grass which was much more spectator friendly. The course dived down and to the right before a ridiculously slippery corner followed by the stairs. Those stairs were really sweet! There was a long sidehill afterwards which was also hella slippery, definitely saw a few guys go down there - even in the elite race in the afternoon. Next the to the big white beer tent, the barrier section came around a blind corner all of a sudden. On the first lap, right before this section, Ian went down from two guys in front on me and I had no where to go. Throwing on the brakes four guys swarmed me and all of a sudden, I had fallen back to tenth. I slowly pulled back riders within the next 2 laps but after that, the race was pretty much done for me as everyone settled into their own rhythm. Forty five minutes later, I brought it home for 7th place. I was pretty stoked as I rode a smooth race without any big mistakes and some huge saves in the tricky conditions. Full opposite lock on the handlebars over frozen mud definitely came out of the bag of tricks a few times to the relief of my bony hips.

Thanks again to Brennan for putting me up in her house. Dunco, Emily, Warren and Jack, there is no way this would have been fun without someone to appreciate my ridiculous hair styles!

Collegiate CX Nationals Video: Bend, Oregon

Levy Tops the Charts!

Molly Blust and Sara Levy finished off a week of baseline fitness testing today @ Welty Training Center. Molly "Aerobic Machine" Blust held out at LT like a champ for minutes on end, spiking to 207 beats per minute just before completing here test, only 35 seconds from completing a stage @ 200watts. Excellent stuff Molly!

Sara Levy was quick to follow suit and pushed really hard to complete a full two minutes @ 240watts before moving on to 260 watts for 30 seconds. With this effort, she has the highest power per kilogram for all the women tested so far using her last completed wattage of 240 watts and at her lactate threshold around 230watts. Great job Sara!

Levy continued on to battle Rachel Hoar's leading time on the 1km of 1.39 and edged her out with a new women's record at 134.9!! She averaged 295 watts over the distance, most of which was done within 5% of this average = excellent pedal stroke so keep working on that pedal stroke Sara - you already improved a ton through that the spinscan session during your warmup!

So the gauntlet is down ladies!

Who will counter?

Fitness Tests Continue @ Welty

More tests at Welty this weekend. So far Luecke has put up the best numbers

320 watts on the Conconi @ 163 lbs

New Record for 1km Time Trial: 1.19.90 @ 473 watts

Rachel Hoar still has the top Women's time at 139.5 @ 260 watts

Rachel Lights it up

Rachel put it all down on the computrainer yesterday. Following the Conconi Protocol for max. heart rate, we found out some cool info that may help her go for a great spring season.

She also posted the first time on the 1km Whitman Cycling TT, also on the computrainer. Signup and try to beat her!

Check out the video of her Conconi Test here:

Ben

Tour of Walla Walla

Get Stoked!

See the website here!

Paris - Roubaix

The name says it all.....