Posts in category interviews

Mitch Graham is the director of the Zipp Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series, as well as the race director of the Harbin Park UCI C1 event, …

This year will, technically speaking, be without a US National Championships, as for the first time the event has been moved from December to early …

by Barron Gira We recently caught up with Jason Knauff, series director of the Chicago Cross Cup (CCC) since 2009, at a ’cross practice he …

Brian Joder of BicyclingEvents.com chats to Tim Westmore about this year’s series, sponsors, format and the “smiling dirty faces” of Sacramento.

Pro racer Adam McGrath has gone from international racer to local farmer in the past year, though he hasn’t hung up his bikes just yet. …

We were trying to scheme up ways about how to get more of our friends into CX. It is hard to talk somebody into buying a whole new bike set up until they have experienced how fun a race is themselves. We also wanted to create a local mid week series to give us more time on our cross bikes during the racing season and use it as a good work out.

As many of you know, Jesse Anthony has announced that after Gloucester’s race this year, he will be retiring from cyclocross to pursue road racing as his main sport. After the summer he’s had, we can’t say that we blame him, as he’s had some amazing finishes and wins, winning Nature Valley overall to name just one. But we will miss him in cyclocross. Issue 15 will include a reflective piece from Anthony as well as a look back at his superlative cyclocross career.

“When I was young I use to race cyclocross. I would like to do it again for fun, as the strength you can get from it would be great training.”

The Euro Invasion has hit the East Coast, and UK-based cyclocrosser Gabby Day has been staying with me in the days leading up to Nittany. This 26-year-old racer has never been to the US, and while maybe the Philadelphia airport wasn’t the best introduction to the country, I’ve been trying to show her some of the nicer parts. Granted, it’s been raining every day, which is going to mean a very muddy start to her US cyclocross season, but she’s taking in stride. With her first US race only a few days away, I wanted to ask her a few questions about her first impressions of the US and how it feels being a woman in the sport.

Malissa is a hard working mother of two/bike racer. Spencer is an up and coming Cyclocross racer. Both of them race and train together. When Spencer races, Malissa can be seen running along on the sidelines, cheering loudly. When it’s his Mom’s turn to race, Spencer and his brother Nick can be seen cheering loudly. They make bike racing a family event.

Today, we caught up with Simon Burney, the author of the seminal how to book on cyclocross, Cyclocross Training and Technique, now in its 3rd edition. He is a former professional cyclocross racer and has spent more than twenty years managing professional cyclocross and mountain bike teams, working with some of the top cyclocross racers in the world. Simon served as the Performance Manager for mountain bike at British Cycling and has raced, wrenched, or managed the national team at the Cyclocross World Championships for 28 years. He’s spoken with us before, but since the season is about to stat, we wanted to pick his brain for some tips for our new-to-cyclocross readers and get an idea of what he’s been up to lately.

This week, we look at Travis McMaster of the AZCROSS.COM Presented by Artisan Prosthetics Powered by Raleigh Bicycles Series. This non-UCI series runs October through December 2011 in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona.

When it comes to Northeast cyclocross racing and specifically Northeast-based cyclocross professionals, most think of the usual suspects: Adam Myerson of Cycle-Smart, Jeremy Powers of Rapha-Focus, Tim Johnson of Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale, the retired Dan Timmerman (formerly of Richard Sachs), Jamey Driscoll of Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale and the list goes on. However, if you attend almost any Northeast UCI level cyclocross race, you will find perennial strong man Justin Lindine mixing it up at the front of the race with the big names in the sport and often finishing on the top of the podium. Recently, Justin took the time to sit down and answer some of my questions regarding his recent move from full time road racer to full-time elite Mountain XC racer, his racing plans for the future and of course, cyclocross.

We’ve heard a lot about the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference in the past few weeks from coordinators Joe Kopena, Tim Manzella and Steven Hopengarten, but what about the other conferences out there? We’ve been reaching out all around the country to find out how collegiate teams are making cyclocross season count. Wilson Hale, cyclocross coordinator for the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference, was kind enough to give us a sneak peek into the makings of a stellar season when schools are situated south of the ECCC. Unlike the ECCC, the ACCC has a shorter season and chooses to host their own races, rather than racing collegiate within standard cyclocross races.

We’ve heard, in past Women’s Wednesday interviews, from women who’ve said that finding sponsor money is harder, the payouts aren’t nearly as lucrative and being taken seriously in the sport is more of a challenge. Today, we asked all types of women cyclists the questions, “what is the hardest part of being a woman cyclist? And what’s the best part?” Answered ranged from serious to humorous, and I was amazed at how many women had a lot to say about the cycling scene.

You may have seen the beginning of Lee’s interview with Rob Curtis in his column this past Saturday, but that was only the beginning. Today, Lee continues his interview with Rob Curtis, the wheel-builder behind PSIMET Wheels.

“It’s not a billboard. It’s just a bike race.”
Cyclocross Magazine’s Joey Mullan has taken it upon himself to interview race promoters all around the country this season to provide you with some insider details on the huge amounts of work that go into planning races and series’, and the people who are just crazy enough to love what they do.
The first promoter we’re taking a look at is Ryan Rickerts of the Cascade Cross Series, which will happen this year from October all the way into February in and around Bellingham, WA.

John Gatch is a do-it-all-er when it comes to cycling. A long time racer, both in road and cyclocross. Announcer for some of the biggest races held here in Cincinnati. Promoter and organizer for the OVCX race, Gun Club CX. He even has a podcast. I was excited to have the opportunity to interview him. Despite his busy schedule, John took the time to answer some of the questions I have always been curious about. He is somewhat of a legend around the cycling community and I hope you enjoy his answers as much as I did.

Welcome to Part II of our “Director’s Cut” of the ECCC Cyclocross Program. We’ve talked to some of the behind-the-scenes workers who make the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference run so smoothly, especially during cyclocross. It’s certainly no easy task, since races aren’t strictly collegiate, and the calendar has to take location, size, elite fields and timing into consideration. It’s make even more difficult (or easy) this year since Nationals are now in January, right when most students will be on winter break. Because of this, the collegiate season will be extended well into December, which could affect students who would like to make it home for the holidays, but who are in contention for top spots in the conference. Last time, we heard from Drexel’s Joe Kopena and Tim Manzella. This week, we talk to Union College alum and New England cyclocrosser Steven Hopengarten.

by Molly Hurford Kathy Sherwin has been popping up on our radar at Cyclocross Magazine quite a bit this past month. First, she took a …

Geoff Proctor truly is a Jack Of All Trades: not only does he manage to stay involved in cyclocross at nearly every level, from junior development to running camps to sitting on the UCI commission to racing, but he also manages a full-time job as an English teacher teaching AP Lit. He’s also responsible for EuroCrossCamp, a hugely successful venture that is now in it’s ninth year. That he had time at all to sit down and answer a few questions for us was amazing, especially since he just finished running his USAC Cyclocross Development camp for junior racers.

When I began working with Rob Brandt, the brand manager for Stevens Bikes, I had lots of questions. Rob graciously took time away from a busy work life to provide me with answers. Some of the things he said surprised me, some confirmed my long-held opinions. I found Rob to be bright, insightful, and open. He told me about himself; how he came to cycling; about ’cross bikes; about ’cross in general – it’s present state and it’s future; even a bit about Stevens, the company he represents.

If there’s one thing you can say about the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference, it’s that it certainly doesn’t have a lack of leadership. There’s always some willing junior, senior, grad student or graduated and grateful alumni willing to (or roped into) taking over where graduating students leave off. And if you’re lucky, those graduating might just stay around to fill in the gaps. For the next two weeks, we’re talking to some of the behind-the-scenes workers who make the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference run so smoothly, especially during cyclocross. It’s going to be an interesting year for Drexel’s Joe Kopena and Tim Manzella.

Adam Myerson is a bit of a cyclocross legend, especially on the east coast. Cyclocross Magazine publisher Andrew Yee distinctly recalls Myerson’s presence at his first race, and years later, he’s still a fixture in New England cyclocross and beyond. With an impressive set of palmares that come from 25 years of bike racing, Myerson is certainly an elite force to be reckoned with, even as some of his contemporaries abandon the Pro field for Masters races. Still, as Myerson (and his latest tattoo) will tell you, he lives by the motto “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.”

This racer from New Zealand hit the cyclocross circuit in 2009, racing primarily in Europe, though she hopes to come to the States this season. First a mountain biker, now Whitson is trying her luck on the road circuit with an eye toward cyclocross in the fall. She took some time out of a travel-heavy road season to chat with us, and was particularly interested in talking about what it means to be a woman in our sport. It’s a topic that we don’t often think about, and the purpose of this column is to highlight great women in the sport, but also to focus on how women are looked at and treated within the cyclocross and cycling world.

Pint-sized racer Emma White has a lot to be proud of. At 13-years-old, she’s already raced and beat a good portion of the women racing in the New England area. And when she races in just her age group, as she did at Nationals this year, she’s a serious force to be reckoned with. Now, she’s in the middle of an intense road season as a junior, but took some time out to answer some questions for us.

Even in the “off-season,” Georgia Gould is a force to be reckoned with. When we last checked in with her in our first Women’s Wednesday column, we learned that she’s been chasing a win in the Mountain Bike World Cup series, as well as the PROxct series. Recently, she finished in the top 15 at the Dalby Forest mountain bike race, and there’s still a lot of mountain bike racing to be done before the season is over and cyclocross begins. Lucky for us, Georgia had a few minutes to spare to talk to us about this season, her upcoming cyclocross season, and what it’s like to be a pro woman in cycling.

For Father’s Day, we wanted to take a second to give a shout-out to all the cyclocross and cycling fathers (mothers too!) out there who have taken the time to help their child (or grown adult) experience the joys of riding or racing a bike. After all, without Cyclocross Magazine’s Chief Cowbell Ringer Andrew Yee’s still-cycling father madly searching for affordable used kid’s bikes for him, converting his little 22″ wheel road bike to a track bike on a weekly basis, and literally pushing him up hills on family rides, there’s no way Cyclocross Magazine would exist today (read more about the background story via CXhairs’ interview). CXM’s Online gal Molly also credits her father with her early and recent cycling addiction. And so as further tribute to Father’s Day, we take a look at a cyclocross racing father and son, Nick and Donald Catlin. This father and son duo travels together for road and cyclocross season, even sleeping in a tent on top of their SUV together! Clearly, these two are close, and we wanted to hear from this dynamic duo about how they really feel about their close-knit relationship.

Luke Keough is remarkably mature for his age, and rightly so: though he’s only 19 years old, he’s been racing for 15 of them and is extremely serious about what he does. That’s not to say that he doesn’t love horsing around with his teammates, weaving around on the road during recovery rides so he can hop into ditches on his road bike, eating ice cream as recovery food or spending an evening at the mall goofing off, but when he’s on the bike, he’s all business. And as he should be: even at 19, his list of palmares surpasses some seasoned pros: he’s the two-time National Champion for the 17-18 field, placed tenth in the 17-18 field at worlds in Italy, won the Elite race both days at Northhampton at Cycle-Smart International in 2010 and the list goes on.

Last week in Collegiate Chronicles, you met Rutgers University Cycling Team’s Director Mark Vareschi, and read about some of his fond memories of the team and its evolution over the years. Today, Vareschi offers some wisdom for other collegiate teams about building a cyclocross team in your collegiate conference.