Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher Ready For USA CRITS Speed Week Series
By Sean Weide
USA CRITS Speed Week Series Roster Announced
Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher, one of the nation’s premier elite cycling teams, has announced its line-up for the USA CRITS Speed Week Series.
Heath Blackgrove will lead the team when the seven-race series begins with the 31st edition of the Athens Twilight Criterium Saturday in Athens, Ga. Last year, Blackgrove won the 43-mile (80 km) race on his first attempt in a three-up sprint from a breakaway.
“Athens Twilight is now up there on my list of race wins,” Blackgrove said, “especially since it came in front of such a great crowd. It was such an adrenalin rush.”
Joining Blackgrove in the Speed Week Series races that continue through May 2 in North and South Carolina are: Logan Hutchings (NZL), Stefan Rothe (GER), Ronnie Strange (USA), Sean Sullivan (AUS) and Carlos Vargas (COL).
Vargas finished third in the USA CRITS Speed Week Series last year and Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher was third in the team competition.
Looking Ahead To Joe Martin
Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher will shift its focus from criterium to stage racing next month when the Joe Martin Stage Race begins May 6 in Fayetteville, Ark.
On the roster for the four-day, four-stage National Racing Calendar (NRC) event are: Logan Hutchings (NZL), Kevin Nicol (USA), Stefan Rothe (GER), Ronnie Strange (USA), Sean Sullivan (AUS) and Carlos Vargas (COL).
Already this season, Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher has won more than 20 races and leads the Texas Pro Men’s points series in the both individual and team categories.
Team Owner and Manager Barry Lee said with the additional time trial strength, Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher should be competitive in the larger U.S. stage races, as well as the USA CRITS events and National Racing Calendar (NRC) criteriums.
“We are still an Austin-based team and developmental club with a key focus on helping develop younger and less experienced riders and racers and those crossing over from running and other endurance sports,” Lee said.
Expanding Roster
The Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher roster is expanding to include a number of elite riders based in the Boulder, CO area. Racing in the green, orange and black will be: Clark Sheehan, Keith Harper, Kevin Nicol, Tucker Olander, Mark Southard and Nico Toutenhoofd.
Sheehan was a stage winner at the Tour duPont (in the longest breakaway in race history) and a podium finisher when the USPRO Championships were held in Philadelphia (both in 1995). Nicol is a past winner (2008) of the Bob Cook Memorial/Mt. Evans Hill Climb and Toutenhoofd finished runner-up in the Mt. Washington Hill Climb in 2008.
The team will also look toward its current group of Category II racers in Austin to eventually advance to the elite ranks. They include: Jeff Austin, Zach Bergh (Under 23), Robert Biard, Robbie Brennan, Cody Foster (Under 23), Doug Looney, Daniel Marquardt, Dan Opdyke, Kyle Rodemacher, Chad Smith, Brant Speed, Ruarri Day-Stirrat and Joseph Tokarski.
Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher Team Owner and Manager Barry Lee said the having close to a 200-member club in Austin, 50 in Boulder and competitive age groups and categories within them makes for a unique dynamic.
“Combined with event promotion, developmental camps with the pro elite racers and year-round community work year like including spin classes at the Texas School for the Blind in Austin, we are unlike any other pro-elite program,” Lee said. “Each of the pro elite racers work and mentor within the club with U-23 and less experienced team and club members.
Lee said the team’s next endeavor will be taking children from Texas to Australia and New Zealand in December-January while children from those countries will travel to America in the summer to experience cycling events such as the International Cycling Classic (Superweek) and the Tour of America’s Dairyland.
New Website Debuts
Just in time for the heart of the spring racing season is the debut of the new website for Team Hotel San José/Mellow Johnny’s Presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher. Located at www.teamhotelsanjose.com, the new site features a wealth of information, including details of how to join the club, a calendar of team events, a complete roster of team and club members and sponsors, the history and mission of the organization, weekly news updates and a plethora of photos.
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