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Last Updated on Sunday, 04 December 2011 02:16 Written by Suzanne Atkinson Sunday, 04 December 2011 02:02
This past week Steel City Endurance Bicycle racing team and Sponsors gathered at ProBikes in the Squirrel Hill of Pittsburgh, PA to celebreate our 4th year of racing. While putting together a short list of season highlights I realized (once again), what an incredible group of dedicated and talented cyclists we have, along with sponsors who have been with us since Day #1.
The team's accomplishments are many, but here are the highlights, starting with the incredible Women's Racing Squad, now in their 4th year of racing, and comprised of Cat 3 & 4 road & cyclocross racers.
Women's Team
Kate Bennet #1 Cat 4 ABRA Crit Series
Stacie Truskowski #1 ABRA Cyclocross Series
Rachel Weaver #1 Womens ACA Criteerium Series
Patty George #1 Overall Tour of the Valley
Anne Marie Alderson – First Place Fort Classic (#6ABRA Road), Dirty Dozen Overall Women's Winner 2011
It goes without saying that these accomplishments of individuals are all team accomplishments as well. The ladies have truly learned how to function as a bike racing team in order to support individual goals. Special thanks also to Barb Grabowski, now retired from racing, a Cat 2 racer who podiumed in every event (road, time trial, criterium) in last year's masters nationals. Barb has provided excellent mentorship & guidance to the womens team as well as orgnaizing our annual team training trip over the past several years.
Men's Team
Mens Team Overall: B Series Winner, Allegheny Cycling Association
Doug Riegner B Series Winner ACA
Joe Lydic First Place Connelsville Criterium (abra #2)
Mike Quigley First Place Pro Bikes Criterium Championship (abra #5)
Again, I stress that these are all team accomplishements and season highlights. There were many, many more podium finishes and I'm certain I've missed some accomplishemnts of several of the team members.
Sponsor Highlights include the sponsors who have been with us every year since our inception, allowing us to supply the team with racing kits & supplement travel expense and race entery fees:
4 Year Sponsors:
Pittsburgh Pro Bikes
Tuscano Insurance (Rob, Terry & Ginny Tuscano)
Padgett Business Services (Jim merante)
Square Cafe (Sherree Goldstein)
Feldstein Grinberg Stein & McKee (Jeff Balicki & Partners)
Allegro Hearth Bakery (Omar Higley)
Finally, this year for the first time, we awarded a "Sponsor of the Year" award. This year the award went to Tuscano Agency, located in greesburg, PA for their ongoing support and the largest dollar amount given to the team so far. THey have had a promitned position on our kits, both top & bottom and everyone who has seen us race, is familiar with the name. We'll be posting a feature story on Tuscano Agency so you can become familiar with the company as well.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 02:51 Written by Suzanne Atkinson Wednesday, 23 December 2009 12:28
Recently an athlete asked me a question about power cranks:
How do you feel about powercranks? Are you familiar with them? They were mentioned in that article and I was curious. The idea is that each crank functions independently of the other. One leg cannot help the other. It is supposed to help pedal stroke.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 02:50 Written by David Burke Sunday, 10 June 2007 03:42
TechniqueAs I mentioned in the beginning, most riders have the mechanics of a turn down, and can coast through a corner. Taking the speed from above, and applying a good technique to a criterium corner is what can really set a rider apart, and can help a rider save time and energy in the pack, or gain precious seconds in a break.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 02:51 Written by David Burke Friday, 04 May 2007 08:51
Skillz DrillzNow the equipment looks good, it's time to get your butt on the bike, and get moving. Fast. Being comfortable riding and cornering at speed is a fundamental of racing, and high-performance cornering. The question of "How fast is fast" comes up all the time. Let's start this way. You need to be comfortable of reaching a speed of 40-45 mph on a bike to really function in a race. While you'll likely not be at that speed at any point in a race other than a descent, it's important to know how your bike handles at that speed BEFORE you get into a situation, and also allows you to work backwards to the types of cornering speeds you can expect to encounter in a race.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 02:51 Written by David Burke Friday, 13 April 2007 09:58
Skillz Drillz.You’re piling on the base miles, and since Phil didn’t see his shadow, you’re able to get out on the road. While your racing goals may still be far away, there is no better time to work on your handling skills. Since most of the racing we do involves wither criteriums, one of the best things you can do to improve your bike racing is work on your cornering. Going through a right hander at 30 mph can be down-right scary, but with practice, especially in the early season, you can turn good skills into an effective racing tactic to help you gain time on your competitors in a break, or save energy in the pack. Before we look at drills to help you improve, lets break down the anatomy of fast cornering.