Harvest Moon Criterium!

Don't miss the last UCA Points race of the season!  This awesome downtown crit takes place in Ogden, UT on Saturday the 25th.  Here's all the details:  http://www.teamexcelerator.com/Harvest%20Moon%20Criterium.html

See you there!

Keep on rollin'

As the Tour of Utah kicks off it brings bike racing to the forefront of the local sports media and cyclists and non-cyclists get a glimpse of big time pro cycling.  While its awesome to have the T of U going on lets not forget how successful this year has been so far for TE. 

Darren and Trent have obviously been kicking butt and taking names.  Darren was 2nd at the Tour of Park City and is currently leading the standings at the Simply Mac Crits.  Trent is the Masters B State Champion after winning the Chalk Creek Road Race.  But we have shown tremendous depth this year too.  Farrell has won most of the TT's up in Logan in his age group.  Aaron Thomas has been on the podium at the Snowbasin Crits.  Jerald sprinted to a best ever 4th place finish at the Bear Lake Classic.  Ben won a prime a few weeks ago at the Simply Mac Crits and Kevan took 2nd in a prime sprint as well. 

There's been some bad luck though.  While contending for the lead at Chalk Creek Road Race, Ben flatted and despite a super, nuclear fast tire change couldn't catch back up.  Trent was involved in a crash at the Tour of Park City but still finshed 21st.  Darren would be a Cat 3 by now but was involved in 2 race ending accidents. 

But through it all, TE is showing class and character.  A big shout out to our awesome sponsors!  They have taken great care of us!

Next up for TE is the Sanpete Classic road race on Aug 28th, LOTOJA on Sept 11th and the Harvest Moon Crit on Sept 25th.  We're the sponsoring club for Harvest Moon so make sure you get out and support this awesome event!

Capitol Reef Classic race report

Darren Goff made his stage race debut this weekend at the Capitol Reef Classic.  He railed to a 3rd place on GC!  Gongrats, Darren!  In his own words, here's what went down:

For my first time trial ever, I felt really good considering I was on my regular bike with no aero bars. I took 7th out of 34. The circuit race that took place later that day was so hot it made everyone really tired. It was two 17 mile laps with three POWER climbs of about 0.8 miles each. I pulled away on the first lap on the third climb and soloed until about three miles to the finish. I was dead tired and got caught. Me and another guy pulled away on the decent, but I bonked at 200 meters to go and ended up with 6th for that race. Looking back, I know I broke too soon, but it was fun to see how long I could keep the break.


For the RR, I stayed with the group until the major climb around mile 30. A five man group (including me) broke away and put a 5+ minute gap on the group. We took it into the end where I sprinted to win the day. After the race the #1 and 2 in GC guys told me they were done around the 10K mark and I could have gone off. It would have been nice of them to tell me that then instead of after the race!!!!! A few lessons learned by me. It was a good time.

I took 3rd in the GC with 30 seconds under the leader. I was happy with that considering my stupid tactics from the day before.

Summer Update - TE is rockin' it!

This summer has been a busy for one Team Excelerator.  We hosted yet another successful Powder Mountain Hillclimb.  Nathan Cisney of Roosters Cycling once again set the pace uphill and won the overall.  TE's very own Darren Goff took the top spot in the Cat 4's and Trent Olsen made the podium for the Cat 5's.  Check out the story in the local paper here:  http://www.standard.net/topics/sports/2010/06/16/everything-and

We've also been racking up the results at other local and regional events.  Darren is dominating the A flight racers at the Snowbasin Crits and Trent Olsen won the B Flight tonight.  Trent also took the Cat 5 win at the E Center Criterium a few weeks ago.  Just recently Ben Towery rode to a strong 11th place at the Little Mountain Road Race as a Masters 35 + B racer.  He was with the leading pack up until the end when some leg cramping made him fall off the pace.  Ferrall Spackman took 14th in the Cat 4's.  Kevan Steed, Aaron Thomas, Robert Castro, Jason Knighton, Brooke Dominguez and Jerald Olsen have all been mixing it up and making their presence known on the race course.

TE will be contesting the Chalk Creek Road Race in a few weeks and watch for us at LOTOJA as we've stacked the Cat 4 field with 6 racers. 

Check out these pics of TE's success:

Powder Mountain Hillclimb, June 12th!

While Team Excelerator has been visiting the podium, most recently at the Bear Lake Classic, the team has also been preparing to put on the 2nd Annual Powder Mountain Hillclimb benefitting the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.  This is the steepest, toughest and most rewarding hillclimb in Utah and Team Excelerator and race sponsors are proud to bring this race to you again.  Check out all the details at teamexcelerator.com.  See you there!

Now, back to the podiums, Trent Olsen took third in the field sprint at the Bear Lake Classic on the 15th.  Jerald Olsen came in 4th right behind Trent for his best finish ever.  Ben Towery was the best placed Cat 4 racer at 16th.  Darren Goff unfortunately was riden into the pavement by another rider from another team who could not handle his bike.  A bummer for sure as Darren would have for sure placed high on the finish list!

3 races, 3 podiums

This past weekend saw Trent Olsen and Darren Goff take on the Utah State Crit Championships.  Trent is proving to be a force in the Masters B field.  This is guys 35 + who are Cat 4's and 5's.  After suffering 2 flats in the last 2 races, he pulled though the crit event and sprinted to second place!  That makes 3 podiums for TE in the first 3 races of the season.  Unfortunately, Darren wasn't so lucky.  Darren made the upgrade to Cat 4 after taking second place in the first 2 events of the year.  He was in a break away with 3 or 4 others when a rider in front of him went down.  Darren had no where to go but into the barriers.  He's a little road rashed but says he'll be ready for Bear Lake.  Here's what Trent had to say:

"Darren was riding so strong and no doubt in my mind had this race won!!! He did a lot of work out front and still had more power to give when the crash happened. Darren had no where to go when the guy in front of him went down and Darren hit the plastic barrier pretty hard!! Darren, You still ROCK in my book cause we know who OWNED that race! Hope you heal quick brotha!"

We'll see 10 of the 11 member race team at the Bear Lake Classic on May 15th.  Look for TE to make a showing there and continue the success.  Here's some photos from yesterday's crit action.

So far, so good

The season has opened on a very positive note for Team Excelerator!  The first 2 races we've entered have seen Darren Goff take second place in each, at Tax Day Circuit Race and East Canyon Road Race.  He'll now be racing with Ben, Kevan, Farrell and Vladimir as Cat 4's.  One of our new racers, Jason Knighton, also managed to finish his first grueling race.  We're proud of him and know he'll keep improving.  East Canyon also saw Ben and Farrell finish in the top 20 as Cat 4's, both putting in solid efforts.  Jerald Olsen continues to improve as well and he'll tackle the Masters B division with Trent Olsen at the Bear Lake Classic coming up on May 15th. 

Trent has had a bit of bad luck however.  He has yet been able to show his awesome strength due to flatting in his first 2 races!  Lets send some positive no flat energy his way for Bear Lake.

Kevan Steed attended the suffer fest that was the Antelope Island classic last weekend.  Last year the weather was wet and rainy the entire time.  This year the weather gods added cold and hail to the mix.  Frozen fingers made it tough for Kevan to even shift but he didn't quit and is a better rider because of it.

Darren will race his first race as a Cat 4 this weekend at the Utah State Crit Champs this weekend in downtown SLC.  The watch for the above racers with Brooke Dominguez and first timer Robert Castro at the Bear Lake Classic on May 15th.

Don't forget to put the Powder Mountain Hillclimb on your calendar for June 12th!

Let the racing begin!

Here it is.  Team Excelerator will begin our racing season this weekend up at the Tax Day Circuit Race in Idaho.  Jerald Olsen, Trent Olsen and Darren Goff will represent.  These are some of our strongest riders.  We wish them luck!  April 24th will see the whole team contest the East Canyon Road Race.  We'll have Ben Towery and Kevan Steed out on their new Mercury Bikes.  We'll welcome some of our new to racing members as well.  We'll be missing one key rider though, Aaron Thomas injured himself at the Master's Skiing Nationals in Sun Valley last week.  He clipped a gate in the slalom.  He still managed to tale 5th in the super G, but will be nursing the injury for a few more weeks.  Lets hope he heals well! 

There's been a lot of excitement for TE's 3rd season and we can't wait to get rolling!  We are also anticipating a good turnout for the first race hosted by TE this year, the 2nd Annual Powder Mountain Hillclimb benefiting the Ovarian Cancer Foundation.  Look for that to happen on June 12th!

St. George Team Camp

Team Excelerator continues to gear up for the 2010 season.  We held a team training camp at the end of February down in St. George.  It was a great chance for the new team to get together and get to know each other as well as get some good early season miles on the legs.  The biggest thing I noticed at the camp was just how cool everyone seems to be on TE.  We have put together a great group of riders.  I also took note that our new recruits are very strong riders and will definitely make some noise this year.  Guys like Ferrall Spackman, Darren Goff, Trent Olson and Aaron Thomas.  These guys are FAST!

The camp started with a afternoon 45 miler that saw Aaron hit the tarmac after a cleat failed.  A seasoned ski patroler, he's a tough dude.  After a quick bike adjustment and cleat replacement, he was back on it for Saturday's long ride. 

After a lively pizza dinner we sat around and got to know each other and planned out the year's races.  You'll find our full squad at the East Canyon Road Race, Bear Lake Classic, Little Mountain Road Race, Chalk Creek Road Race and the Harvest Moon Criterium.  You'll also find TE riders at the weekly crits, Tour of Park City, local charity tours like Little Red Riding Hood and of course LOTOJA.  Not to forget our marquee event, the 2nd Annual Powder Mountain Hillclimb on June 12th!

On Saturday, we set out on the Zion's Century.  It was cold, but the rain stayed away for the suraton of the ride.  We all got in some great miles and had a great time.  We topped off the weekend with a great dinner at the Bent Spoon then headed back home in the pouring rain.

2010 is shaping up to be the best yet for TE.  See you on the road!

Ready for 2010

Team Exclerator is ready for the 2010 season. 2009 saw great growth and expansion. We hosted 2 successful events, the Powder Mountain Hillclimb and Harvest Moon Criterium. Look for those events again this year. We also had greater participation and better results.

For 2010, we have added depth and experience to the team. We'll be in St. George on Feb 26th and 27th for a team training camp and begin racing in April.

We've added soem great sponsors and kept some of our loyal favorites as well. Peregrine Health is on board for their third year as sponsors along with Vitality Nutrition and The Bike Shoppe. SRAM is with us again after a successful partnership in 2009. We'd like to especially welcome our newest sponsors, Gilland Law Firm, Velonology and Mercury Bikes! And as always, our awesome team kit was designed by master graphic artist David Bunnell.

Watch this space for updates and photos as we get geared up for our best season yet!