Team Update

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company is in high gear as the season moves forward. As you can see, our presenting sponsor, Pinnacle Auto Company has outfitted the team with a sweet Jaguar team car! Matrix Signs did an awesome job on the graphics as well! Look for the car at events around the states and of course when you take a trip to Lehi to shop for a car!

Two of our ladies will be riding the Little Red Riding Hood tour this weekend. Emily Price and Derai Paul will be in Logan to participate in one of the biggest women only rides around. Good luck to them both! We'll be there to cheer them on. On June 13th, look for TE to contest the Utah State Road Race Championships during the Little Mountain Road Race in Logan as well. Kirk and Marcy Johnson will also be riding on June 13th to support the fight against diabetes in the Tour de Cure in Brigham city.

And, as you can see from the pic below, TE doesn't just ride on the road. We have triathletes, mountain bikers and cyclocrossers as well. This is Rob Perkins, owner of one of our sposnors, Peregrine Health, running in the St. George Tri. We have some talented and dedicated athletes and we're proud to support them all.

Utah State Crit Champs and Bear Lake Classic

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company's racing season is in full swing. This past 2 weeks has seen TE racers in the Utah State Criterium Championships and the Bear Lake Classic.

Kevan and Ben took it on the chin in the Cat 4 crit champs in downtown Salt Lake City. These 2 guys made the jump from Cat 5 to Cat 4 this year and are learning quite a bit about racing and the kind of fitness needed to compete at the next level. It looks like it will take some time to get their legs under them, but they're putting up a great effort. To fulfill the goal of at least being with the lead groups, Kevan and Ben have significantly increased their training intensity. No longer will just getting out to ride suffice, so training has become more technical and focused. The next race these 2 will be June 13th for the Utah State Road Racing Championships at Little Mountain.

Jerald Olsen contested the Bear Lake Classic and notched TE's best result of the season so far. Jerald contested a group sprint for the finish of the 50 mile lap of Bear Lake and came in 15th out of 50 riders. The finish was close as he was mere seconds off the podium. Jerald has seen continual improvement over the last 2 years and he really deserved this great result. Kevan was registered for the event but came down with pneumonia. He's assured us he hasn't been kissing any pigs, so H1N1 isn't the worry.

You'll see TE riders at the RMR crits and the Cash Crits in Ogden starting in June. Good luck to all!

East Canyon and Antelope Island Road Races

The past 2 weekends have seen TE riders in the East Canyon Road Race and Antelope Island Classic. Both races provided a great early season challenge for our riders. Of the last 7 weekends in Utah, only one has been sunny and dry. Niether of these races fell on that weekend and what were already tough races were made even tougher with cold, wind and rain.

Jerald Olsen was the lone TE rep at East Canyon. The race starts with a brutal, steep climb. It tends to seprate the group. Even with an injured back, Jerald attacked the hill with strength and held on the rest of the race to finish his first race of the season strong. Jerlad travels a lot for work, but takes his bike wherever he goes. I'm sure he puts more miles under his tires than anyone else on the team.

Kevan Steed, Greg Stuart, Todd Anderson, Blake Mason and Ben Towery all tackled the Antelope Island Classic out on the Great Salt Lake. Conditions were nothing less than epic with rain falling steadily almost the entire race.

For Kevan and Ben, who are racing up one class from last year as Cat 4's, the race was eye opening. This is a super competitive group with strong weekend warriors and aspiring prod alike. The race started on the causeway and the leaders set a blistering pace of 28 mph. With spray from the tires, finding a good line to draft was difficult. We were soaked instantly.

Once on the island, we did 3 laps of the inner loop then took a 10 out and back to the south end of Antelope. It was here that all involved needed to prove their metal. Ben and Kevan took turns pulling each other ro finish near mid pack, which was the goal for this first race.

Todd, Blake and Greg all contested the Cat 5 class in the same brutal conditions. Greg and Todd both suffered flats but got back on the horse and finished strong. I think most everyone involved were happy to have that race over with. Our clothes were balck and soaked and it took quite a while to get warm. Congrats to all involved.

Next up is the Utah State Crit Champs in downtown SLC. TE shines in the crits and we have high expectations. Hopefully our training lives up to that!

RMR Crits

The racing season is now in full swing. Jerald Olsen will be representing the team at the East Canyon Road Race this weekend and we'll have no less than 6 racers at the Antelope Island Classic on May 2nd. Kevan Steed, Todd Anderson and Blake Mason have also been taking part in the weekly crit series out at Rocky Mountain Raceway. Here's Kevan report from last night:

"The race was fast and furious last night.

"They made some modification to the coarse. Only using the top or East half of the ¼ mile track and weaving in and out of the pit area. It was fun and exciting. A and B Flites were extremely fast and I was getting nervous. I arrived early enough to run through the coarse to get comfortable with it, noticing where the hazards are and the good spots to break. Blake and Todd arrived after the As & Bs were racing so they didn’t get to run the coarse, which I feel is a disadvantage.

"We lined up and I would say there were easily 45-50 racers in the C Flite. The first lap was neutral for those who didn’t get practice runs in, then it was off to the races. No one broke away at first, but the tempo increased with every turn. My only advice was to ‘not get dropped’. This coarse strings you out, most of the time in a single pace line. If you lose the wheel in front of you, you’re on your own. Which is what happened with Blake & Todd.

"My goal was to stay with the lead group, and for the most part I stayed top 10-15. When the call rang out with “3 laps to go”, I found myself in a small group of 5 off of the front and my HR at 180. Not knowing how much longer I could hold on, unfortunate or not, a few others were able to join us, which allowed me to slip in behind and recover. Just before that, I was sad to see that we were coming up on a familiar jersey, and ended up lapping Todd. With words of encouragement to my teammate, I desperately struggled to hang on to this lead group. As we entered the straightaway towards the finish line and having counted how many were in front, sprinting my guts out and making sure no one was going to pass me in a spread out finish, I found myself taking 10th place.

"Realizing afterwards how strung out the race was and 3 or 4 groups that were created and actually lapping others, I feel pretty good that I stayed in the 1st group and actually had a top 10 finish. For the first timers (Blake & Todd) not counting the oval, which I feel is a completely different race, I think they did great and most importantly learned a lot. They are anxious to do it again."

Thanks Kevan! And good luck next week!

Velo Vie Vitesse 300 SE review

For 2009 Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company has added an exciting group of industry partners: Velo Vie Bicyles and SRAM. Thanks to our shop, The Bike Shoppe in Ogden, UT, Jerald and I have been able to take advantage of the sweet opportunity to ride SRAM equipped Velo Vie Vitesse 300 SE bikes this year. Kevan will also be building up the "team bike" very soon. I have had about 2 weeks on the bike so far and I thought I'd write a little review.

When the frameset arrived on my doorstep I was amazed at how light the package was. After taking the new steed from the box it was quickly noticed that the box and packaging weighted more than the frameset! This thing is wicked light. I was also impressed at how sexy the bike is. My mouth was watering to get the thing built and get it out on the road. I felt like a kid at Christmas.

For budget reasons, I went with SRAM's Rival groupset. SRAM doesn't make anything low end, and Rival is no exception. You get plenty of carbon and sexy black componentry in a package that weighs less than Shimano Ultegra SL but comes in at a price slightly below. Jerald's bike is equipped with SRAM's top end Red, but Rival has benefited from some trickle down tech from Red. Many pro teams actually spec Rival parts for their rigs. Bontrager Race Lite wheels, Race Lite handle bars, Race X Lite stem and Race X Lite seatpost round out the spec on my bike and is how Kevan's will be equipped as well. My bike weighs in at a respectable 16.5 lbs with pedals and bottle cages. Jerald's Red equipped bike comes in just under 15 lbs. with Reynolds carbon wheels.

Nate Folger at The Bike Shoppe built up the bike with incredible attention to detail and the bike was dialed from the first pedal. "Pleasantly surprised" was his reaction to the finished product. Kudos to Nate for his mad building skills!

The finished bike is striking to look at. The in-your-face graphics scream "this is a race bike" and the ride matches the message. From first pedal, I could tell this was no beach cruiser. It is stiff, very stiff. And according to Velo Vie's marketing, it is unabashedly so. Why such a stiff bike? Well, its built from ultra high modulus carbon in order to have every available watt of power to be put down on the road, where it should be. All this stiffness rewards the rider with a ride that is fast, very, very fast. This is a true to the core race bike.

The sensation is hard to describe. I came from a relatively high end aluminum frame to this bike and I could tell instantly the difference. The Vitesse 300 SE is such an upgrade, I feel like I may have unfair advantage. It's now up to me to make sure I have a motor in good enough shape to be worthy of such a thoroughbred. I have been able to hammer a bit and the bike reacts with excellent quickness. With every pedal stroke I can really feel the power being put down. Nothing is lost in the frame and fork. I love the feeling of speed and responsiveness with this bike.

The SRAM drive train is also impressive. The shifting is quick and deliberate. I also like the minimalist carbon lever set up. All the cable housings are run under the bar tape for a clean and aero cockpit. The hollow cranks are plenty stiff and there's nothing cooler than black colored stuff.

I'm super stoked about my new rig this year. I'll be focusing on crit racing this summer and I think I have the right tool for the job. Thanks to Velo Vie, SRAM and The Bike Shoppe for getting Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company race ready for 2009!

2009 Jersey Revealed

Here's a snap shot of what you'll see Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company wearing this year. Thanks again to all our sponsors!


A big shout out to David Bunnell of Bunnell Concepts for creating the jersey. You rock, Dave!

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company 2009

Our inaugural year was nothing short of a huge success! Here's a brief summary:

4 riders moved up in racing category.
A few of us raced for the very first time.
Our founding female member completed her first century.
22 top 10 finishes.
11 podiums.
4 wins.
3 crashes.
1 photo with Miss Utah (see below).

Because of this, we head into 2009 with even bigger goals. We lost a few riders but have gained even more and we have even more depth this year. We have a group of 4 women now. We have added key financial partners and industry sponsors. We have adopted a bike trail in Davis County and will be hosting a hillclimb this summer boasting the highest finish of any road race in Utah.

Keep an eye out for Team Excelerator presented by Pinnacle Auto Group!

A special thanks to our sponsors: Pinnacle Auto Company, Peregrine Health, Price Orthodontics, Vitality Nutrition, The Bike Shoppe, Velo Vie Bicycles, SRAM, Bunnell Concepts, Best Impressions Photography, Matrix Signs and World Bicycle Relief.