Dave here....
Glad to be back with Transcend for a fourth year. I guess I could consider myself a "veteran" at this point as I have been at this racing business for the past 10 years or so, but I am still young and will be at it it for many more.
The winter here in VT was pretty wild with INSANE amounts of snow, and while the skiing was epic, it is wreaking havoc on the mountain bike trails. It is mid April and there are ZERO trails for us to ride anywhere (and it snowed for a bit today). There is light at the end of the tunnel though as Bromont is scheduled to turn the lifts on May 3rd, just three weeks away.
In the meantime it is winter training as usual. In the gym pretty much every day working out since November trying to stay strong and fit, skiing and hiking on the weekends, etc. I was lucky enough to get two weeks of riding in over the winter in Chile. I hit up the Cerro Abajo in Valpariaso which may be one of the craziest races on the planet. And I got to do some epic DH runs in the Andes between trips to the beach and the pub. Now I am back in Vermont and this time of year is when the joy of all the sprints and interval training begins, and i start getting funny looks from people at the gym when i look like i am about to pass out on the trainer.
I am pretty excited about the upcoming season as the team has a bit of a new look and some new riders. We have recruited the talents of some very fast young riders which should be a good mix. I have a ton of experience racing at a professional level, and these guys are young and fearless so i think we will all benefit from each others strengths. The season starts in Mid May at the Bromont round of the Canadian National Series, then off to the US Open in New Jersey. The highlights however will be the opportunity to race two UCI World Cup rounds close to home in Quebec, and the final round (not so close to home) in Schladming, Austria . WC's are the highest level of racing there is, and the field is staked with only the best riders in the world.
As for sponsors, stuff is finally getting finalized and all the nice goodies are showing up. I am back Iron Horse for the second year and have a nice shiny new Sunday World Cup sitting here waiting to be thrashed. other companies on board are E13, Maxxis, and Orange Bicycles for the two Jr. riders.
Thats it for now.... just counting the days to May 3rd
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