Wow, we’re already into September. Where did the summer go? We were so busy with races, travel, and the rest of our lives, we barely had a chance to sit back and soak it all in. I personally competed in over 60 road events this season so far – that’s a lot! On quick reflection, I am super proud of the team this year. We accomplished all our goals and more.
We proved that a group of strong racers can dominate regionally if they operate like a true team – as a whole unit. I hope we helped to change the typical race dynamic in the Southeast by being one of the few teams to actually work effectively together and showing that it leads to good results. I can picture in my mind, all the textbook leadout trains we put together for the Sprinters Forkner and Renkema (like the wins at the Rock Hill Road Race or NC State Criterium Championships). I can also picture all the times when we put the entire team on the front to bring back a breakaway that we weren’t represented in (like stage 2 of the Joe Martin Stage Race where Sweeting won the stage after the team brought back a 6min break). Sure there was a learning process, but it mostly came naturally which is a testimony to the great group of guys on the team. We had a streak where we won at least something every weekend for about 2 months, Sometimes winning multiple events in different states with a split team.
We also achieved national recognition by having a strong presence in National level events. We are currently ranked 3rd amateur team in NRC points (ahead of teams like California Giant) and have the highest ranked amateur in the country on the team (Sweeting). With the team’s help, Sweeting racked up an overall win at Joe Martin Stage Race and 6th overall in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, two of the nations biggest stage races. Our efforts gained recognition by national media coverage like cyclingnews.com and Velonews.
We were able to make a profound impact for our mission – to be a marketing force for the Globalbike organization. Our efforts helped the organization with untold exposure and donations, allowing them to expand into yet another country. Our sponsors – like Catoma Adventure Shelters – also reaped the benefits of our marketing exposure, increasing sales.
For me, I am most proud of maintaining a team that just worked well. Everyone on the team had the same goals and were very easy to work with and be around. We just had to show up and execute. No big egos, no wild selfish actions in races, just well done teamwork on and off the bike.
What’s next? Well for many of us, cyclocross season is just getting going. I’ll race another 25-30 events this fall in the CX world. Others are still maintaining the Globalbike ways in the remaining road events of the season (wow is it a long season). In any case, we’re casting our sights on 2011. We’ve already attracted additional financial support from new sponsors and aren’t done yet. We hope to grow, make it to more big events, continue our winning ways and spread the word of Globalbike. Keep an eye out for us, this match has just been lit and the fury of the fire hasn’t peaked yet!
