news

2009 NEWSLETTER 1

Wednesday April 01, 2009

The Launch, The Camp, and Rolling Into 2009

 

Team Ultralink: The Launch

On March 13 the Pro Women and the Masters Men's teams gathered at Cyclelogik in Ottawa for the team's 2009 launch. New bikes, new clothing, sponsors, friends and snacks were an enjoyable distraction before the hard training begins. Eugene Lee, an Ultralink staff writer, spoke with some of the women's team.

 

 

Given the success in 2008, a talented new roster (with a few veterans), spring approaching, and backed by a stack of sponsors, the Pro Women's Team will be focused on the country's most significant cycling events.

 

If you were around in 2007 you've definitely seen 300, a Frank Miller film adaptation of the famed 300 Spartans who held the Persian army at bay. You'll have seen a glimpse of the life of a Spartan warrior, growing from a boy to a man. The action-packed movie focused not only on the battle, but on the lifestyle of the mysterious Spartans. Near the end of the movie Dilios (David Wenham) - one of the main characters - declares, "We did what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do!" 

 

I couldn't help thinking of Dilios' affirmation as I sat in the dim-lit corner of Cyclelogik's café space in Ottawa. I was listening to Shanie Bergeron, my first interviewee, 18, herself a trained athlete - a warrior you could say - tell me about her upbringing. Shanie rather nervously answering my questions in her charming French accent recalled, "I've ridden a bike since I was 8!"

 

The young, Quebec-born student was bred to be competitive. Her mother a triathlon athlete, her father a phys-ed teacher, it's hard to argue it isn't in her blood. She started off with a mountain bike following her brother around until she got older and started riding with her parents. There was a small cycle team by her house and she instantly took to the sport. 

 

After a continuous streak of riding (7 years on the road, 4 years on the track), competition after competition, Shanie was finally introduced to Team Ultralink at the 2008 Calabogie race. While on break she met two members of the women's team. "It was the first time I saw them and they were pretty strong and they knew how to ride a bike!" she explains. There are people you see who struggle - like me - and those who are trained professionals; of course Bergeron has an eye for picking them out. As an experienced cyclist, she tells me how she didn't want to join a novice team. She continues, "I know the girls' faces and I know they can ride but I don't know their personalities yet!" With the training camp ahead in the coming week, she's excited to start befriending the girls.

 

Krystal Jeffs, 25, adventurous at heart, smiles as we talk. I ask her to tell me a bit about herself and she takes a breath before she begins. She lets out an exhausted, "I just graduated from teacher's college!" I congratulate her knowing the program isn't the easiest. After a few seconds later, I prod again. She tells me how she took 2008 off from cycling to attend teachers college in Australia. "It's been my one goal since I was 15!" She lets out a laugh again as if a burden was thrown off her shoulders. "So basically," she said smiling again, "now I'm looking for a job and looking forward to getting back to bike racing."

 

We talk about Australia and the kangaroos. I ask Krystal if they really box. "I don't know but whenever I was riding my bike I was always worried I'd get jumped and one of them would be boxing me. It was like I had this vision in my head of it happening!" We laugh and then she points out how Australia is one of the only countries that eats their national animal. I shiver. The feeling is mutual. She laughs and tells me how her roommates would eat kangaroos all the time. I tell her that that was a disturbing comment but she continues, "Yeah, especially when you see them jumping across the roads and you're all excited but everyone's thinking hmm, that looks good..." and we laugh again.

 

SHE KEEPS GOING AND GOING. Who? Julia Farell - a veteran in the sport and one of the first of many members to join Team Ultralink. To date she's a 6-time provincial champion (road 3x, cross, criterium, and hill climb) and she's been ranked 2nd, 5th and 8th at the RR Nationals. She started back in ‘93 in a cycling club and gradually grew from there. In her third year she made the National Team and then went to Europe [twice] to represent Canada. "So I've been at it for a long time and I've been with Ultralink now for my 3rd year," she affirms with commitment.

 

"I'm very happy, we'll be doing higher level races this season and we have lots of different riders. We have someone from New Zealand, riders from the GTA, riders from Ottawa. [pauses] I think we have a really strong team and we'll have a very dynamic season!"  And Julia stays active even off-season. Recently she's started up hot yoga and skiing. "Outside of cycling I have another life." she assures me. On her "off days" Julia teaches grade 11 physics and biology at a new school, Steven Lewis.

 

So how do you teach and bike?

"It's hard [pause] you got to balance it off. I mean for example the training camp is during my March break so I try and do some time [a quick pause to think] when I have Christmas time off I go south, when I have March break, I go south. And then July and August I don't have to go to the school and that works well with racing. The trick is to turn off the teacher mind at 3:30 and then go for your training and turn on your cycling mind."

 

I remember having to do a ton of homework at that age. Don't you have a lot of marking to do?

"There's a lot of homework and there's a lot of marking. [nervously] We don't have to talk about marking right? That just starts me up. I brought it with me but I'm not going to do it. I brought it with me so I could do it on the drive but uh... I probably won't get to it." [laughs]

 

 

 

Team Ultralink Pro Women's Schedule

 

BOLD INDICATES PRIORITY RACES

Some non-priority races will be raced with split teams events

 

 

April 10

Good Friday Ontario Cup

June 26-28

National Championship TT AND ROAD

April 19

Calabogie Ontario Cup

July 2-5

Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic

April 26

GP Ste Martine

July 16-19

Tour de ‘Toona

May 2-3

GP Brossard OR Springbank

July 27-31

Coupe de la Paix

May 9-10

Bristol Mtn & Bear Mtn

July 26

Ontario Provincial Road Championships

May 16-17

Niagara Ontario Cup OR  St-Raymond Stage Race

August 1

Classique Quebec-Trois-Rivieres

May 23-24

Pierre Sablon Crit OR Bruce County Ontario Cup

August 15-16

GP St Marie de Beauce

May 30

Montreal World Cup

August 22-23

Quebec Provincial  Championship TT AND ROAD

June 7-11

Tour de PEI

August 29

Quebec Criterium Championships

June 13-14

KW Classic Ontario Cup

August 29

Chris Thater Memorial

June 20

GP Pont-Rouge

Sept 4-7

Green Mountain Stage Race

June 21

Italian Festival GP OR GP Gaston Langois

 

 

 

Calabogie Classic Ontario Cup

 

THE ULTRALINK CALABOGIE CLASSIC ONTARIO CUP 

PRESENTED BY CYCLELOGIK

SUNDAY APRIL 19TH, 2009

 

 

•·        Brand new motorsport facility

•·        Loop Distance: 5.05 km

•·        Number of Turns: 23

•·        Elevation Change: 20 meters

 

 

Camp- style Blogin'

 

South Carolina is a major springtime destination for eastern Canadian bike racers, for better weather, lots of hills, quiet twisting roads and fantastic accommodation options. All were enjoyed by Team Ultralink, whose experiences were recorded in an (almost) daily blog.

 

 

 

 

Day 1, Night 1 (Julia Farell)

 

Noah says there are 39 days and 39 nights to go.

 

This weekend, people back home said it was warmer, dryer and sunnier in the GTA than in Shady Grove, South Carolina. The weather networks may have agreed but I know it can't be true. Repeat, it can't be true. I know that after a full day's work, some a la carte sweet tasting goat cheese burritos and a 16 hour drive with my teammate Allison down to the Carolinas, the weather was going to be warmer.

 

Besides, when it comes to Canadians, Mother Nature knows she owes. So yesterday, when our 2009 team took to the roads we were searching for the sun. The search continues.  We didn't blame it on the rain and sang through the sprint training session in this very hilly and beautiful region. Our Ultralink Lycra greens from Quebec clothing supplier Apogee kept us warm and comfortable for the 3.5 hour session. Cervelo's unparalleled, black and white, helium-like R3's flew up the ever hilly terrain as the skies continued to cleanse the earth.

 

This morning I awoke to the familiar, ongoing rain and pitter-patter on our unused hot tub deck. I decided to turn to Noah for some help. He mentioned something about riding 2 x 2 (like that's something new for us!) and, something about the number 40.

 

As we head out today and again watch the world take a shower, I'm sure the 40 refers to the 2 x 20 minute threshold work on tap for today up the Blue Ridge. Yes, that must be it.

 

Day 3 and 4: (Krystal Jeffs)

Yesterday we woke up to rain again. At home we'd be sad, upset and angry but here it is, just more motivation to get out and ride. Our plan was to head to the 178 (Rocky Bottom) and do 2 x 20minutes, unfortunately along with the rain came fog and as we were climbing for the first one we could hardly see at the top. So we changed to 3 x 10minutes. It was great to break through the cobwebs in our legs from doing hard stuff on the trainer to actually doing it out in the open. It felt awesome. Once we finished some individual efforts we rode back and, unlike yesterday, the rain didn't let up until we were home, showered, and changed.

 

Today I'm happy to report the atmosphere was totally different. Sunny and warm (shorts and jersey!)... INCREDIBLE!! Being so much in the mountains -- even our driveway is a climb to fear -- we decided today would be a good day to recover; it took others a little longer. Both groups did over 70km, but it was nice to have both options. We all started off together than one group headed to the Starbucks for delicious drinks (they make protein smoothies now) and the other headed out for a little longer ride.

 

This afternoon a few of us headed into Greenville where Cervelo was doing bike fits at the local bike shop (Greenville triathlon). What amazing bikes Cervelo makes. I had the opportunity to check out the new P4 and WOW.....even the water bottle (I meant bottle, not cage) fits right into the bike. It does not get any cooler than that. As usual the bike shop owners and workers, as well as the Cervelo dealers were wonderful. The sock selection in the store was outstanding.

Tonight is some well-deserved relaxation with a movie and popcorn supplied by Shanie.

 

Day 5 (Shanie Bergeron)

If I had to describe today's ride I would probably say wonderful. Weather was with us throughout the four hours, the girls were ready to ride and the landscape was great!

 

We just started the ride tempo (rolling constantly) and then after about an hour, without talking to each other, we started to pull up the pace a little bit and then it finished in a kind of race on the top of a long climb. David was leading, behind him there was Allison , Julia and I. David started increasing speed without knowing what was about to happen. Suddenly I looked at the two other girls and decide to go faster than Dave; Allison followed me with Julia in her wheel. Well... after a long fight on two wheels, Allison won! Congratulation, but be careful ‘cause next time I'll be in your wheel, hah!

 

After this fun exercise, we rode to Seneca and there we took some things to eat and some water at a gas station ( thankfully there was a gas station as everybody was tired and hungry).

 

This little break was perfectly timed because we had to do some other rolling and sprint exercises. The team is great, everybody fit, and everybody knows what they have to do and how they have to do it! The sprinting exercises were interesting because it's just like a race, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!

 

Day 6 (Emma Petersen):

Today we left for training in an unusual way; in the rental van. It was just Allison, David and I as the other girls already had a solid day a few days before and they needed a little time off. So we packed our bikes in the van and didn't have to deal with the excruciating driveway mountain climb on the way out and especially coming back in! Today was a beautiful day of sunshine, with a slight nip in the air, but a day great for riding. Caesar's head, here we come!

 

It was such a nice climb, a steady climb, nothing too steep that the 39 x 25 couldn't handle. And when you reach the top there is such a sense of achievement. And the view from the lookout is amazing. We take a few photos enjoy the sun and then head off for the descent, where now we've cooled off and it seems like winter again. Descending is wicked I love just ‘booming' the corners and going as fast as I can, it gives me such an adrenalin rush; I just want to keep going faster and faster!

 

We were only just at half of the ride when we reached the bottom, which meant that we had to then climb up this steep wee nipper of a climb, I could of done with a compact chain ring for sure, swinging on the bars and just managing to keep the bike upright and the wheels turning. Relieved I made it to the top. It was up and down the rest of the way to the car, with most of us starting to feel the pinch, tired legs and bodies were fast encroaching!

Allison and Emma on top of Caesar's Head

 

Thanks to David's Tortilla and Nutella combo I made it through the day!

 

Day 7 (Allison Lampi)

Over the hills and around the corners of Pickens County, the Ultralink women's train

rode silently and smoothly. Only the whirr of the wheels and the tires on the pavement could be heard. It was the last group ride together before we depart to our next adventures and back to our every day lives.

 

It has been a fantastic week for the team. We rode more than 20 hours and hundreds of kilometers together, improved our fitness and our skills, supported each other through our challenges, joked and became friends. With tired legs, open minds and a positive attitude, we leave the training camp a team in every respect.

 

As I locked up and departed the house, I couldn't help but smile. I'm looking forward to the season with this team and so appreciative of the opportunity provided by all of our supporters and sponsors.

 

It's going to be a fantastic season -- I know it, I feel it!