STATS:

Hometown: Yuba City, CA
DOB: February 9, 1990
Height: 5′11″ or 180 cm
Weight: 150 lbs or 68 kg

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

2008
2nd place Worlds Trials TT
2nd place US National TT championship
6th place Tour de L’Abitibi
1st place Spring Hill RR
2nd place stage 2, Tour du Pays de Vaud

2007
1st place Valley of the Sun Stage Race
6th place US National TT

2006
1st place Madera Stage Race, 6th place US National TT championships

2005
3rd place Sea Otter Road Race, 1st place Albany Criterium

How did you get started with bicycle racing?
I started riding my bike when I was fourteen years old, as a way to get exercise while I was recovering from a back injury. I had been playing a lot of competitive tennis at the time, and I was told I wouldn’t be able to run or play tennis for months, so cycling was the natural choice. At first I was just riding around on an old mountain bike, but I became inspired by watching Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France, and decided to get a road bike. I would ride with my local cycling club as often as possible, and before long everyone I rode with was telling me I should get into racing. I did one race and decided that bike racing was the most thrilling sport out there. I have never played another tennis tournament since then, and I still think there’s nothing more exciting or rewarding than racing a bike.

Tell us about your first race.
My first race was a hill climb, with a few miles of flat run-up to the climb. I remember being really intimidated at first, looking around at all the other kids on their high-tech bikes, as I stood there on a bike that was a few years older than me. When the race started, the pace was slow, as no one wanted to take up the pace making on the flat part of the course before the climb. I got really irritated with the slow pace, and took off on my own before the climb even started, not knowing or caring about any kind of race tactics. I thought I would stick it to the whole field, then a few minutes later one rider passed me, and another, and another, until I was toward the back of the race, and getting pretty angry. I kept riding as hard as I could, thinking I would catch the rest of the riders, but I never did, and I was pretty bummed after the finish. I was a little relieved to find that most of the riders that had beaten me were much older than me and were in a different age group, but I still wanted revenge. I wanted to win. That was the last race of that season, so I set to training all winter long for the next year, and by the following March, I had myself that first win.

What is your favorite memory or experience on the bike?
My favorite memory on a bike was the 2008 Sea Otter Classic. My local club team had become quite a force over the past few years and this season would be our last together as juniors. My friend and teammate Alex had suffered a broken collarbone in the early season and was real down on himself all year up to Sea Otter, a 2-day race. He ended up winning the day 1 road race after holding an amazing solo breakaway from the first few kilos all the way to the finish. It was a surprising triumph for Alex and our team, and the next day the guys helped me to win the circuit race. Our small local club team had just dominated one of the biggest junior events of the year, and it was the last race we would all do together. Those few days we were all just walking around grinning with pride and having a good time. It was sort of the culmination of several years of learning and hard work on the part of our team, and something I will always remember first when I think about all the good times we had together as upstart junior bike racers.

What makes you most excited about racing for Trek-LIVESTRONG?
My favorite thing about the team is that although we are a pro team that will be able to compete in high level events around the world, the team atmosphere is very development oriented. As a young rider, it is very important to me to be in a racing program that will grow me, without tearing me down, and I feel like the whole mindset and structure of the Trek-LIVESTRONG Team will allow me to do just that, under the watchful eyes of some of the biggest names in cycling.

What is your favorite place to ride?
My favorite place to ride is in the lower Sierra Nevada Mountains near my home in Northern California. I spend several days a week training there, and I never get bored of the beautiful scenery. The weather is surprisingly mild almost all year round, and I can take any of a multitude of challenging routes with plenty of climbing. I rarely see much traffic, but there’s always plenty to look around at, between the countryside, the wildlife, and all the gold-rush-era history. This is where I really feel like I can get away from it all on my bike, and actually enjoy training.

What accomplishment or career achievement are you most proud of?
My proudest achievement is a second place finish in the mountainous stage 2 of the Tour du Pays de Vaud in Switzerland. Even though I didn’t get the win, this race was a real mental and physical struggle for me, and I felt like I had conquered my own demons just to get on the podium. I was battling bronchitis for this stage race, and finished dead last the day before, so even getting to the start line for stage 2 took a lot. I was dropped early on in the stage but decided to keep fighting as hard as I could and when I made my way back into the field I just kept on going right out in front with one other rider. We made it all the way to the finish ahead of the field, and even though he beat me in the sprint for the win, I felt like I had really surpassed myself that day. Getting up on that podium, I was as proud as I have ever been.