Le Sensation American
Le Sensation American, more commonly known in these parts as The American Sensation, contributes to the Blah, blah BLOG when not fighting crime or rescuing distressed small- to medium-sized pets (a back injury limits size of rescue-able pets). Legend has it that French Viking blood courses through his veins, hence the occasional mood swings and bizarre tantrums. Skills include the ability to whittle little boats out of tree bark. And that’s about it.
As the story goes, Le S.A. was raised by his grandparents until they were eaten by a blood-thirsty Great White Ape. Only a wee lad at the time of this disaster, Le SA found it in his heart to forgive the Great White Ape and the two of them became inseparable pals. Most folks are quite familiar with the delightful, well-loved children’s song that tells the story of the early days of Le Sensation American and his friendship with the Great White Ape.
In his civilian guise, Le S.A. assumes the role of managing the Team CLIF BAR athlete sponsorship program at Clif Bar & Co. Le S.A. spends his precious little "down-time" in a cozy north-Berkeley abode with his supermodel-esque partner, his thug-like-yet-gentle little son, and his talking dog Sprocket who can drive (yup, manual transmissions too).
(Editor’s note: Le Sensation American knows that the grammatically-correct version of his nickname would be the feminine La Sensation Americaine, but a nickname is a nickname. Merci beaucoup.)
Race week is finally here and we're gearing up for a bunch of fun in Kona. Want to know exactly where we'll be and what we'll be doing? Check out this video from our friends at 3/GO - it's got all the details: Clif Bar in Kona: Chapter 2 from Move Films on Vimeo.
This just came our way from Mark Johnson who’s spending July in France with the Garmin-Cervélo squad. Mark offers a nice look at a day in the small town of Bordessoule, along the route of the 2011 Tour de France. Until you’ve seen the crowds, it’s difficult to appreciate just how much the Tour de France is part of the fabric of French life. Here’s a peek. Stage eight, a 117-mile run from Aigurande to Super-Besse Sancy, passes through the rolling, wooded countryside where the Loire Valley meets the mountains of the Massif Central. We roll out of our rustic…
We hope you're enjoying the first week of the Tour de France. Garmin-Cervelo fans are no doubt thrilled with the team’s success during the first few days of the race. On this end, it’s been a thrilling start to the race. Watching the guys win the Team Time Trial; then seeing a perfect lead-out help Tyler take the win on Sunday; followed by the remarkable efforts Thor made to hold on to the yellow jersey during Monday’s stage – it’s all amounted to plenty of smiles over here at CB&C. While you're following the race this week, we thought you might…
During the busy days of the Amgen Tour of California, Mark Johnson was fortunate enough to catch up with Garmin-Cervelo rider Johan Van Summeren to hear his thoughts on the California racing and his recent victory at Paris Roubaix: Story and photos by Mark Johnson In April, Garmin-Cervélo rider and Clif Bar athlete Johan Van Summeren won Paris-Roubaix. Watching the 6’5”, 174-pound rider solo away from a day-long break, fend off a charging Fabian Cancellara, and ride into the Roubaix velodrome alone—on a flat tire—was one of the most dramatic afternoons in cycling history, let alone this season. Coming from…
At the beginning of the month the Team CLIF Bar cycling squad headed down to SoCal to race the Dana Point GP. It’s always a great race, but this year we also had the Clif Bar Field Marketing crew down there in action, with CLIF BAR and CLIF SHOT the official energy food sponsor of the 2011 race. Brooke and her Field Marketing team did a great job connecting with spectators all over the course – and they also set up an inviting warm-up spot for the TCB riders. That was slick! Add Dave Towle calling the race as only…
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we posted recipes from the Clif Bar Food Mobile, out on the roads of California this week. Barbara and Chris Grealish are hard at work keeping the Garmin-Cervelo riders nourished during the Amgen Tour of California. Here are the recipes from the Tour for Thursday! Each day of the race, we’ll post the recipes that Barbara and Chris are preparing for the riders so you can eat like a pro as you enjoy the evening race recap on Versus. Saturday May 21st Paella with chicken, sausage, shrimp Vegetable paella with tofu Salad Seafood Paella…
On Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday we posted recipes from the Clif Bar Food Mobile, out on the roads of California this week. Barbara and Chris Grealish are hard at work keeping the Garmin-Cervelo riders nourished during the Amgen Tour of California. Here are the recipes from the Tour for Friday! Each day of the race, we’ll post the recipes that Barbara and Chris are preparing for the riders so you can eat like a pro as you enjoy the evening race recap on Versus. Friday May 20th Grilled Tuna Mango salsa Orzo with roasted veggies (the team swaps orzo for…
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we posted day one's recipes from the Clif Bar Food Mobile, out on the roads of California this week. Barbara and Chris Grealish are hard at work keeping the Garmin-Cervelo riders nourished during the Amgen Tour of California. Here are the recipes from the Tour for Thursday! Each day of the race, we’ll post the recipes that Barbara and Chris are preparing for the riders so you can eat like a pro as you enjoy the evening race recap on Versus. Thursday May 19th Sweet Potato Tacos Fixins Guacamole, Salsas, Cream Red Rice Mexican Salad Grilled…
Yesterday we posted day one's recipes from the Clif Bar Food Mobile, out on the roads of California this week. Barbara and Chris Grealish are hard at work keeping the Garmin-Cervelo riders nourished during the Amgen Tour of California. Here are the recipes from the Tour for Wednesday! Each day of the race, we’ll post the recipes that Barbara and Chris are preparing for the riders so you can eat like a pro as you enjoy the evening race recap on Versus. Wednesday May 18th Recipes Grilled chicken kebobs or yogurt marinated chicken and/or DZ Tofu grill Rice Sweet Potatoes…
The Clif Bar Food Mobile is out on the roads of California this week. Barbara and Chris Grealish are hard at work keeping the Garmin-Cervelo riders nourished during the Amgen Tour of California. Each day of the race, we’ll post the recipes that Barbara and Chris are preparing for the riders so you can eat like a pro as you enjoy the evening race recap on Versus. Tuesday May 17th Recipes Flank Steak Polenta Roasted tomatoes Salad Watermelon Arugula Grilled Marinated Flank Steaks Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2000 Recipe summary: Total Time: 5 hours Prep Time: 4 hours 30…
Here’s a nice video that the Kelly Benefit Strategies – OptumHealth Pro Cycling Team just sent our way. It put a smile on my face in the middle of a busy Wednesday at the office. Now I’m going to stop doing all this ridiculous office work and go ride my bike.
I will never forget April 2011. April’s when all of my favorite bike races take place. It’s always a wonderful bike-racing month. But the ‘wonderful’ dial got turned up a notch when Garmin-Cervelo rider Johan Van Summeren pulled off a fantastic victory at one of the most spectacular pro bike races on the planet. The Clif-sponsored Garmin-Cervelo Pro Cycling team won Paris-Roubaix. Well hot damn, that’s just too rad. It was Johan’s win – but it was also a stellar team effort. This is the biggest win the team has recorded to date. Outside of the US, Paris-Roubaix. is a…
Another mighty fine Sea Otter is in the books. The 2011 vintage was a good one. Nice weather, fun racing, a lively expo and plenty of interesting folks to speak with during the four days at the venue. Eric and I, here in the wonderland that is Team CLIF Bar, always look forward to Sea Otter. We tend to find interesting rental spots to call home for a few days; we get some riding in, to and from the venue; we cross paths with a good number of TCB athletes & industry characters; Captain Coffee and Chris Cross take good…
Wow. What a fantastic week of racing we’ve just witnessed. First the Tour of Flanders, and then a HUGE win at Paris-Roubaix (the first ever by an American team) – all wrapped up in an eight-day package that, in my book, makes for some of the best pro cycling on the calendar. The racing never disappoints, but there’s so much more than just the racing when we’re talking about big European bike races. Mark Johnson will be following the Garmin-Cervelo squad’s adventures this season as he works on a book (scheduled for publication in Spring of 2012 from VeloPress) about the…
This just in from the Team CLIF BAR guys who headed to Southern California for the Tour of Murrieta. Sounds like the racing went well and so did the hairstyling. I guess by now it’s common knowledge that the mullet can bump up power output. But it's still good to share that info for the new riders out there who aren’t up to speed with all those important little bike racing tricks.
Back in February, a number of us headed up to Bend, Oregon for a film shoot. Team CLIF BAR mountain biker/cross racer Troy Wells joined the mix, so we got to spend some time in the winter wonderland with Mr. Wells. It’s always fun to hang with Troy. He left the oh-so-rideable warmth of Tucson to join us in the less-so-rideable snow of Bend – and he seemed to have a smile on his face the entire time, even during one crazy-cold looking long descent. Certainly a fine test of his stylish Capo thermal garments. Jason at Abbey Bike Works…
It’s been a nice early-season weekend full of good stuff thanks to a number of the Team CLIF BAR athletes. While Troy & Todd Wells hunker down in Tucson to hone in their foosball skills for the 2011 TCB Foosball Invitational, other athletes were also preparing for the upcoming season. Some, with their seasons already kicked into gear, were even winning things - in January! Crazy, huh? Friday through Sunday, the TCB Elite Cycling squad gathered down in the south bay for a pre-season camp. Rides, meetings, eating & some team bonding was the gist of it. Four new riders…
The domestic cyclo-cross season is coming to the pinnacle. With Nationals this weekend in Bend and the final round of the USGP's in Portland this past weekend, it’s go time! Here's Team CLIF BAR athlete Troy Wells' report leading up to Nationals. I've started to find my legs over the last couple of weeks. After a solid race in Fort Collins resulting in a 6th on Sunday and being awarded SRAM's most aggressive rider, I had a weekend at home before it was time to travel to Iowa City for Jingle Cross. Jingle Cross is one of my favorite races…
Next Thursday, November 11, Team CLIF BAR is excited to host an evening event with 2010 Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack. We'll pop the caps on some tasty beverages from New Belgium Brewing Company while we chow down on delicious lasagna made by the guys in the Clif Bar Café, Kali's Kitchen. Please join us! Hang out with fellow triathlon fans, chat it up with the folks from Clif Bar and meet Team CLIF BAR triathlete Chris McCormack. Chris will take the stage to talk about his adventures at the 2010 Ironman World Championships. This is a rare op to…
A little over two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Conrad ‘The Caveman’ Stoltz at the Clif Bar Triathlounge while he & I were both in Kona for the Ironman World Championship. Conrad was in Kona enjoying some on-island training and supporting his friends who were competing in the IM race. For a guy who has ‘Caveman’ for a nickname, who was two weeks out from a BIG race, Conrad seemed remarkably mellow and relaxed in Kona. Truth is, Conrad’s always a pleasure to hang out with - he almost seems too nice to be…
We’ve been having quite a week here at the TEAM CLIF BAR House on Ali’i Dr in Kona. Between athlete visits & interviews, new CLIF SHOT Energy Gel sampling, the Triathlounge set-up, and grilling all sorts of stuff on the BBQ it’s been pretty much non-stop this week. Lots and lots of good stuff all week and – honestly – I really didn’t think it could get a whole lot better. Until, of course, TEAM CLIF BAR triathlete Chris McCormack won one of the most exciting triathlons we’ve ever seen. That’s when the week went from great to simply ridiculous.…
As I'm writing, it's Tuesday evening, October 5th. Just got to see another beautiful Kona sunset. Spent a good chunk of the afternoon sampling the new CLIF SHOT Energy Gel, SHOT Electrolyte Drink, Margarita SHOT BLOKS, and a bevy of other Clif Bar goods to folks getting their training miles in on Alii. Sampling went great. The new SHOT Gel was -- as expected -- very well received. Tore my shirt off like the Hulk today too. Yup, it really happened. I guess I was so sweaty from sitting outside for hours on end that when I went to swap…
Wow, it’s July already. Here in the magical (and rather busy) land known as Team Clif Bar, it can be tough to keep track of all that’s going on this time of year. In the ongoing madness there is, however, one thing I’m certain of – over the holiday weekend, here at TCB we will be grilling way more meat and drinking far more sangria than a number of the TCB athletes who will be hard at work busting their butts at some bigtime races. On Sunday July 4th TCB triathlete Chris McCormack will line up at the Ironman European…
On the evening of Thursday, April 8th, Team Clif Bar is excited to host an event with the Santa Cruz Syndicate. We'll pop the caps on some tasty beverages while we chow down on delicious grub served hot from one of the finest vehicles on the road today—the taco truck. Please join us here at the Clif Bar & Co. mothership in Berkeley, CA! Hang out with fellow cycling fans, chat it up with the folks from Clif Bar and meet the Syndicate riders. Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar & Josh Bryceland will be on stage to talk about what…
Maybe it has something to do with the crazy green bar tape – but whatever it is we’re all for it, cuz Joe Iannarelli is rippin’ it at the start of the 2010 season. He nabbed the team’s first win of 2010 at the Cal Aggie Criterium in Sacramento, CA at the end of January. Joe had this to say about the win: “Well this was the first weekend of racing this year and you could say it went much different than expected. After Saturday's mayhem of attacking or following attacks I was well worn out, but didn't really…
While Eric & I have been working to usher in the New Year here in Berkeley at the Team Clif Bar lair, TCB Cyclocrosser Troy Wells has been hanging out in Belgium, likely eating most of that country’s food. Considering that Troy’s probably chowing down on all the tasty grub to be had there, it’s really a wonder that he’s racing at all. Here’s a list (courtesy of belgium.angloinfo.com) of what Troy’s up against when he sits down at the meal counter: Smoutebollen: A fried pastry served hot on street stalls especially at fairs and festivals Boudin Blanc &…
On Sunday, Nov 22nd, while I was mentally preparing for the undeniable riskiness of the annual Thanksgiving family football game, concerned that one of my border-line-sinister tennis-playing cousins would prematurely end my 2010 cycling season months before it even began, TCB triathlete Linsey Corbin finished 2nd at Ironman Arizona. While I was concerned about simply making it to Thanksgiving dinner in one piece, Linsey was focused on things more hopeful—like setting a new IM Arizona run course record and finishing the race with a new personal IM best. When it was all said and done, things ended up pretty…
As many of you know, Troy Wells (aka: Trois Biscotti) spends the cross season flying the Team Clif Bar colors. No doubt, the dude races like a maniac. It’s hard to find a race photo of Troy without some sort of crazy facial expression that makes it crystal clear the guy’s going 110%. But Troy does a lot more than just race a bike… For the record: On the way to Vegas in September, Troy ate the biggest burrito any of us had ever seen. It was like watching someone ingest a good-sized house cat. Like a tabby that’s…
Yesterday was another good, long day at IM Hawaii. The day started bright and early on this end—Waldek (aka Captain Coffee) said we needed to be up at 3:30am, and since he was my only real pre-dawn transportation option to the venue, I figured I'd better join him in the rental car. Setting the alarm for 3:30am is never ideal. But, truth of the matter, watching the sun come up over the island on race day morning is always spectacular. And while it was still pitch dark on Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of spending a little pre-race…
I'm sitting in the airport about 30 minutes out from boarding a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kona. I'm typing away on my goofy little phone/computer to check in to let folks know it's the eve of another IM Hawaii that's sure to be full of remarkable stories of achievement and effort. Team Clif Bar will be cheering for everyone out there, regardless of logos and sponsorship agreements. It's just such a ridiculously challenging event that you really have to root for everyone who gives it a shot. But of course we'll be cheering extra hard for the Team Clif…
This time of the season a cyclist’s fancies turn to the joys of Interbike, CrossVegas, the USA Crits Finals and, of course, the Team Clif Bar Foosball Invitational. Thursday afternoon at the Clif Bar & Company booth (#1953) in one of the massive Interbike halls, a tiny little ball will drop on the artificial green of the foosball pitch—and IT will be ON. Dave Towle on the mic, teams of TCB-sponsored cyclists bringing their foosball A-games, beer raining down from the heavens—or at least being poured by some sort of jolly beer guy, and the Court Date band punching…
Dylan's second installment of The Sabattical Chronicles; he sends his best from Idaho... Still sabbaticalling something fierce. Currently nursing a rock-skipping wrist injury—apparently went out a little too hard at Priest Lake, the unofficial skipping-rock capital of the world. There were so many perfect rocks I just couldn’t stop myself. In a perfect world I’d be writing in to report about a glorious victory at the Boise Twilight Criterium or a dashing win at the Idaho State Championship Crit—but turns out reality is much more… realistic, and quite a bit more cruel. So this blog’s about customer service—not victory. But…
Editor's note: We have a lot of perks here, one of which is that employees who've worked here for seven years get an 8-week sabbatical. It's a pretty stellar deal. Our very own Le Sensation, of TCB and blogger fame, is on his leave as I type. He's decided to keep us all updated on his doings (er, road trip adventures) over the next few weeks via the blog. Without further ado, the first installment of Dylan's Sabbatical Chronicles. I'm not quite sure how many more will come our way but stay tuned, especially if you plan on taking a…
It’s been a while since I’ve hit the magical blog button or drank from the wonderfully refreshing waters of the soothing blog pond. So the time has come, once again, for me to add a little something to the TCB storytelling mix. Things can get pretty busy in this neck of the woods. Heads spin and then sometimes the blogs don’t get written, which is a shame because there’s always a ton of stuff going on around here. Some of it’s even borderline interesting. Here’s the abbreviated version—a good portion of what’s gone down over the last few weeks in…
Recently, Eric and I had the pleasure of meeting up with TCB triathlete Chris McCormack and his agent Scott Fairchild when they were in the Bay Area for the Morgan Hill Triathlon. Chris won that one. After the race we shot an interview with Chris by the swim start. Then Chris carried his own chair all the way back to the expo area. I think the photo of Chris carrying the chair is my favorite shot of the day—it’s classic Chris McCormack. No prima donna syndrome here. Once the interview was wrapped up, we ate a whole bunch of food…
Over here in Northern California the race season is really kicking into gear. Just the other day I mentioned to Eric that, to me, the real NorCal race season always starts with the Wente race weekend. From that point forward it’s on. Well, for me it’s not. I’m still recovering from snapping my femur in two, so it’s fortunate that the guys on the team seem more than happy to pick up the slack and rip it at the races. JD just took the win at the Modesto Crit last Saturday and then Aaron followed that one up with…
TCB Cycling rider Joe Iannarelli has returned from an early-season shoulder surgery and is already starting to leave a mark at the NorCal races. Here’s Joe’s Cat’s Hill recap: Hello all, this is Joe Iannarelli new to the TCB cycling team. After a rather dismal couple months of no racing because of doctors orders I'm finally back. As of right now I have three races under my belt this year, but many more to come. Recently I was able to represent Clif Bar at the Cat's Hill Cycling Classic in the P/1/2 category and managed a top ten. As…
We missed Steve at Sea Otter this year. He was at the homestead waiting for the arrival of baby George. It’s great to see Steve back in the mix leaving his mark & dedicating his win to the little tyke! Here’s the race report from team manager, Kathy Sessler: May 10, 2009 La Bresse, France Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Steve Peat teaches a master class in downhill racing as he smokes the competition here in La Bresse, France at the second round of the Nissan UCI World Cup Downhill. This win combined with his 3rd place in South Africa puts…
This just in… Trois Biscotti reporting after a week in the mysterious place known only as Sector 16: Well, I’ve spent the last week and a half in Sector 16 and I will tell you one thing—I have an entirely new outlook on life in general. Sector 16 is a spot where many would like to spend time, but only a lucky few get the chance to. Here's a list of my “activities” during a week in Sector 16: I drank at least 3 to 4 cups of coffee each day. It is in the contract. Consuming numerous bottles…
Troy Wells just raced US Pro XCT #1 down in Fontana, CA. He finished a very solid 11th and came away with a number of firsts. It was Troy’s best MTB finish to date. And it was also the first time Team Clif Bar has ever had fully-sponsored pro MTB riders in the mix. Both Troy & Brady Kappius were out there in Fontana flying the colors of TCB Mountain Biking. Here’s Troy’s race report: Well this past weekend was the first mountain bike US-Cup in Fontana CA. The US-Cup is the new national mountain bike series in the…
This just came our way from our friend Alex Wolff, Co-Founder & President of the Premier Basketball League’s Vermont Frost Heaves. One Sunday the 29th the Frost Heaves won the Champlain Cup Title by defeating the Quebec Kebekwa 114-84 in Quebec City. Next up, the Frost Heaves will travel to Wilmington, NC to face the Sea Dawgs in a one-game play-in scheduled for early April. A win against the Sea Dawgs will pit the Frost Heaves against the #1 seeded Battle Creek Knights in the Premier Basketball League play-offs. So there’s certainly a lot of basketball going on in Vermont—but…
Femur Files Week 2 Apparently the femur remains broken despite all the milk & cereal I’ve ingested. Trying to stay positive over in my neck of the woods after snapping my femur while doing an amazing move on my road bike that words just can’t describe. Or, maybe they can... Let's try “awesomeinatory” or “awesomeillitrackletron.” Now I’m sitting around the house trying to heal up for the next mad-cap adventure. And here’s what I’m dealing with: My old dog is, apparently, quite gassy. I didn’t realize the extent of it until now and it’s not easy to escape the fumes…
On Saturday morning I had the misfortune of ending my race season before it really got started. I ran out of talent on a slippery descent and, presto, I turned my right femur into more than one piece. So I’m out of action for some time and, needless to say, it’s a bit of a bummer. But in an effort to turn my vat of sour lemons into a charming river of delicious, refreshing lemonade I’ve spent a little time today doing a comparison review that I’m sure you’ll all find quite useful. Seemed obvious enough to me that,…
Eric, Matt & I have been on the roads the last few days following the Amgen Tour of California. On our end it’s been a busy week. We started the ToCA ball rolling with a TCB Presents event in the Clif Bar Theater on Wednesday the 11th. The entire Garmin-Slipstream ToCA squad took the stage and over 250 guests had a chance to learn a little bit more about the guys they’d be cheering for on the roads of California. Of all the guys on stage, it’s funny that the one who said the least has left the biggest…
The Garmin-Slipstream event in the Clif Bar theater is now filled up. But, we decided to keep the invite up as a friendly reminder to keep your eyes peeled on the road for a chance to catch of glimpse of these guys as they roll through the neighborhood. On the evening of Wednesday February 11th, just days before the start of the Amgen Tour of California, Clif Bar & Co. is excited to host an evening event with the Garmin-Slipstream Pro Cycling Team, including special guest MASH. We'll pop the caps on some tasty beverages from New Belgium Brewing Co.…
January is a crazy month. There’s always a lot going on around the TCB lair during the first month of a shiny new year. And while our heads spin like little tops and the madness of the month whirlwinds around us like leaves, we wait anxiously for the Team Clif Bar Cycling goods to arrive. When it all shows up we get to take a brief break from all that’s going on and just sit and stare at the beautiful new gear from the team's sponsors. It’s therapeutic. For ’09 the TCB Cycling program has a great group of sponsors…
I came into the office this morning to find some sad news on my magical email machine. Clif Bar Development Cross Team manager Ben Turner let me know that the team’s big green school bus fell victim to the The Olde Stage Fire that started Wednesday afternoon just north of the Boulder city limits. The fire spread east of Highway 36, and traveled down a little valley next to the commercial parking area where the bus is stored during the off season. High winds blew burning debris that started the bus on fire, with the front end destroyed before fire…
Here’s a USGP of Cyclocross recap from TCB rider Troy Wells, who had his best UCI/USGP outing to date in the challenging New Jersey conditions. Troy’s big brother Todd (also one of the TCB crew) was the only guy able to finish ahead of Troy on Sunday and Todd had this to say about his little brother’s performance: “If [Troy] had a better start [he] probably would have won." Here’s Troy’s race recap: This past weekend was the second round of the USGP of Cyclocross in Mercer NJ. I finally got a new top result in a UCI cross race…
On the evening of Thursday, November 13th at the CLIF Bar Berkeley Headquarters, we'll pop the caps on some tasty beverages & fire up the easy-bake; we’ll enjoy the music only Jimmy Dean & The Sausage Party can muster up; then we’ll sit back, get comfy, and spend some time with TEAM CLIF BAR athlete, legendary pro snowboarder, and Protect Our Winters (POW) founder Jeremy Jones. Over some delicious grub, tasty brew generously provided by the fine folks at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (as well as other refreshing beverages), we’ll mix & mingle as we peruse alluring winter gear…
Over a week ago IM Hawaii took place in all its triathlon glory. Over here at Clif we were all excited to see Chris McCormack back in action on the island defending his win from last season. Bryan Rhodes, Katya Meyers & Tyler Stewart were all sure to add to the day’s excitement as well. And here at the Team Clif Bar mothership we were eager to see what Linsey Corbin could muster up on race day. As we all know by now, Chris’ day didn’t go as he (or any of us) had hoped it would. A mechanical…
This time of year it can be mighty tough to find the time to write a blog piece and that’s a darn shame since we tend to have an awful lot to write about in late September/early October. Storytelling-wise, Interbike’s gotta be at the top of the list. It all happened over a week ago but I’m still feeling the mostly-pleasant hurt that can only come from the barrage that is Interbike. Here’s the abbreviated version of what we did in Vegas told, delightfully, through the wonder of photos. Our journey to Vegas started on Tuesday September 23rd. With all…
On September 20th the 2008 Clif Bar Epiphany Ride will be upon us. Last year a bunch of us drove up the night before the ride to sleep on Gary’s & Kit’s property among the wolves and orangutans so we would be ready to roll at some crazy-early hour in order to get the 150-mile ride going in time to be back before the afternoon feast. The morning of the ride we rolled out in the dark. And it was cold—really, really cold. I remember thinking that I wished I had some of those lobster-claw winter gloves. Then I…
Around the TCB lair, when August rolls around, one’s fancies turn towards the endless joys of Cyclocross. Gary & Rob at Capo have worked with us to put together what’s sure to be one of the slickest team kits we’ve ever unleashed on the unsuspecting cross world. SRAM, Mavic, Orbea, Maxxis, Easton & Giro have all contributed to the ’08 effort and the whole madcap plan is coming together nicely. TCB Cyclocross riders Troy, Danny & Brady are ready to rip. Ben’s working hard on getting the Clif Bar Development Cross Team dialed in Boulder. And we’re going to…
Wow, the ’08 Summer Games are starting up! That’s pretty exciting stuff. TCB mountain biker Todd Wells wrote in a while back after receiving his invite to the games: Well I just officially got named to the 2008 Olympic team. I qualified for the team automatically based on my World Cup ranking this year but it wasn’t official until today. This will be my 2nd Olympic Games. I went to the last one in Athens. Last time around I was happy just to make the team. This year we had a great selection process, I have been having my…
Here’s a quick check-in from North Carolina. Eric and I are out here at the Crossroads Cycling Classic for six nights of racing. Our teammate Jeff made the trip too to join the mix in the 8:45pm high-humidity action under the lights of towns around the Charlotte area. The first couple days have been a tad rough. Eric’s Orbea bicycle got damaged in shipping and the airline's claims department told him that because he didn’t report the damage in the first four hours they weren’t responsible. The four-hour window seems a little unreasonable given that we got in around 9pm…
We’re on the eve of what’s sure to be one of the more exciting Tour de France time trials in some time. Christian and the Garmin-Chipotle crew are all focusing on putting together the best tt effort they can muster up. What a great way to end three weeks of racing! It takes something pretty special to get me out of bed before 6am, but tomorrow’s live coverage of the time trial on Versus qualifies. A big cup (or two) of coffee, a huge bowl (or two) of cereal and a whole bunch of bike racing. Bring it. Will Frischkorn…
Today’s Stage 16 of the Tour de France didn’t go quite the way Christian and the Garmin-Chipotle team had hoped it would. Christian ended up fighting back to within 35 seconds of the lead group as the race climbed over the Cime de la Bonette at 9,193 ft (France’s highest through-road). But on the ripping 22km decent down to the town of Jausiers Christian took a tumble in one of the upper corners. So when it was all said and done Christian lost 2:36 to race leader Frank Schleck of the CSC-Saxo Bank team and now sits in 6th overall…
Hope you’ve all seen the Tour stage today or will be watching it tonight. In the event that some of you might be recording it to watch later I’m not going to say a peep other than “Wow!” It is definitely worth a look. And while the GC battle raged on the biting slopes of the Tourmalet and the double-digit grades of Hautacam, Freddie Rodriguez checked in to share his thoughts on my favorite competition of the Tour de France—the tussle for the oh-so-stylish & coveted Green Jersey. I have to go with Thor. Thor is one of the most…
Those guys in argyle eat a lot. Significant amounts of Clif Bars, Shot Gels, Bloks & Shot Drinks are needed to keep Garmin-Chipotle rolling during an entire race season. In Garmin-Chipotle’s case the team ended up being invited to all sorts of races this year—probably more than anyone ever expected! Definitely good stuff for the team—but let’s just say I’ve been in a couple meetings here at the office speaking to folks about how I’m single-handedly sinking the ’08 product budget. Sorta an infamous claim to fame, but what fun is life without a little infamy. Keeps things fun and…
Sadly, even with my legit French last name and my French family heritage, the TCB Cycling squad once again received no invite to the la grande danse. So just like last year, the year before and all the other years that came ahead of those years, the team opted for racing stateside during the 4th of July weekend. So instead of laits frappes we enjoyed milkshakes—an oh-so-impressive amount of post-race milkshakes to be exact. “Why milkshakes?” one may ask. Two reasons: Milkshakes are absolutely delicious on a hot day after climbing the same hill 30 times while inhaling smoky air…
Here at the office, DZ fans are a special breed, just like the rider they root for (Dave Zabriskie). DZ fans zip through the halls competitively trying to get to their next meeting first; they drink way more than their share of the coffee; they laugh with just a touch of "crazy;" they willingly wrestle with Ginger the bulldog (who happens to be just slightly unpredictable enough to make things interesting); and they cheer for Dave every time he does something noteworthy on or off his bike. Years ago, Dave showed up at a TCB Media Center event and took…
2008 has offered quite a wild ride with the Slipstream-Chipotle squad that will now be known as the Garmin-Chipotle Pro Cycling Team. And with the Tour de France right around the corner things just keep getting more exciting. So as the team prepares to storm yet another figurative castle, we want to show our thanks and appreciation for the effort the riders have made by ‘Bucklin’ Up’. We’ve worked with this team from the get-go, watching the organization grow from the TIAA-CREF junior development program only a few years ago to a Tour de France contender in ’08. We’ve…
It was quite a first weekend of racing at the Giro d’Italia. Team Slipstream—Chipotle left its mark on Day 1 with a huge win in the 23.6km team time trial to open the 91st Giro d’Italia. What an accomplishment. Thanks to a wonderful team effort, Christian Vande Velde became the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to sport the stylish maglia rosa leader’s jersey. There’s a nice TTT write-up on VeloNews and for those who are interested in receiving the latest Slipstream updates via cell phone, get all the deets about Slipstream’s Twitter service on their website.…
Last weekend at Wildflower Team Clif Bar athletes showed up and left a worthy mark. Chris McCormack turned on the afterburners on Beach Hill and took his 4th Wildflower win after battling with Eneko Llanos all race long. Chris remains undefeated at Wildflower with wins in ’01, ’02, ’04 & ’08. “The last three miles, Eneko and I ran together and I just rolled the dice on that last downhill to the finish,” said McCormack. “I’m very proud I am unbeaten in my four tries at one of the greatest races in our sport.” In the women’s race, three TCB…
The Vermont Frost Heaves left Quebec City last month with a little something extra to declare at customs—and another ABA title. They did it again. In the team's second year of existence they've won their second ABA title! Congrats Frost Heaves! Here’s the scoop from Alex Wolff, the team’s Pres & GM: We did it. Got our 34-4 regular-season record through customs, overcame a parade of injuries, defied the long odds that champions in any sport face against repeating—and beat three teams in four days at the American Basketball Association Final 8 Championships in Quebec City late last month. That…
Wow, it’s already April. Over here on the West Coast we’ve been racing for a couple months. “Racing” means different things to different riders at the beginning of the season. Some of the guys out here in California are absolutely flying. Personally, I don’t think I could ever muster up the early-season fitness that some guys start the season with. What I do know is that racing with really fit guys in Feb & March can be pretty damn painful. What happened the first weekend in April is a fine example of just how much a race can sting the…
This just came in from Will, who spent a good chunk of last Saturday off the front at Milan-San Remo, a personal favorite of mine and one of the coolest one-day races on the planet. How much Clif can a guy eat in one day? I put this one to the test this past Saturday at Milan-San Remo, and found that the answer is: a lot. MSR is a pretty epic day; the longest race we do all year by a solid 50k, with the total on the Powertap reading 311k by the time I reached the bus after the…
Congrats to the Slipstream-Chipotle Pro Cycling Team! They’ve been invited to the 2008 Tour de France. That’s a big deal. Paris-Nice just ended and Vaughters had this to say about the race in a recent VeloNews interview. "I feel relieved after all the work we put in. We proved we are one of the better teams in the world right from the start all the way through Tirreno, but we had a mediocre Paris-Nice, of all the friggin' races to have go sideways on us!! So of course that worried me a bit. But anyway, the bigger picture has been…
Back in the day, ages ago when I worked in Europe for part of the year, I tended to end up in France right around the time of the Paris-Nice bike race. Back then, the only way to see the race was to be somewhere other than the US at the right time. These days my how things have changed—we can all tune in to Versus to see the Clif-sponsored Slipstream-Chipotle squad compete in their most important European race to date. Seemed like whichever Paris-Nice stage I made it to, it was always wet and cold. Race fans call Paris-Nice…
This just in from Alex, the Vermont Frost Heaves’ President & GM. In Quebec City on March 27-30 the American Basketball Association will play its Final Eight Championship where the Frost Heaves/Millrats rivalry will likely take center stage. Since I last checked in with the blogosphere, the Vermont Frost Heaves have won 17 of 18 games to close out the regular season. The only nagging issue with our 32-4 record is that all four of those losses have come to the same team, our neighbors in what some of us in Vermont like to call "the Upside Down State," the…
This game report just came my way from Adrian Mateo of Clif Bar Team Lacrosse. As some of you know I’ve got a soft spot for lacrosse. It’s a fantastic sport—full of action and all sorts of fun stuff. We’ve had an under-the-radar lacrosse program running out of Clif Bar & Co for some time now, so in ’08 it just made sense to make things more official. Here’s the first Clif Bar Team Lacrosse blog entry. Enjoy. You heard it right, the newest addition to Team Clif Bar, Clif Bar Team Lacrosse, kicked off their 2008 season on Tuesday…
It’s blog time in a BIG way. Amy has asked me a couple times when the Tour of CA blogs will be ready—I think she gave me the stink-eye last time she walked by the TCB pod. I’m a little scared of Amy. Truth is, I’d been meaning to get a ToCA story up earlier than now, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Instead, I got dealt a nasty case of the flu—I think my mother-in-law brought an extra-strength North Carolina influenza to the house as some sort of sinister gift. Well, touché. I got got good. After feverishly…
A little while back we were fortunate enough to have TCB snowboarder Jeremy Jones pay us a visit and play a big part in one of our evening events at my favorite place in the whole crazy office—the Clif Bar Theater. It was another fine event here at Clif. Not only did Jeremy take the stage for an interview, some Q&A time, and to share info about his Protect Our Winters organization; we also showed the ’07 SOS Winter Roadtrip documentary on the big screen and had a chance to chat with the crew that made that whole madcap adventure…
The joys of being on an elite-amateur cycling squad are pretty much endless. For one thing, there’s all that delightful bike racing. The NorCal season is nice and long. Hard to believe, but the ’08 racing has already started up in our neck of the woods – at least for some enthusiastic folks. On the TCB Cycling end of things we’re still ramping up for the race season and we got the ball officially rolling with the ’08 team camp a couple weekends ago. No two team camps are quite alike, and the TCB Cycling camp plan definitely didn’t fit…
For the ’08 season Team Clif Bar has signed the Vermont Frost Heaves to a team sponsorship as the basketball team defends its 2007 ABA title. While the Clif offices are chock full of basketball fans, we haven’t really done a whole lot of work within the sponsorship side of the sport. So when the opportunity came along to work with the Frost Heaves it just made sense—for a number of reasons: It never hurts to have national champions on the roster who can offer us useful feedback on our energy foods and drinks. And add to that that they…
Hans Rey, TCB athlete, ambassador, mountain biker, adventurer & advocate extraordinaire, is so much more than just an amazing cyclist. Three years ago, he launched Wheels 4 Life and since then Hans and the W4L program have been up to a lot of good. Here’s the scoop from Hans: Wheels 4 Life is now three years old. We have done some great progress and have changed many lives already. Giving people the gift of mobility in form of a bicycle is a powerful way to help. We have distributed over 500 bikes in 16 different countries and we are ready…
The Cyclocross season ended on a fine note for the TCB Cyclocross riders—and in particular for Troy Wells who finished on the podium. Here’s what Troy had to say about the racing in Kansas: 'Cross national this year was no exception to the rule over past 5 years minus Providence last year. We got hit with the most epic conditions of the entire season.The course was basically a sheet of ice or a mud pit the entire weekend depending on which side of the 32-degree mark it the thermometer happened to land on. Saturday was an event filled day for…
Hard to believe, but the cross season is winding down. Nationals are next weekend! We made it up to Portland for the USGP weekend there, and somehow the weather in Portland never fails to land a round-house kick of freezing temps on us soft Californians. Turns out my Motorola Razor took the brunt of the blow. Poor little fellow straight up died on Sunday up in the wet weather. Either it was the wet & cold or the fright of watching a 40-ft pine tree blow over right in front of us. Yup, it was breezy. Here’s a little recap of the weekend:…
Those of you out there who follow the cross season likely already know that the TCB Cyclocross riders do a lot more than just race their bikes. Sure racing’s a big part of the overall TCB Cyclocross effort (check out some race videos of the TCB guys in action at the Verge cross series), to teaching little kids how to rip it up on a cross bike, the TCB riders are out there doing a lot of good stuff. TCB Cyclocross rider Troy Wells just sent this report my way from the Clif Bar Kids’ Camps at the Louisville USGP: As…
I'm a bit late in getting this up, but I figured Daniel, CLIF Development Cross Team rider, had a pretty neato story on his hands and it would be a shame to let it go by without any mention. So, here you go—Daniel's road trip to Vegas for Interbike, the bike show of all bike shows. As the hours passed along on Interstate 70, my legs started to cramp and the only light at the end of the tunnel was the fact that for this entire 740-mile trip to Vegas, Ben and I were 100% fossil fuel-free! This was possible…
Chris McCormack just won the Ironman World Championship this past Saturday and it was a sweet sight to behold. In the walkway behind the finish line, I gave Chris a congratulatory hug—it was one of the wettest, slimiest, stickiest hugs I’ve ever experienced. I think Chris was just happy to have someone/something to lean up against for a bit and I was perfectly happy to lend a hand. I’ll always remember that hug and the words Chris said to me as we embraced, "I did it, man. I finally did it." Yeah, Chris, you did it alright. Truth be told,…
Wow. Last week was a bit nuts—in a good way. Interbike was upon us and we had a lot going on there. For starters, Eric and I were driving to the show in the TCB mobile. It was packed to the gills. I’ve never seen the truck so completely full of stuff. We had band equipment, extra product, banner rolls, the arch for Excel Sports CrossVegas, and a bunch of bikes for the Industry Cup Crit. We run the truck on bio-diesel so we visited NearBio to map out our route and figure out where we’d be able to fill up along the way. All in…
Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team guru/manager/visionary Ben Turner checks in after the team's pre-season training camp. Sounds like they were up to all sorts of good stuff. I can't wait to see the team in action this year! I’m heading out the door to Interbike—where I’ll get to see Summerhill rippin’ it up at Excel Sports Cross Vegas on Wednesday night with the other Clif and Luna cross riders. Word on the street is that Ben and Daniel are camping in Vegas to do all they can to leave the smallest ecological footprint during their trip. That’s a nice effort. These guys…
Michael Kanning is a young athlete who’s up to some good stuff. It’s always nice to work with young athletes who see the bigger picture and understand that there’s a lot involved in being an ambassador for one’s sport. As you’ll read below, Michael’s making a nice effort to do more than just run a very challenging race—although the run in itself, and all the training leading up to it, is a thoroughly impressive effort in its own right. Hope you all enjoy Michael’s Blog entry: The Rio Del Lago 100-Mile Endurance Run is one of North America’s 41, 100-mile races. The…
Just got back from my Boise vacation. I love going to Boise to visit my wife’s kinfolk. For the last few summers, we’ve headed out there to spend a little time doing very little—and it rocks. My son has a blast, my dog loves the large property we stay on, we eat food grown right from a big backyard garden and all the scraps get fed to a bunch of hearty-looking chickens who pop out some of the tastiest eggs I’ve ever had the pleasure of ingesting. We also stay in Winnemucca, NV on the trip out and back—which means…
With the ‘07/’08 cross season right around the corner folks on this end are getting excited. One of the TCB programs that gets me most excited is last season’s TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR Cyclocross Team that will be back for ‘07/’08 as the CLIF BAR Development Cyclocross Team. The program is one of the premier TCB junior development efforts and offers a great example of the TCB Sustainable Sports vision as well. First and foremost I see this program as an effort to help develop junior athletes so that they can be the very best ambassadors that they can be for the sport…
Howdy racing fans one and all, Here’s an image of the recently logo’d Bio-Diesel CLIF Truck that the TCB Cycling squad has been getting around in. We’ve been running the vehicle on B100 bio-diesel from our friends at BioFuel Oasis all season. The truck’s been running great and starting up conversations about bio-diesel wherever we go. Keep an eye out for the vehicle at the NorCal races. We’ll also be rolling over to Vegas this September to end the cycling season racing the USA CRIT Finals around Mandalay Bay Casino. If you spot the truck please swing by and say…
On Sunday July 22nd at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid TCB sponsored triathlete Tyler Stewart of Team EndurancePTC raced her first Ironman as a pro, finished 2nd, and ended up the top American at the U.S. Pro Championship—a truly amazing breakout performance. Wow. Another TCB triathlete, Linsey Corbin, finished 5th—so two nice showings at Lake Placid by great individuals who also happen to be stellar triathletes. Diane Henry of Endurance Performance Training Centers had this to say about Tyler’s efforts and her Clif Bar & Co energy foods: “Last year—without a nutrition sponsorship—Tyler did a poor job of fueling during…
After a great weekend of Tour de France viewing, some TCB Cycling racing successes by Doran & Chris at the Mount Diablo Hill Climb, and general weekend-style loungeration/downtime, it’s fun to get back into the office and see what the TCB sponsored athletes have been up to. Sounds like the Navigators Pro Cycling Team had a good time at the Bend Memorial Cascades Cycling Classic up in Oregon. Phil Zajicek won the whole dang thing and the team raced well. BMC Pro Cycling’s Scott Nydam took the King of the Mountains competition and the BMC squad finished strongly too. Here’s…
TCB skier (and all-around athlete extraordinaire) Chris Davenport just sent me his latest field report. Nice to get a hearty shot of wintery madness come our way in mid-July. A week ago some of us here in the office were racing bikes in 108 degree heat up in Davis, CA so it’s pleasantly bizarre to read about Chris carving through the powder on Denali. Enjoy! Hello ski friends and a happy summer to all of you! In the current tradition of my ski descent trip reports, I'm going to interrupt your flip-flop and shorts wearing and margarita drinking summer-time mode…
TCB Triathlete Bryan Rhodes has been out and about flying the CLIF BAR colors this season and he just sent this race report my way. Congrats Bryan! Nice effort out there. Hello Sponsors and Friends, Well most of you would think that I would have my feet up a week after Ironman Coeur d'Alene but I was feeling really good and decided to push my body and signed up for the Half Ironman in Morgantown West Virginia. I wanted to support HFP Racing as they put on amazing events and really take care of the Pros that support them! I…
TCB rider Mark McCormack has been pretty active the past couple weeks. Somehow his ol’ legs just keep on kicking—or pedaling, in this case. Nice riding out there on the other coast Mark. Way to fly the TCB colors! Here’s Mark’s race report: I raced these past two weekends. Flying the red jersey out here and really enjoying it. Last weekend I raced at the Cyclonauts Road Race (quite a name) in Monson, MA. It was a 56-mile road race with a few small climbs and a 1-mile finish climb. I missed the major break of the day after…
It’s June 25th and I’m back in the office after heading east for a bit to visit some friends and family. It was an adventure—of sorts. Sometimes breaks don’t go quite as planned. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the many random variations of breaks. As some of you likely know already—I’m broken. My left wrist has been rebuilt with some handy-dandy titanium hardware and I’m in the process of trying to feel less broken. This type of break is not so good. On another not so good note, recently I read in ROAD Magazine that my good buddy Dave Towle thinks climbers are…
Bernard Moerman runs the Cycling Center in Belgium (and now in Albuquerque too). We’ve worked with Bernard for some time now and he’s developed a wonderful program that we think very highly of. The Cycling Center helps develop young cyclists into capable racers who will not only be successful as competitive cyclists but also as ambassadors for the sport. Supporting junior development athlete programs is an important part of the Team Clif Bar athlete-sponsorship program and working with the Cycling Center is a fine fit for TCB. Take a look at this great report on www.cycling.tv. -----
As some of you know, I've been out of the NorCal racing mix for a couple weeks, and it'll be a while before I return due to a bunch-sprint-induced wrist injury that required surgery. So, sadly, I missed the Trek Bicycle Store Memorial Day Criterium that the San Jose Bicycle Club puts on. It's a race I always enjoy, so I was in touch with TCB Cycling teammates yesterday evening to see how things panned out in the P/1/2 race. The news I received wasn't what I wanted to hear. Cal Giant rider Andy Jacques Maynes, one of the…
The Collegiate National Cycling Championships took place on May 11-13 in Lawrence Kansas. The TCB-sponsored Stanford Cycling Team claimed the Division I Team Omnium title with a well-rounded and impressive team effort. A big congrats to the Stanford riders! Here are some bits and pieces from the team’s race report sent my way by Evan Pickett: Going into Collegiate Nationals, in Lawrence, Kansas, we knew that we had a strong squad, but we also knew that it would take great individual efforts and a whole lotta luck to come away with a win or even a podium finish. Our plan…
The Wildflower Triathlon was this past weekend. A whole bunch of folks from the Clif offices were down there taking part, and a number of the TCB Sponsored athletes made the trip too. This posting is a little tardy due to my Santa Rosa misadventures. While I was up north breaking my wrist, TCB sponsored triathlete extraordinaire, Becky Lavelle, was down south doing business. Congrats on a great race Becky! Here's what Becky had to say about her big win... May.05.07 WILDFLOWER HALF IRONMAN—USA Long Course National Championships—1st place Well, before I give you the run down, I must say…
Sometimes bike racing can be pretty rough on a fellow. Last weekend up in Santa Rosa at The John Ramatici Memorial Clo-Terium Bike Race some dude ate it right in front of us during the bunch sprint and a good number of guys went down. Both Eric and I hit the ground pretty hard. Sadly, my second Orbea met its end and I limped away with a broken wrist. Fortunately, Eric weathered the crash better than I did. Jeff got through the carnage to finish in the cash, but Eric and I traded good results for banged up body parts and messed…
Here’s a write-up from TCB skier extaordinaire Chris Davenport. Reading about Chris and his buddies climbing/skiing the Tetons made my morning. I grew up spending a lot of time in Jackson Hole and my dad introduced me to the wonders of the Teton range—my wife and I even got married up in the Tetons. Those mountains are one of my favorite places on this planet; they’re always close to my heart. Thanks, Chris, for the great report and the smile it put on my face! Hi Everyone. It is raining and snowing like crazy here in Aspen right now, so I’m sitting at…
On Saturday down at the windy Brisbeen Circuit Race Chris Randall, the Shot Brand Manager and triathlete-turned-roadie, pulled off a very worthy win in the Masters 4/5 race in his quest for upgrade points. Chris’ winning move was impressive regardless of the race category. I, for one, could never have pulled off such a move on that course back when I was a Category 4 rider. Nice ride Chris! We’re looking forward to racing with you in the P/1/2 races sometime in the not so distant future. Here’s Chris’ race report: Ronde de Brisbeen 1.7 mile circuit—one long descent into one long climb,…
TCB Cross and MTB rider Todd Wells checks in from the Pan Am Championship in Argentina. The race for Olympic points is on! The season officially started for most of the US XC riders this weekend way down south in the southern hemisphere. The travel alone to get to the race venue took 36 hours and it looks like it might take even longer to get home. The town of Angostura is set at about 3,000 feet in the Andes mountains. The scenery here is pretty amazing and the Pan Am trips are always laid back and fun Most of…
Adam Chase just sent in this report from the Rock & Ice Ultra in Yellowknife, NW Territories. It’s a good read—sounds like something 007 might try in one of his movie gigs. Sorta makes the bike race I did on Saturday seem like child’s play. The warm thought of sitting at home in Boulder, watching the newest Bond film, "Casino Royale" on DVD stirs up the expression "shaken, not stirred." A look at my face in the mirror this afternoon, after yesterday's Rock & Ice Ultra here in Yellowknife, NW Territories, conjured the subject header for this correspondence. Here's a quick down and dirty...or…
Continuing yesterday's Team Clif Bar Cycling report, here's an update from Podium Todd out East. Don’t know why he calls Mark and himself the “A team.” Maybe they’re both sporting Mr. T haircuts—haven’t seen any recent photos to confirm… Race: Somewhere out East Cat: P/1/2 Results: Mark 4th on Saturday, PoTo 7th on Sunday Weather: East Coasty Back-to-back races here for the A-team this weekend. The season starts a bit later out East , but apparently we race harder during the time available, so the racing is more concentrated. I’m learning a lot about the scene. They have early bird’s in Jan and…
It’s mid-March and the road racing season is upon us. This past weekend the TCB Cycling squad was in action in the NorCal, Central Cal, and out in Massachusetts as well. Despite a few nasty spills in the first month of racing, the guys are starting to show some form. Here's a blurb from Dave. Stay tuned tomorrow for an update from East Coaster Todd. Race: CVC Stage Race (National Racing Calendar Event) Cat: 2 Field: 75ish Results: Doran 35ish GC (General Classification), Quist, 8th GC Weather: Freaking gorgeous Friday Road Race: 68 miles of rolling hills with 2…
TCB rider Mark McCormack is working hard these days for the Best Buddies organization. He got a whole new perspective on bike racing while working the expo at the Tour of CA, but like any die-hard bike racer worth his weight in lycra, Mark found a way to make it to the start line down in Long Beach. I am now back on the East Coast after a really fun trip to CA. I missed the first few days of my scheduled trip due to a massive snow storm that shut down the airports out here. It was a drag sitting in…
You know it's not good when you're in the shop on a Sunday morning while your teammates are either racing the NRC Merco Road Race in Merced or out on a four-hour ride in beautiful NorCal March weather. And it gets worse when part of the reason you're in the shop is to do what you can to fix your STI levers... with fine-grade sand paper. That was my Sunday. Saturday at the Merco Criterium didn't go so well. I got to see the emergency room in Merced (folks there were very helpful) where I was informed that one of the…
Here’s some BIG news on the TCB Cycling front: In 2007 Mark McCormack, of Foxboro, MA, will retire from the professional ranks of road cycling and race with the amateur TEAM CLIF BAR Cycling program. Mark’s been a regular in the red TCB kit for years as he’s raced with the professional TCB Cyclocross program since 2004. While Mark’s days of racing professionally on the road may be ending he will continue to compete at the pro level during the ‘07/’08 cyclocross season as a member of the TCB program. Mark’s been a familiar face in the pro peloton for a long…
On February 15th TEAM CLIF BAR is excited to welcome in the start of the 2007 Cycling Season by presenting: An Evening with Da Pros! _____________________________________ Yup, the TEAM CLIF BAR Media Center madness is back! On the evening of Thursday, February 15th, before the start of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California, we'll pop the corks on some tasty beverages & fire up the pizza oven; then we'll sit back, get comfy, and meet some of the riders & management from TEAM CLIF BAR sponsored pro cycling programs BMC Professional Cycling Team, Navigators Insurance Pro Cycling, and…
For some of us who just joined the TCB Cycling program, this is the first time we’ve ever sported red team kits and it’s quite a change to go from a kit that’s not all red to one that is. It’s taken me a little while to get used to sporting red, and now I’m starting to get real comfy in the color. And just recently I received this message from one of my teammates who’s in Norway right now freezing his butt off. More good stuff about the power of red: Hey Guys, You might enjoy the allegory in…
The S.O.S gig has been on the road for about a week now. Well hot-damn, Mike’s veggie RV has made it to Sugarbowl, Nothstar, Mammoth & Vegas! Guess that thing really works. We’ve been stoked to have TEAM CLIF BAR athletes Lorenzo Worster, Lynn Kennen and Kimmy Fasani in the mix already! We spoke with Mike yesterday and he was heading out of Vegas on his way to Utah, but not before picking up world champion freeskier & passionate environmentalist Alison Gannett who’ll be bringing her skiing skills and sustainability knowledge to the SOS Tour. The fun’s just getting started! Check out…
Along with the start of the New Year comes the start of the new bike racing season. Ahh... just in time. Weekends were getting sorta dull without a good bike race in the mix. Here at Team Clif Bar, we're pretty excited about the new racing season. For '07, we've put together a relatively small but mighty squad of 14 riders who are also great ambassadors for the sport of cycling. We'll have riders competing in a number of categories, running the gamut from the Cat 3 to Masters to Pro/1/2 events. And the team is committed to doing its part…
Inside Triathlon just named TEAM CLIF BAR triathlete Chris McCormack the Best Elite Male Triathlete of 2006. Quite an honor considering all of the other very capable male triathletes out there. From my experience working with Chris, it’s very clear that Chris is the complete package—he’s a fantastic athlete and also a very approachable and colorful ambassador for the sport of triathlon. Chris McCormack—1st at Ironman Australia; 1st at Ironman Quelle Challenge Roth; 2nd at IM Hawaii World Championship; 1st at four different Half-Ironman's (53%) Normann Stadler—1st at IM Hawaii; 11th at IM European Championship in Frankfurt (19%) Hamish Carter—3rd at…
More from Cyclocross Nationals! TCB Cyclocross rider Jesse Anthony shares the details about the effort that put him back into the Stars & Stripes: Wow, what a weekend to cap off a very dramatic season! The Cyclocross National Championships in Providence, RI became the only goal for me mid-season when I realized that the US Grand Prix was out of my grasp. After 3 weekends of 'cross racing, I realized that I was still really fatigued from a long road racing season. I struggled through so many races this year, starting with the 2nd day of the Gloucester Grand…
Just got back from the 2006 California Giant Berry Farms USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships. Quite a weekend! I’m sitting here on Monday morning pretty much exhausted—slapping at the keys on the keyboard as best I can which is noticeably even slower than usual. In hindsight, the red-eye flight plan might not have been the best idea. But the overall effort Paul and I made to get out there and film Cross Nats was definitely worth it. Great racing, great event, great people, great weather, and, uh, the New England coffee was, umm…. full of lots of cream &…
This just in from TCB Triathlete Chris McCormack’s agent, Scott Fairchild, letting us know that Macca as been named ‘Triathlete of the Year’ by the folks at the Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards. Definitely very cool news—but I’d be lying if I were to say that it comes as a surprise. Because let’s face it—Chris rocks. Over here at Clif Bar we’re already looking forward to seeing Macca in action come '07! Australian, Chris 'Macca' McCormack has just been named 'Triathlete of the Year'. The 15th annual Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards Gala will be held Saturday night February 3rd…
This just in from TCB Cyclocross rider Mark McCormack. We’re only a few days from the Cyclocross National Championships in Providence, RI, so it’s good to see both Mark and Jesse rolling well in December. Jesse finished 5th on Sunday at the Verge NECCS Round #7 race in Warwick, Rhode Island and Mark took 3rd to seal the deal and take the series overall title for the fifth time in the past six years. Here’s what Mark has to say about the race & the series title: The 2006 Verge NECCS has ended! And I am the proud wearer of the final leader’s…
We’ve got a guest-Blogger in the house. Maybe you can guess who it is, since he did sign the letter with his first name. But there are a lot of Daves out there, so it’s still a tad mysterious. I’ll give you all a few hints—this Dave is one of the best race announcers in the biz; he’s 8’ tall, he was on the pro European disc golf circuit back in the day and he uses the word “cottage” in sentences more than most folks. They just might be onto something... We had an amazing weekend here in Boulder on…
On Tuesday November 14th at 7pm, TEAM CLIF BAR sponsored climber Timmy O’Neill will bring his Environmental Action Tour (E.A.T.) to San Francisco’s Cowell Theater. The evening’s guests include Kipchoge Spencer of XtraCycle and TEAM CLIF BAR sponsored skier Alison Gannet who'll play a leading role in the CLIF Bar Save Our Snow (S.O.S) Tour set to launch this January. A bit about the CLIF Bar S.O.S. Tour: Using an environmentally-friendly RV fueled by vegetable oil the CLIF Bar S.O.S Tour will visit ski resorts throughout North America to inform thousands of winter sports enthusiasts about all they can do…
It's likely that many of you are well aware that Team CLIF Bar triathlete Chris McCormack finished 2nd at Ironman Hawai'i on Saturday October 21st. It was a very exciting triathlon. Chris started the run portion ten minutes behind the leader and ended up taking back nearly nine minutes during the 26.2-mile run. The huge effort made by Chris kept spectators riveted to the race. While Chris would have surely preferred the win, 2nd place is obviously a huge accomplishment. Though it wouldn’t surprise me to see Chris on the top step of the podium next year, in the big…
Gloucester, Mass: Mark McCormack and Jesse Anthony of the Clif Bar Pro Cyclo-Cross team made their 2006 U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross season debut last weekend at the Gloucester Grand Prix, Mark placing seventh in Saturday’s race, following it up with a fine third place on Sunday. Here are a few of his own words: This past weekend the USGP kicked off in my home state of Massachusetts. The weather was great, the crowds were massive, the courses were fast and bumpy, and the competition was as good as the National Championships. On Saturday I was sitting about 10th coming…
I’ve been a traveling freak lately. While folks in the bike industry are talking of all things Interbike, the past week-and-a-half has been about more than just the madness in Vegas pour moi. More on Vegas in my next blog entry, but first… On Friday the 22nd I headed to Boulder for the first-ever TEAM CLIF BAR Start Global Cooling Camp with Ben Turner and the rest of the TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR Cyclocross gang. Ben and I had been working together for some time to help the cross team leave the smallest ecological footprint it can during the ’06 season. On…
We know you're wondering what all of CLIF BAR's sponsored athletes are up to these days. Well, wonder no more. Go ahead and grab a nice brisk bottle of Cran-Razz Electrolyte, and sit back with a little recap from the Team. Ahh, sounds quite refreshing, really... Triathlete Becky Lavelle continues her rampage, taking 1st at Escape from Alcatraz, St. Anthony’s Triathlon and just recently at Vineman Half Ironman. TIAA-CREF Cycling Team's Brad Huff won the 1st and 2nd stage of the Tour de Normandie. At the 2006 U23 US National Championship Road Race in Seven Springs, PA Craig Lewis worked…
I’m getting ready to run out the door for a trip to Boise, ID where I’ll spend some time with my wife’s kinfolk. A little vacation sounds absolutely wonderful—and, low and behold, I happen to be in Boise at the same time as the State Championship Crit. What a swell and lucky coincidence. It’s been busy in TCB-land these days. Lots of ’07 planning going on—lots of good stuff, lots of lots of lots of it.... I’m very excited to see a number of the TEAM CLIF BAR programs really focusing on doing more than just competing in ’07. Just…
Ah… National Bike Racers’ Day is here—Monday. Mark those calendars. It truly is a wonderful holiday. Take a leisurely walk to the coffee shop, sit back in the warm sunshine, put the legs up, enjoy at least one caffeinated beverage and perhaps a scone and/or muffin. Kick back and think about the past weekend’s races and start to dream of glory in the races scheduled for the coming weekend. Then head home for a mid-day nap. In the afternoon, upon waking from the lengthy and restful slumber, do basically the same thing you did in the morning but add a…
Wow, it’s been a busy week. Actually, the madness kicked into gear over a week ago; I was in the office over Memorial Day weekend trying to balance prepping for my own races and prepping the Media Center for "An Evening with Macca." Turned out that all that prepping was well worth it. Chris McCormack is a class act. He did a mighty fine job entertaining the crowd at last Thursday's event with stories ranging from how he got his start in the sport of triathlon, to faux pas he’s made on the race course, to the motivation his family…
For the Tri fans out there, we’ve got an exciting event on the calendar this month. TEAM CLIF BAR Athlete Chris McCormack will be here on May 30th to share his thoughts and tips about the upcoming Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon—one of the coolest triathlons on the planet! If you’d like to meet Chris and spend an evening with us that’s all about Triathlon, please take a look at the event invite below and send us your RSVP. Coming to the CLIF BAR Headquarters Tuesday, May 30th. TEAM CLIF BAR is excited to welcome professional triathlete Chris McCormack…
Piles of stuff—relatively organized piles of stuff, but piles none the less. There’s a lot going on right now but most recently, I’ve been working on the TEAM CLIF BAR race kits for the coming season. I realize that only cyclists and superheroes think that full lycra outfits stand any chance of looking good; but when you’re a bike racer, it’s pretty darn important to sport the best look possible when you’re spending hours each day in team-issue race duds. So a considerable amount of time each year is spent on making sure the team riders are fine-rolling, lycra-covered examples…
For the Tri fans out there, we’ve got an exciting event on the calendar this month. TEAM CLIF BAR Athlete Chris McCormack will be here on May 30th to share his thoughts and tips about the upcoming Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon—one of the coolest triathlons on the planet! If you’d like to meet Chris and spend an evening with us that’s all about Triathlon, please take a look at the event invite and send us your RSVP. -----
These were sent to me just last week—two sides of the Ironman Arizona race experience. TEAM CLIF BAR athlete Heather Gollnick nabbed second at IM Arizona while Terra Castro, member of the LUNA Tri Team and USTA All-American Triathlete had a whole different experience. Here's what they had to say: Heather--Team CLIF BAR I was looking forward to a return to Tempe for IM Arizona 2006. The week leading up to an Ironman is always a very busy time for me and this week was no exception. ...I had the privilege of speaking to the Tribe Multisport Club on Wednesday…
It’s that magical time of the year again—the time we all know as “The Race Season.” Ahh, puts a smile on my face just saying it. These days the start of the season is intro’d with articles in the magazines about how all the big pro squads are preparing for their tasks at hand. Many of the programs now meet in the pre-season for team building camps and exercises. You know, it’s a lot like that time when your office manager took the department out to some remote cabin for the weekend so that you and your co-workers could bond…
It’s that magical time of the year again—the time we all know as “The Race Season.” Ahh, puts a smile on my face just saying it. These days the start of the season is intro’d with articles in the magazines about how all the big pro squads are preparing for their tasks at hand. Many of the programs now meet in the pre-season for team building camps and exercises. I spoke with Dave Zabriskie last season about the CSC training camp and some of the exercises he and his teammates take part in to help build trust in each other.…
Well, the Tour of California has come and gone. That was a wild ride. It was quite a sight to see from my perspective—a huge team effort by the many people and organizations that came together to make an event of this magnitude click. This past weekend it was time to race my own bike once again. Paul and I had gotten in a few late-night and early-morning trainer sessions at the hotels during the Tour of CA, but for the most part I'd taken a bit of a break from the bike and it was nice to get back…
... that's how Mark & Jesse say it. First and foremost, Happy Holidays, folks! It’s that magical time of the season when the CLIF BAR & Co. offices will be closed for the winter holidays which means I’ve got approximately ten days to whip myself into some sort of "race shape" before the ’06 road season kicks off. Wish me luck. It’s been a busy December, highlighted by the National Cyclocross Championships in Providence, RI. The rumors are indeed true—it was a wee bit chilly out there. Turns out there was actually racing going on around our expo tent the…
As the one or two of you who actually read my entries may have noticed I took a bit of a hiatus from the wild world of blogging. Sure, I’ve got the usual excuses for my absence (the fame, the fortune, the gallivanting, the prison term...), but I’m not a big fan of excuses—so I’ll leave it at this: I’m left-handed. It’s a busy time of year around these parts. Ever since Nancy got eaten by that lion we’ve been slammed in Team Clif Bar land. And this morning I’m off to Providence, RI to attend the Cyclocross National Championships.…
Here’s some neat Team Clif Bar news to end your Tuesday with. Apparently, if your name is McCormack odds are you’re on fire this month. At Ironman Hawaii on October 15th, TCB triathlete Chris McCormack had a rough start in the swim but remarkably still finished in sixth place thanks to a fantastic run – the best finish at Hawaii that Chris has seen to date, putting him on the map as a true contender for the IM Hawaii crown in the years to come. Here’s what Scott Fairchild (Chris’ agent) had to say about the race: “Crazy week as…
It never fails that on the day before leaving on vacation, today, the work world takes the gloves off and gives me a good ol' fashioned, bare-knuckled beat-down. I’m sure my nose is bleeding, and I’m developing some sort of butt rash from not leaving my chair in the past eight hours. That reminds me of the fun we had competing in Backpacker Magazine’s Dodgeball tourney. We thought we brought our "A-Game," but we actually brought "A-Pretty-Lame-Game." We lost the first match, won the second by forfeit, somehow won the next game in a legit manner, only to be whupped by some…
One may wonder why I am oh, SO looking forward to this year’s Summer Outdoor Retailer show—more than ever before. One weird word: Dodgeball. Uh-huh. Thanks to someone’s obvious error in judgment, we’ve been invited to compete in Backpacker’s Outdoor Retailer Dodgeball Challenge. In the past, we’ve staffed our OR booth with folks who know the Clif goods inside and out. This year, there are a few more requirements on the staffing list. Can’t catch to save your life? Don’t have a cannon attached where one of your arms should be? Ever showed even a weak glimmer of mercy or…
This past weekend we headed up to Minden, Nevada for the Master's District Crit Championships. It was hot - like an evil oven that tricks you to reach inside for a warm homemade cookie then quickly gobbles you whole. Yup, it was hot just like that. We were drinking lots of water & CLIF SHOT Electrolyte drinks. Even popped a soda at one point. Didn't want a full-out effort to be thwarted by an untimely cramp. In the crowded heat, on a truly fantastic course, I was finally able to put together a worthy effort. One might say I'd…
Actually, I'm not a Little Tea Pot at all. Far from it. In fact, this entry has nothing to do with little Tea Pots. That's sorta the point. You see, I'm trying to throw Them off my trail. If I'd titled this entry, "Escape Route" it would have been all too telling. Sure, maybe the low-haning poster of climber Steph Davis is going to cause folks to pause and wonder. They'll ponder the reasoning mounting a poster so low on the wall. I’ll have to say something like, “In Europe, everyone’s hanging posters lower – it’s the new thing." Soon,…
By now you're well aware that Dave Zabriskie went down in the Team Time Trial at the Tour on Tuesday morning. My stomach twisted as I watched Dave hit the ground, his chances of spending more time in yellow sliding away alongside him. Ouch, in so many ways. Dave and the CSC squad were on their way to posting the best time of the day when something happened – a touch of wheels, a bump of the fence, whatever it was it was bad and down went Dave. Man, bike racing can be brutal. But bike racing can…
By now, we all likely are well aware that Dave Zabriskie went down in the Team Time Trial at the Tour on Tuesday morning. My stomach twisted as I watched Dave hit the ground, his chances of spending more time in yellow sliding away alongside him. Ouch, in so many ways. Certainly this morning didn’t go as Dave and the CSC squad had hoped or planned. They were on their way to posting the best time of the day when something happened – a touch of wheels, a bump of the fence, whatever it was it was bad and down went Dave. Man,…
Just got back from the USA Cycling Masters National Criterium Championships in Deer Park, Utah. The trip part was great - the area around Salt Lake City is beautiful. Friday night some team mates and I drove up to Deer Park to pick up our reg packets. That’s when we saw the new "crit" course. Wasn’t quite what we'd hoped to find. A short, hilly course at over 7000 feet spells trouble for a good number of us big dudes who live for the bunch sprints. Come race day our concerns were confirmed. We dropped like flies. I had somehow convinced myself that I’d be able…
Sitting at home today, sick. My little 2 1/2 year-old virus transportation unit wins this round and I'm down for the count - recovering as quickly as I can in hopes of being in a race-worthy state by Sunday. This morning, as I sat in the comfort of my worn black leatherette barcelounger I thought a bit about how it's been quite a rough start to the race season this year. Not sure what's up, but things aren't going as planned. My barcelounger has helped me through tough times in the past and I'm forced to call on its revitalizing powers once again. Years…
Team Clif has continued to have a busy and exciting start to 2005. Here’s a run-down of some of the interesting and noteworthy happenings from the first few months of the year. Here are just the triathlon highlights: Bryan Rhodes finished 3rd on his home turf at Ironman New Zealand in early March. It was a well deserved result for Bryan, who was absolutely ecstatic after the race. LUNA Chix Triathlete Desiree Ficker took second at Ralph’s Half Ironman in mid-March and three weeks later at Ironman Arizona. Desiree’s LUNA Chix teammate, Heather Gollnick, finished 6th at Arizona after being misdirected into the Transition 2 area…
You know how folks get to go on ‘Ride-Alongs’ with the police every once in a while? Always sounded kinda interesting to me to make like a cop for an evening. To my delight, I recently ended up down at the Sea Otter Classic doing a ‘Ride-Along’ with the pro race announcers. Rick Sutton, Mr. Sea Otter himself, attended the Team CLIF BAR Evening with Hans Rey event a while back and asked if I’d be interested in doing some announcing work at Sea Otter. Sounded to me like Rick had lost his mind, but that was no reason not to do…
Just came from a BLOG meeting this morning where Jeff and Stephen gave us the ol’ ‘good cop/bad cop’ routine. Sure, it appeared that they were talking to everyone in the room, but I quickly saw through that little charade and understood that the message was, “Shape up Seguin, or we’ll be taking your Merit Badge sash and your Spiderman Pez dispenser and you’ll be out on the street quicker than Eric Walle sprints at the Santa Rosa Twilights.” Guess this BLOG writing bit is a pretty serious gig. Maybe, just maybe, I’m in over my head. But if I don’t write…
Every now and then I invite one of our sponsored athletes or teams to come by the Berkeley Clif Bar Inc. office and spend an evening on stage speaking to local fans. Team CLIF Media Center events have seen the likes of Tyler Hamilton, Mark McCormack, the LUNA Chix Professional Mountain Bike Team, Nathan O’Neill and Hans Rey. On Tuesday March 15th we added the LUNA Chix Triathlon Team to the event mix and introduced the newly launched team to an enthusiastic crowd of tri fans, industry personalities and friends of LUNA and CLIF BAR. SOMA Half Ironman 2nd place finisher…
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