Stanford Cycling

Effecting positive change in the world starts by looking within and examining the circles closest to us. That's why members of the broader Stanford Cycling community are taking on big ride goals in the next 10 days to raise support and awareness for local bike organizations. Check out bit.ly/StanfordCyclingAgainstRacism for more info on what they're doing and how you can help.

Stanford Cycling Against Racism A ride-a-thon hosted by members of the Stanford Cycling community aiming to fight racism in the cycling world.

It's with great sadness that we share the news about our team Coach, Bryan Larsen. Bryan was taken out in a crit when another rider's tubular rolled off the rim. Among other things, Bryan is still battling paralysis in his arm from the crash. He will have a long journey ahead of him to recover and get back on the bike, and hopefully return to his coaching post. If you're able, please consider pitching in to help cover his medical costs. We love you Bryan and are thinking of you! p.s. As you can imagine, responding to texts is hard when you're hospitalized with only one arm working. Bryan's family, is asking that the community give him a little space for right now. Feel free to post your get well messages in this thread so that he can see the love when he's ready.

Click here to support Bryan Larsen's Recovery organized by Jeff Linder Bryan crashed in the final corner of the 2019 San Rafael Twilight Criterium after a rider in front of him rolled a tubular. He was rushed to the ER with a concussion and neck injuries. The most alarming concern is partial paralysis of his right arm, the cause of which is still unknown. Bryan r...

What would cycling 🚴‍♀️ be without a little friendly competition? Well thanks to our cool Uncle we’ve got just the thing: KOM 👑 and QOM 👑 jerseys! 🏔 These sweet babies were first awarded to first place 🥇 male and female at our OLH TT, and will be awarded to first place female and male at the next Alice’s Ride! So mark your 📆!

It’s with great pride that we present a serious rider to watch for 2019: Robin Betz. Robin is a PhD student in Biophysics, primarily a roadie but definitely a lover of all things cyclocross and gravel. She’s only been riding for two years and racing for one year, but has already stood on the podium many many times. Her most recent achievement was crushing the women’s 20-29 category at the last Grasshopper. You’ll find her riding the beloved Pumpkin 🎃, a 2016 Felt F75 (with everything replaced except the frame). When she’s not dreaming of her next bike (a Litespeed T1sl titanium roadie) she’s probably dreaming of her favorite ride food: gummy bears 🐻 😋 Oh yeah and as if crushing isn’t enough, Robin ALSO spends her free time scuba diving! We are really stoked that Robin has taken up riding. She quickly became one of our most talented riders and we can’t wait to see what this season has in store for her.

The man, the myth, the legend: Bernardo Tapia. Not only is he Associate Director of Marketing and Programs for Stanford Recreation and Wellness, but also a Specialized Ambassador and the team's unofficial "Cool Uncle." Bernardo is constantly torn between riding/racing road, cross-country mountain, , and ...but he considers road his top choice. He’s been racing ever since he started riding (5 yrs ago) and though he has many bikes in the shed, his favorite is his 2019 Specialized Tarmac appropriately named “The Batmobile” 🦇 🚲. Favorite ride food: Almond sandwiches. Fun fact: Super at surfing 🏄 wheels. Favorite color: black on black on black 😉Truly though, we can’t say enough about just how important Bernardo is to the team. He uses his personal time and expertise as a personal trainer to lead the team through weekly core workouts 🏋️‍♂️ He’s always willing to share his knowledge of racing. He’s also always encouraging those around him to set tangible goals that will enable them to grow as individuals and cyclists. He is a team leader and someone who motivates other leaders to see the importance of their roles on the team.

New to road racing, new to the team, new to Stanford, and new to the USA 🇺🇸 is Simon Bumm. Simon, an MS student in Management and Science Engineering, hails to us from Munich, Germany. He’s been riding bikes for 8 years but it was first mountain and then triathlon (🤮😉). He’s riding a 2007 Specialized Tarmac and is clearly an easy going guy because rather than having a dream bike, he’s happy with the one he’s got. He likes good ole fashioned Clif Bars for ride food, but he’s far from boring because when he’s not riding bikes he’s playing keyboard in a German Oktoberfest brass band 🎶🎺🎷🎹🍺🥨 (pretzels are 🇩🇪 right?) Our favorite thing about Simon, aside from his very likable nature, is his very smooth pedaling style. Simon’s ankle was crushed during a crash, he lost his ability to run, and used cycling to recover. The result was a very pretty pedal stroke...something we should all aspire to.

A team isn’t much of a team without a captain, so we give you our Men’s Road Captain, Dr. John Jantezko, a post-doc in the Molecular and Cellular Physiology department. John has only been racing for a year but has seriously blasted his way to top form. You can find him crushing on his 2019 Specialized Tarmac Pro affectionately named “Sparkle Pony” — a follow up to his first bike, “Fancy Dancy Magic Prancy,” an Allen with an attitude. When he asked John about his dream bike, he responded that when he’s good enough to justify the money 💰 he’ll possibly get a Venge, but until then he wants to swap the Allez for one with brakes to use as a crit bike. Or maybe he’ll go for a TT bike; the BMC Time Machine looks good. Yes, Dr. John, we agree 😍 🚲. Like very good cyclist, Dr. John loves the classic ride food: gels, PB&J sandwiches, and pastries 🍰. A fun fact about Dr. John, and possibly a very impressive one, is that he was unathletic in college, was really overweight (his words) and took up running to lose the weight. He then hopped sports from running 🏃 to rowing 🚣‍♀️ to cycling 🚴‍♀️ to lose the weight. Proof, once again, that hopping on a bike can be one of the best choices you’ll make in life. We’ve seen a lot of men’s captains over the years, but can honestly say that Dr. John is the best. He’s constantly working to whip our boys into shape and push them, as well as himself, to be the best they can be off and on the bike.

Internet, meet Scott Fales — our MTB Captain and Team Room Manager. Scott is a Post-Doc in the Chemistry department and despite only riding for 2 years he has totally mastered the skill of riding up stairs on his mountain bike (2018 Specialized Stumpjumper but he also has a 2018 Specialized P. Slope). Scott has one season of racing down and hopefully more to go. Perhaps he’ll be doing it on his dream bike—a 29’er Nomad (doesn’t exist yet). His favorite ride food is almonds and mangoes 😋. Much to our surprise, Scott’s fun fact is that he was a fighfighter/paramedic before coming into academia.

This week we’re excited to roll out our “Meet the Team” series showcasing our riders. Getting us started is El Jefe, our team President and all around good guy, David Michael Sweet. Sweet is currently seeking his MS in Mechanical Engineering. He’s been riding for 6 years and has 3 race seasons under his belt. His top three cycling disciplines are: (1) road, (2) cyclocross, and (3) mountain. He’s currently riding the SWORKS Tarmac SL6 who he named “Saphira” (from the Eragon series). His dream bike: Custom painted Allez Sprint Disc with SRAM Red Etap, CeramicSpeed OSPW, and matching Power Arc saddle, bottles/cages, and bar tape from Supacaz. Ride food: Double Chocolate Decadence Cookie from Alternative Baking Company. And of course, fun fact: “I did ONE sprint triathlon in high school. Please don't hold it against me for I have since learned The Way.”

If there’s one thing our team values it is tradition. This morning we rolled out for one of our most honored of traditions: the Old La Honda time trial. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions as it was sunny and warm, but not too warm. Much fun was had. Stay tuned for our KOM and QOM winners of the day!

This past weekend we had the incredible fortune of riding through the Solvang area for our annual team training camp. It was three heavenly days, ~205 mi of riding, and loads of food. Events like these are only possible because our amazing team officers that work so hard on all those devilish details. Thank you officers Michael Sweet, John Janetzko, Dave Miller, Kenneth Hoffmann, Heidi Poppe, Ben Siranosian, Brian Axelrod, and Noah Young , as well as our fearless Coach Bryan Larsen, for another great camp in the books! Stay tuned for more great pics!