“How to improve your cycling performance, health & fitness level through sports nutrition”, was the hot topic last Thursday at Sportif Coaching Group and NutraSport’s February 9th seminar. Sportif cycling team members learned how to optimize their training and reduce the incidence of pain and injuries through an anti-inflammatory diet; the proper mix of protein, fats, and carbs for competition; and nutritional supplements that factor into a performance diet.

“This is the educational information our riders need to better understand the importance of sports nutrition so they can get the most out of their training. I’m looking forward to more interaction with NutraSport,” commented Sportif team president, Mike Birner, who coordinated the meeting.

NutraSport, the new sports medicine and nutrition division of Blue Mountain Pharmacy, hosted the meeting at their Columbia, MD facilities. Presenters included Dr. Lynn Shumake, Pharmacist, Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutrition Specialist; Nutritionist Jennifer Sima, RN; and Bryan Miller, Health Education and Nutrition Products Specialist.

NutraSport is excited to continue the Sportif sponsorship and welcomes the opportunity to continue educating cyclists on the health and performance benefits of proper sports nutrition. NutraSport offers comprehensive sports medicine and nutritional consultation designed to safely and effectively optimize training and performance. Our 360 degree approach includes an Athletic Assessment, Bio Impedance Analysis, and Training Program Development. NutraSport carries a complete line of top quality nutritional supplement products, approved by and dispensed through Dr. Shumake and his pharmacy staff.

For more information, visit www.NutraSportPharmacy.com or call 888-248-3266.

Well your team scribe has been has been busier than a one-armed wall paper hanger lately, so I am really behind on race recaps.  Never fear though, I will attempt to catch up quickly, but this will be a tad on the long side.

Cliff Notes: The team is kicking ass and taking names.

Hillbilly Hustle

The Saunders clan represented the Sportif Coaching Group/Ben's Performance Bikes team at Hillbilly Huslte v6 on October 2nd in Delaware.  Blair was feeling cheeky and raced in the 1/2/3 Open race finishing 8th, while Brett found his way onto the podium for the second time this year, improving on his 3rd place at Tacchino with a 2nd place finish.

BCA Cyclocross

October 1st kicked off the Sportif 'Cross Cup series with the Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross race in Ft. Ritchie, MD.  The team had good representation with 12 members over three races.  Wet, cold and muddy conditions were paired with a brand new course design for this year and the word "epic" was heard over and over again.

In the Elite Masters race Chris Harshman stood on the podium with a 2nd place finish while Mike Birner narrowly missed the top-10, finishing in 11th.  In the B-Masters the team had four members in the top ten.  Cory Smith podiumed with a 2nd place finish while John Ludicke, Chris Zangmeister and Guilherme Roschke were 8th, 9th and 10th respectively with Paul Anglin close behind in 12th (2nd in the 45+ age graded race).  Last but certainly not least, Sam Monaco found the podium in the Junior 10-14 race with his second, 2nd place finish in as many races.

Winchester Apple Cross

Also on October 2nd was the Winchester Apple Cross in Winchester, VA.  This is a great race in its third year which was started by our own Jon Hicks back in 2009.  The team had 15 members representing us in various races.  In the Elite Masters race we had three guys in the top 10 with Jay Morali leading the way in 6th.  Chris Harshman and Mike Birner were not far behind finishing 8th and 9th respectively.  In the B-Masters Jon Hicks and Cory Smith found podium positions with 2nd and 3rd respectively while Paul Anglin (18th) and Guilherme Roschke (22nd) also had solid finishes.  In the Elite Women's race Allyson Tufano continued to impress with a 2nd place podium finish.

Psycho Cross

This was the race our team promoted and organized so more on it, including team results, in another post soon.

Richmond Festival of Cross

Barry Hindman stayed home and doubled up at the Richmond Festival of Cross in Richmond, VA on October 8th, narrowly missing the top 10 with 11th place finishes in both the B-Mens' and B-Masters' races.

Hyattsville Cyclocross

October 9th saw the return of the Hyattsville Cyclocross in Hyattsville, Maryland. Mike Birner repeated his 2009 success at this race, winning the Elite Masters' race.  Jay Morali (7th) and Chris Harshman (9th with some mechanical issues) also had solid performances in the top 10.  In the B-Masters', Jon Hicks had a great race, adding to his podium appearances this year with a 2nd place and Guilherme Roschke (30th) had a solid finish in the top third of the field.  Representing the youth of the club, Sam Monaco also found the podium with his third consecutive 2nd place finish.

Granogue CX

Only a few members ventured over to the DuPont estate in Delaware to face the always tough competition and course at Granogue CX.  Jon Hicks had solid finishes both days with a 15th and 14th, while Allyson Tufano brought home a 16th and 18th.

DCCX

14 team members visited the nation's capitol for DCCX on October 23rd.  In the B-Masters race, Cory Smith made it way onto the podium again after finishing 3rd, while Jon Hicks, who looked to be headed towards his first win of the year, flatted on the last lap and managed to hang onto 4th.  Guilherme Roschke continued to show his improved form with a 17th place finish in the 105-deep field.  In the 55+ Elite Men's race, the recently upgraded Terry Harrigan had a solid 7th place finish.  In the Elite Men 35+/45+ race Jay Morali finished 7th with Mike Birner and Chris Harshman just outside the top-10 in 11th and 12th respectively.  In the Elite Women, Allyson Tufano continued her streak of podium finishes with a 3rd.

Beacon Cross

The Delaware contingent of WHCC headed to Beacon Cross and the Amphitheater of Pain and it was a good, muddy day.  Blair Saunders took the win in the Masters 45+ race and son Brett mimicked his dad, winning the Juniors race.

Kinder Kross

October 30th saw the return of Kinder Kross in Severna Park, MD and a good contingent of WHCC members made an appearance.  The day was cold and wet and the kind folks promoting the event managed to find every inch of mud and slop available to them to run the course through.

In the 10-14 Juniors race, Sam Monaco continued his streak of 2nd place finishes; your day is coming soon Sam!  In the B-Masters race Jon Hicks got the win that had been alluding him and finally got to stand on that top step of the podium.  Cory Smith also found the podium in 4th with John Ludicke (17th), Guilherme Roschke (19th) and Paul Anglin (20th) all finishing in the top-20.  In the 55+ Masters race, Terry Harrigan had another solid performance finishing in 4th, having lost 3rd place after taking a spill with 1000 feet left to go on the last lap.  In the Elite Masters race Mike Birner sprinted to narrowly take 7th place and Jay Morali fought his way from dead last at the start to finish in 10th.  And finally, in the Elite Womens' race, Allyson Tufano brought home her first victory of 2011.

Congrats to Mike, Blair, Brett, Jon and Allyson for their wins and to all the team members who fought the good fight!  Next up is Patapsco Cross and Ed Sanders where we anticipate the team will have more successes.

Tacchino Ciclocross, the first event on the MABRA Super 8 series took place on Sunday, September 25th and the Sportif Coaching Group/BPB team was there in good number representing.

For a club of mostly Masters racers, it was the Juniors that brought home the bacon this week.  In the Junior Boys 10-14 race Sam Monaco finished 2nd in a field of 18.  Proud dad AJ was there to cheer him on with the rest of the team but did not race due to illness.  Brett Saunders finished 3rd in the Junior Open 15-18 race after day-of registration left him starting at the back of the 15-strong field.

The B Masters 35+/45+ 3,4 race saw eight SCG/BPB members line up.  Cory Smith led the way finishing 3rd, and after a horrible start Jon Hicks was hot on his heels in 4th giving us two podium spots.  Of the 111 starters, Paul Anglin (16th), John Ludicke (26th), Terry Harrigan (31st) and Guilherme Roschke (43rd) all turned in solid performances.

In the Women's 4 race, Tina Genaysmith narrowly missed the podium with a 6th place finish among 21 starters.  In the Elite Women's race Allyson Tufano stood on the podium with an excellent 4th place finish.  She later doubled up, racing in the Men 3,4 race and finishing in the top half.

In the Elite Masters race Blair Saunders took 7th with Jay Morali on his wheel in 8th.  Chris Harshman fought his way into the top-10 and Mike Birner took 13th in the field of 38.

Some pictures from the event featuring some of the team can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeneary/sets/72157627790108048/

Next on the schedule is BCA Cross, the first event in the Sportif Cross Cup series, on Saturday, followed by Winchester AppleCross on Sunday.  The team should have good representation on both days.  Look for a race recap soon.

The long awaited cyclocross season is upon us and the Sportif Coaching Group/Ben's Performance Bikes team thrust themselves into action at the first four races of the year.

Nittany Lion 'Cross was a two day event held in Pennsylvania as part of the Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross (MAC) series.  WHCC team members Mike Birner, Jon Hicks attended both days while Cory Smith only went on day number one, but did two races as penance.

On Saturday, Mike and Cory both competed in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3/4 race finishing 32nd and 45th respectively.  Cory doubled up doing the Open Men 2/3/4 race finishing 55th.  Jon raced in the Masters 45+ 1/2/3/4 race finishing 20th of 50 starters after an accident and broken bike.

Sunday saw Mike and Jon compete in the same races they competed in the day before, this time with Mike finishing 26th of 61 and Jon with an excellent 12th place of 41 starters.

The following week the MAC came to Baltimore for the third and fourth races in their series with Charm City 'Cross.  The majority of cross racers from the team showed up for at least one these races.

Saturday, Terry Harrigan, Steve Maxwell and Mike Neary competed in the Cat 4 race which consisted of 93 starters.  Steve barely missed getting in the top-20 with a 24th, while Terry, in his first cyclocross race ever, nipped Mike at the line for 37th and 38th respectively giving them both their best finish ever at this race.

In the Masters 45+ race Jon Hicks snagged a top-10 with an 8th place finish among 59 starters, and after starting dead last due to late registration Blair Saunders passed the entire field to give WHCC its first cyclocross win in the 2011/2012 season.  Masters 35+ saw our biggest contingent with Mike Birner, Dave Blodgett, Ken Han, Chris Harshman, Jay Morali, Guilherme Roschke and Cory Smith all taking the start along with 98 others.  Chris led the charge for WHCC with an 11th while Mike and Jay were in the top-20 with 17th and 18th respectively.

Allyson Tufano had a very respectable 13th in the Elite Women race which contained several pro racers.

Sunday was supposed to see the same cast of characters for the Cat 4 race with the addition of Tom Poche, however Mike Neary elected not to race after an accident on Saturday left him with some rib damage.  Terry led the way in his second cyclocross race with a 34th and Tom had his best finish ever at this race with a 73rd of 108 racers total.

Jon Hicks represented the team in the Masters 45+ race and after a spill at the barriers finished 15th.  Again, WHCC stacked the 99 deep field in the Masters 35+ race with Mike Birner, Ken Han, Chris Harshman, Jon Ludicke, Guilherme Roschke, Cory Smith and Chris Zangmeister representing the club.  Mike finished 10th while Chris stayed in the top-20 after two mechanicals with an 18th.

Randy Nixon represented in the Masters 55+ race with an 18th and Allyson Tufano again had a great race with a 16th in the Elite Women's field.

Next up for the team is Tacchino, for which a race recap will be posted shortly.