On The Move - 2nd Quarter 2008 - (Page 6) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE cATchING uP WITh ThE MONAVIE-cANNONDALE cYcLING TEAM For this edition of Message in a Bottle, we decided to track down the MonaVieCannondale cycling team—a task that proved to be quite difficult considering they’re in a different part of the globe almost weekly. Fortunately, team member Jason Sager did all the dirty work for us. Jason gives us the report from the road… uLTIMATE DIRT chALLENGE AND ucI’S MONAGAS MTB chALLENGE— PuERTO RIcO The Ultimate Dirt Challenge in Rincon, Puerto Rico, and UCI’s Monagas MTB Challenge in San Juan are two events that I make a point to attend every year. Racing on a tropical island alongside surf breaks and palm trees isn’t your average racing situation, so I plan on coming here as long as I’m compelled to pin on a number and test myself against the best. Having been awarded the prestigious title of “Puertoricano” (the almost Puerto Rican), it was an amazing achievement and humbling experience to win the Ultimate Dirt Challenge, my favorite race of the year. Blake Harlan finished second in the Under-23 race, and Bryan Alders placed ninth in the pro men’s event. The following weekend in San Juan marked the second international event of the trip in the city’s largest urban park. I carried the momentum from winning the Ultimate Dirt Challenge to Monagas, where I also won. There, I met up with a group of MonaVie distributors who had come to compete in their own backyard! LOS ANGELES AND PhOENIx While we were competing in Puerto Rico, MonaVie-Cannondale sent a team to the National Series events in California and Arizona. Team Manager Matt Ohran, along with Sue Butler, Bart Gilliespie, and Mitchell Peterson, all made the trip west to connect with Olympian Tinker Juarez. Tinker finished third in the pro men’s marathon, while Sue imposed the team’s presence on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the Super Downhill race. SEA OTTER cLASSIc The team’s media and industry debut couldn’t have been scripted any better than the way it turned out. Sea Otter is the cycling industry’s official seasonopener and touts the largest outdoor product show of the year. A perfect piggy back to the competitive circus of international bicycle competition, we hosted a meet-the-press MonaVie breakfast in the team’s luxurious booth. The event featured interviews, photo shoots, and a special visit from cancer survivor and MonaVie-Cannondale teammate Jamie Whitmore. Oh, and yes, there was a bike race while we were there. Mitchell Peterson, the youngest member of the team at 20 years old, outperformed the veterans and finished fourth alongside 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medalist Miguel Martinez. Putting a rider on the podium at one of America’s biggest events—on top of an already wildly successful weekend—was more than any of us envisioned. REGIONAL cOMPETITION In between our international competitions, the team has been staying busy competing in (and winning) each member’s respective regional scene. Bart Gilliespie is currently leading Utah’s Intermountain Cup with victories in St. George and Five Mile Pass; Mitchell Peterson has also scored wins in Draper and Sundance. Sue Butler and Jason Sager have been staying busy winning in Oregon, while Tinker Juarez has been representing MonaVie in California and Singapore. uPcOMING RAcES Next up for MonaVie-Cannondale is the seven-day international mountain bike stage race in British Columbia, Canada, June 27–July 4. Competing on two-man teams, Tinker and Mitchell will make up one of two pro MonaVie-Cannondale teams; the other will be composed of Bart and Jason. Matt and Sue will compete on the co-ed team. From British Columbia, the team heads to Calgary, Alberta, where Tinker will defend his 24 Hour Solo World Champion title. Bart, Jason, Blake, and Bryan will form a four-man relay team behind Tinker. Thanks again to Jason Sager for providing MonaVie with this terrific report. And thanks to everyone on the MonaVieCannondale cycling team for representing MonaVie and its distributors all around the world.
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