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Curtis White at Capital Region Road Race, 2008

This is the first installment of the newest feature of the website:  Racer Profiles.  Over the coming months, and on into cyclocross season, we’ll feature interviews with prominent racers in the club, including many who’ve since gone on to other (in some cases professional) teams but who got their start with CBRC.  Our inaugural interview is with 14-year-old phenom Curtis White.

Curtis has competed in 10 national championships including those in time trial, criterium, road race and cyclocross disciplines over the last few years and has made it to the podium each and every time.  He’s also the nicest kid who’ll ever pass you in a ‘cross race.

We recently received the thrilling news that Curtis White has been offered an opportunity to race with the renowned Clif Bar team based in Colorado and thought he would be the ideal racer to begin the profile series.  Ben Turner of Cycle-Smart is the Team Manager and has worked with Curtis at the Cycle-Smart ‘cross camps over the last three years.  Clif Bar is the title sponsor with more than a dozen others including Pedro’s, Salsa Cycles, Patagonia, Pearl Izumi, Crank Brothers, Mavic, Maxxis, Sram, AlphaQ, FiziK and Chris King .  Troy Wells, Danny Summerhill, Taylor Phinney and a number of other riders who have raced on World Championship squads are on the team.  The team targets the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross and the US National Championships while preparing a select group for World Cup and World Championship competition.  This fall will be the 9th year of the Cliff Bar supported program.

The team’s mission states that it “…strives to not only develop top young cyclo-cross racers and give them the best opportunity to succeed at the national and international level, but also to help them develop into true leaders of the cycling community and their own communities through the team’s pioneering ‘sustainable cycling‘ mission.”  We can think of no bicycle racer more appropriate to recruit for this effort than our very own Curtis White.

Turner would like White to represent the team in New England and New York and join the full squad for a team trip to the National Championships in Bend, Oregon this coming December.  Curtis will keep his road racing (AKA non-cyclocross) affiliation with CBRC.

I recently distracted Curtis from studying for finals with a barrage of questions:

danny goodwin:  When did you start racing bikes and how were you introduced to the sport?

Curtis White:   When I was young, I loved to watch the Classics.  My dad had a
collection of Sean Kelly, Eddy Merckx, and Greg Lemond videos.  After
watching the videos, my dad and I would go out on our bikes and tear
around the neighborhood.  Sometimes, it would be raining, snowing, or
just plain cold.  I loved it!  When I was nine years old, I competed
in the cat. 5/ Citizens race at the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium
and finished third.  The announcer yelled “It’s Mario Cipollini” as I
crossed the line.  From that point on, I was hooked.

dg:   Did you compete in other sports before cycling?

CW:   For the most part, I’m “challenged” in hand/ eye coordinated
sports.  I participated in a couple of soccer camps, I enjoy
ice-skating and pick-up hockey as well.  I’m a pretty good down hill
skier and I cross- country ski in late winter in preparation for
spring racing.

dg:   Do your friends in school get what you do?

CW:   No, most of them think I make it all up.  Some of my teachers
get it and are very cool about it.

dg:   What’s a typical training week look like for you this time of
year (volume/intensity)?  Where do you train?

CW:   I ride between 10-12 hours per week, including races.  I
generally ride within a 20 mile radius from my house in Duanseburg.
There are a few circuits/ routes I ride depending on whether I want to do
climbing, tempo, etc.  I have three basic workouts:  steady state, zone
progression, and the infamous adventure ride.  The adventure route is
never a predetermined route, almost never the same, usually takes in
secondary and dirt roads, and often results in me getting lost,
hence the name, “Adventure Ride”.  I’ve also been working on
accelerating from tempo over slight rises, as the road course at
Nationals will require a lot of this.

dg:   You recently came back from a pretty bad injury, right?  What’s
the story there?

CW:   I went down to Tampa, Florida with my dad and the Union College
Crew team for their annual training trip and thought I’d catch some
pre-season road races that I found on Bikereg.  The last day down
there, I was in a circuit race.  On the last lap, I was in about 4th
position and was feeling game for the sprint.  On one of the last,
wide open, non-technical corners, some hack came up on my inside,
hooked my elbow, and drove me into the barrier.  I landed face first,
superman style, I broke my front tooth, cut up my face and needed
stitches in my chin.  My hip and abdomen were badly bruised.  The
doctors originally thought I broke my pelvis, a couple of ribs, along
with some internal bleeding.  I still have a grapefruit sized hematoma
on my hip.  I couldn’t fly back home for a week, so I was stuck in
Tampa at poolside hanging out with a bunch of college girls.

dg:  There are worse recovery prescriptions, I suppose.

How many bikes do you own?  What are they?

CW:  I own five bikes.  A Trek Madone road bike, a Cervelo P3 time
trial bike, two Redline cyclocross bikes, and a Trek mountain bike.

dg:   What are your top-secret goals for this season?  What about down the road?

CW:   No secrets.  I’m going to the national championships in Bend,
Oregon and I’m racing to win.  The same goes for ‘cross nationals in
December.  Next year, I’d like to get involved in USA Cycling’s 15-16
Development Program.

dg:   Your whole family is really active and incredibly supportive of
your and your sister’s racing careers (Curtis’ younger sister Emma is also seen frequently on the podium in the Junior Women 10 – 12 yr. old field).  Care to comment on that?

CW:  It’s really all about having fun and hanging out together.

And now some questions from other ‘cross-crazed club members who shall
remain anonymous but I’m sure if you think for a second you can easily
deduce to whom each is attributed:

CBRC:  Have you seen the MonkeyMan?

CW:  Only when I have nightmares.

CBRC:   How many cowbells do you own?

CW:   Not nearly enough.

CBRC:   Which do you prefer more:  crushing riders your own age or
crushing adults?

CW:   No comment.  Adults.

CBRC:   What’s your favorite thing about riding with Le Q?

CW:   The stories, especially the “Indestructible” story.

CBRC:   What are your weaknesses?  How do you train in the off-season?

CW:   First weakness:  red meat.  I’d eat it three times a day if I
could.  My second and only other weakness is The Andy Griffith Show.
I’d watch it 24/7 if I could.  Mayberry is cool.  I have a shirt that
says “Security By Fife” on the back.

This past year, I swam, lifted weights for endurance, and skied.  I also rode the ‘cross bike
January through February about 3-5 hours per week.  My dad, my
brother, my sister, and I make paths around our house and in the woods
after the first snowfall and keep them clear all through winter.  We
light up the yard with Christmas and other lights so we can ride at
night.  A typical night includes blaring music, scratch races, and
snowball wars on bikes.

CBRC:   Have you heard about and if so are you prepared for the hazing
that first-year Clif Groms must endure?

CW:   No and no.  What’s a Grom?

CBRC:  (a “Grom” is a young surfer)

P.S.  I didn’t drop the chain at cross nats.  I had a puncture just
after the pit with about 700 meters to go.  I was in 2nd at that
point.  Later that day, as we were washing the bikes, we found a
safety pin mangled in the tread in the front tire.  Adam Myerson said
that in all his years of racing, a puncture caused by a safety pin was
a first.  In all the 10 national championship events I’ve competed in,
both road and cross, that was by far the hardest.  It was really
frustrating seeing 2nd and 3rd place  ride past me while I was
running while the rest of the field quickly closed.

CBRC:  What’s in heavy rotation on your iPod right now?

CW:  The Band, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lots of Johnny Cash, Rolling Stones, And Lots of U2.  Once on a road trip to a cross race to Rhode Island, my brother got a hold of my iPod and listened to Tribute, by Tenacious D, 87 times in a row.