Tour de Todd

Chris Lillywhite started racing when he was 14 years old. His first love was football. But he began to get into some trouble and his dad made the decision they were going to do something together so he bought them bikes. Shortly after getting a bike he began racing. In a two year span as a junior Lillywhite won 21 races and a national kilo championship on the track. From that kilo ride he made the national junior track team for G.B. From that point on Lillywhite's career began to snowball. Making the transition from juniors to seniors in the U.K. wasn't much of an issue for him. Crazy enough he didn't train much. Not because Lillywhite was lazy but because he held down a job while racing. So he was killing it racing purely on talent. He considered himself an all-around with a good sprint. Since he couldn't win to many stage races on GC Lillywhite says he focused on winning jerseys like best climber or sprinter. Some of his notable wins include the Milk Race in 1993, the British National Circuit Race Championships the same year to the Tom Simpson Memorial Road Race in 1994. Literally I can't name all of his wins because it would be long a prolific. Lillywhite doesn't think he fulfilled his talent. He says the money was so good in the U.K. racing crits he didn't see the need to leave and race on the continent. Let me make this clear...he got offers. Lillywhite's last season racing as a pro was 1999. He took a job working for the Linda McCartney Racing Team. He would eventually work with Team Wiggins. Currently he runs his own business and Lillywhite is still on the bike.

Len PettyJohn got started with bike racing while in school in Wisconsin. His first race was in 1974 in Colorado. He would eventually take a break from racing and riding. But the draw of organizing a team pulled him right back in. In the beginning he set up teams like Aspen Skiwear/Dia Coupe, McDonalds to Lowery's Meat Snacks. Len stepped it up in the 80's with teams such as Lowenbrau, Crest, and the Coors Light. Managing teams meant PettyJohn had to manage riders. He would work with Greg Lemond, Alexi Grewal, Doug Shapiro, Davis Phinney to the mercurial Michel Zanoli to name a few. In the six years Coors Light existed they won over 500 races!PettyJohn says by the mid 90's he was disillusioned with cycling and its drug culture so he moved on. He began organizing races like the Tour of Denver, Bannock criterium to the Saturn cycling classic. PettyJohn eventually turned his attention to coaching. Coaching is something he's had great success with. And if you're looking for a great coach he's got a couple spots open at the moment.

Mark McKay got interested in racing bikes by watching the 1984 Olympics here in America. He vividly remembers Alexi Growl and Steve Bauer coming to the line. Mark says within two weeks he'd quit football, had his mom buy him a bike and did his first race, a time trial. The kid from Northampton was hooked on bike racing. For the first three years Mark focused on time trials and yes he broke the hour. But by 1989 he got deep into road racing. Mark got so good at road racing it was suggested to him that he go race abroad. To most folks that meant racing on the continent. Instead Mark went to Canada and the U.S. He eventually returned to the U.K. to try and make the national team. He made the national team and represented his country off and on for nearly 10 years. Before Mark turned pro he raced the Tour de L' Avenir, amateur worlds to the Tour of Canada. When Mark did turn pro he raced for Diamond Back, Harrods, to Ambrosia to name a few. Mark retired mid 1999 but he wasn't done being an athlete. He won a duathlon national title and made the worlds podium in 2005 in Italy in the same event. Because of injury he had to stop. Mark eventually started his own coaching business in France. He also worked for British triathlon to Scottish Cycling. At the moment he and his wife live in Scotland and Mark runs a corporate cycling company.

Scott Monger got involved in riding and racing through his dad. At the time Scott's family lived in Wichita, Kansas. BMX is where he got his start. Eventually he moved on to road racing when his BMX bike got stolen. He used the insurance money to buy a road bike. At 14 Scott started doing club rides. By the time he was 15 he had taken out a license with the USCF and began racing as a junior. Scott's first junior of racing was in 1982. He says he got a whole lot of 2nd places that season. By the time he hit his last season as a junior he was winning some races and making podiums at Pro 1,2 races. His transition into senior races didn't go so smooth. Scott says it was a frustrating year until he moved to Boulder, Colorado. Into his second and third years as a senior racer he started getting some results and riding for composite teams in big races. In 1988 he got the call from Len Pettyjohn to ride for Team Crest. Team Crest was an amateur team that was a feeder team to Coors Light. Scott got the call up to Coors Light in 1990. His pro career would begin in 1991 and last till 2007. In between that time Scott would win 275 races and ride for such teams as BMC, Mercury, Navigator to Health Net to name a few. At 56 years old Scott is riding, coaching and still traveling the world.

Dave Towle grew up in Boulder, Colorado. It was a time when the Coors Classic was the biggest bike race outside of Europe. The race was a big influence on Dave. It's actually off of the reasons he ended up getting into the bike industry. By his account he was until his 20's a journey man mechanic/bike shop guy. Dave ended up taking a hiatus from the bike industry to follow the Grateful Dead around the country. Eventually the pull of the bike industry drew him back to his first love.  Dave worked for Raleigh and then Shimano in 1997/98 as a mechanic on the MTB circuit. In 2002 Dave got his first chance at announcing. He worked for Saturn cars doing virtual reality bike races at car shows around the country. Two decades in and Dave has announced for most if not all the big races in America like the Tour of California, Tour of  Utah, Tour of Missouri to Tulsa Tough over the years. Dave says announcing is like being a story teller. Now he's applying his gift working with Zwift announcing virtual races on the platform. I wasn't sure what to make of Dave because I hadn't met him before. But now I think I've made a friend for life.

Ed Clancy is from a place called Barnsley, in the U.K. He's a guy who didn't come from a cycling family so his accomplishments are that more amazing. Ed says he was the bike as  freedom.  His very first race was a club 10 mile time trial. He didn't do so well but it didn't deter him from pursuing his dreams. Ed was just starting his A-levels for school when he got not the British Cycling system. He says the team pursuit always came easier to him than any of the other disciplines on the track. His haul of medals in big races is simply mind blowing. In the Olympics he has 3 golds and 1 bronze, World Championships his tally is at 6 golds, 5 silver medals and 1 bronze. If you look at his European Track Champs haul it stands at 5 gold and 2 bronze and then lets throw in 8 world record times in the team pursuit. Ed didn't push for a road career because he always had his eyes on the track. But don't be fooled, he was probably one of the best criterium riders in Europe. The U.K. Crit scene is no joke. And if you don't believe me just listen to my interview with Daniel Holloway who spent some time over there. In this interview Ed and I talk about marginal gains, pursuit training, his decision to retire and life after a pro career.  Ed is one of my favorite interviews because he's such a cool ass dude.

Red Walters is a cool dude. I noticed him a few years back while reading about U.K. road racing. I've followed Red ever since. When I see Red Walters I see the faces of Maurice Burton, David Clarke to Russell Williams. All black cyclists from the U.K. and extremely talented. Walters earned a bike from his dad with good grades. Two weeks later he did his first race. He was restricted to the small chainring, got lapped twice and finished second to last. All that race did was fuel his fire to improve. In 2018 Walters says he started to see a change in his riding. So, he deferred going to college and focused on cycling. Since he has dual citizenship with Grenada, his mom is from the Caribbean country, he switched over and has been on a terror ever since. He's been the national champion in the road race and time trial in 2022. Walters' first pro team was Vitus Pro Cycling 2019. The next year he raced with the top tier Hagens German Axeon team with the assistance of World Tour rider Tao Geoghegan Hart. In 2022 he switched to Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling and for 2023 he will ride for Speed United Continental Team out of Belgium.

Mathieu Hermans is a Dutch legend. He started racing in 1971 when he was 8-years-old. He didn't win right away when he was young. But by the time he was 15 he was raising his hands while riding across the finish line quite often. As an amateur he raced a number of World Championships for cyclocross and on the road. He even raced the great Tour de L' Avenir. He credits that race for making him realize he wasn't a climber. In 1984 Mathieu decided to turn pro for the Orbea - Campagnolo team. He says his first three years were all about learning his craft. Once he focused on sprinting he hit the ground running. You honestly have to think about the competition his was facing. I'll drop a few names for you like Guido Bontempi, Sean Kelly, Olaf Ludwig to Eric Vanderaerden. This man won 6 stages in one La Vuelta and 9 stages overall. Because he raced for mainly Spanish teams many people mistakenly believe he only won in Spanish races which is simply not true. He's won a stage in the Tour de France, Tour de Romandie, and Paris Camembert to name a few. In 1993 Mathieu retired. Over the years he's works as a commentator for Dutch TV, a team director and for the last 25 years he's been working for cycling clothing company Bio Racer. I hope you enjoy this interview with one of the greats of cycling.

Yoeri Havik comes from a cycling family. His uncle is the great six day Danny Stam. He started racing when he was nine years old. he raced all over Holland. He says he didn't really start to win until he was around 14 years old. By the time he was 16 he was racing with the Dutch national track team. At 17 Yoeri began training with his uncle Danny and travel internationally to race. Between the ages of 18-25 he focused on the road but the track was always lurking. Over the years Yoeri has won 24 national titles. He's even won a European Madison Championship  with Jan-Willem Van Chip. And recently he won the points race at the world championships.In this episode Yoeri and I spoke about his training leading up to worlds, his big win and what's his next big goal.

Rico Rogers is from New Zealand but currently lives in Australia. To be exact he raised in Palmerston North. Rico started out on mountain bikes and was quite successful at it. Eventually he took a break and started real life. By the time he was 28 the bike racing bug had bit him again. This time he decided to focus on road racing. Rico decided if he was going to race he might as well do it in the heartland of bike racing better known as Belgium. He did quite well in Belgium but eventually ended living and racing France. He didn't quite enjoy the racing there so much so he ended up leaving and moving to Melbourne, Australia. Once in Australia the wins came quick and fast. The opportunity to race the Asian circuit presented itself and he jumped feet first. He raced in Tour of Hainan, Tour of China to the Tour de Langkawi to name a few big time races on the circuit. Some of the interesting teams he raced for range from Giant Asia racing team, Synergy Baku Cycling Project to OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team. Rico officially retired in 2016. He's currently the CEO at Box Altitude High Performance where some of their clients include some the world's top cyclists. It's awesome to meet someone you admire and they turn out to be really cool.

Alex Stieda is a Canadian cycling legend. He was a hockey player first. To keep up his fitness in the off season he turned to riding a bike. He bought a $20 bike and started doing long rides. Simply by chance a neighbor who was involved in cycling suggested he race a local 10 mile time trial. Each week Stieda says he just continued to get faster and faster. Then someone suggested he try track racing. Once he got on a velodrome it was a match made in heaven. A short time after that he was winning national championships on the track. He even went to junior worlds soon after. Moving up to the seniors racing he eventually was chosen to ride for the national team and train for the 1984 Olympics. Before doing the Olympics he would race a season in Belgium and join the coveted 7-Eleven amateur team.  He says racing the Olympics was a huge disappointment. Instead of going pro he decided to race one more year as an amateur. Alex Stieda would turn pro for the 7-Eleven team in 1986. He would ride the tour and claim not one but five different jerseys including the yellow jersey. He would finish that tour in 120th place. Here's the thing, Alex chose to race the rest of his career predominantly in North America after that season. He says he realized he wasn't built for that type of racing. Stieda says racing in North America was fun. He won stages in the Coors Classic, Tour of Texas, and multiple big time crits. Alex would eventually retire at the young age of 31. He would become a sales rep for Softride, help organize the Tour of Alberta, and beat prostate cancer. He recently qualified and competed in the Grand Fondo Worlds.

Dr. Jason Galeah is with a program called "Headset Sports." They work with elite athletes. He also has a private practice working with people dealing with anxiety, depression as well as working with athletes with focus and confidence issues. But for this interview we're discussing issues around concussions and concussion rehabilitation. Dr. Galeah has a long standing working relationship with with former pro and team owner Danny Van Haute. The two worked together to be the first to bring concussion testing protocols and baseline testing program to professional cycling. In this interview with Dr. Galeah we touch on what is a concussion, what does a concussion do to the brain, what are the symptoms, and how a concussion is treated.

Thomas Craven was raised in Winston Salem, North Carolina. At first he had not interest in racing bikes. He played soccer. Yet, there was a bike race held in front of his childhood home. That race would lead to his family hosting guys like Australian great Danny Clark. Once he watched Athens Twilight criterium in person he knew he wanted to race a bike. Once he got started he progressed quickly. As time passed he would eventually turn pro. He would eventually ride for teams like Wheaties - Schwinn, 7-Eleven, Poland Spring - Globar Travel, to Chevrolet L.A. Sheriff. He would eventually retire from racing. Once retired he learned how to cook, went into business but eventually came back to cycling as a director sportif for Hincapie and recently Best Buddies.

Jason Allen is a kiwi legend. He was initially into soccer before he discovered the bike. He got on the bike to stay in shape for soccer. He quickly gravitated towards track cycling. He got good at racing a bike pretty quick. In 1998 he did the Junior worlds in Cuba. He says he began traveling the world to race an it opened his eyes. Eventually he decided to race in the U.S. He based himself at T-Town. Jason says he struggled a bit in the beginning. Jason turned pro after he won the U23 time trial Champs in New Zealand along with a 2nd in the road race. His destination? Italy for the Miche team. He says his time there was a disaster. He ended up moving over to a Belgian team. Jason did several stints in Europe racing for teams like Marco Polo to Plowman Craven team. On and off he did five years racing in the U.S. with McGuire -Langdale, Kodak Gallery - Sierra Nevada to Land Rover - Orbea. Jason eventually returned to New Zealand to race the track. And he ended up racing for one of the most iconic teams in New Zealand, the "Subway - Avanti Cycling Team.  The team was stacked with heavy hitters like Hayden Godfrey to hard man Gordon  McCauley. He would eventually retire and currently Jason is working as an electrician.

This is the third and last episode with Freddie Rodriguez. We sit down and talk about the foundation he started after retiring, coaching, his clothing line, and life with his wife and three kids.

In the 2nd part of my interview with Freddie Rodriguez we start where we left off at, coming off the Poggio in Milan San Remo in 2002. We dig into what he was thinking, feeling, and his positioning to set him up for the sprint. From there we talk about Ghent Wevelgem, his first ride in Paris Roubaix, and whether he did anything special to his bike for that race. Eventually we touch on him leaving Domo Farm Frites. Why he ended up riding for Vini Calderola and the Aqua & Sapone to the Lotto teams. Freddie eventually had enough of Europe and decided with having kids it was time to head home. That adventure brought Rock Racing, Team Exergy and his final team Jelly Belly.

Freddie Rodriguez followed in his dad's footsteps when it came to racing his bike. His dad was a racer in Colombia in 50's and 60's. His inspiration came during the 1984 Olympics when he saw Alexi Grewal win the road race and a gold medal. At 11-years-old he got a used bike from his dad. Freddie quickly realized the freedom of riding. His first race was a criterium and his first club was out of the Montrose bike shop. Freddie says the first bit of interest from the junior national team was after racing the La Vuelta de Bisbee. He was invited to a national team camp.  From there he would be given the chance to race in Europe He says one of his greatest accomplishments as a junior was helping Jeff Evanshine win the Junior Worlds Road Race in 1991. During his Under 23 years Freddie rode for Spago and the national team racing all over Europe. At 18 he was living in Ghent, Belgium learning the ropes of kermesse racing. From 92-95 he continued to ride with the national team with Rene Wenzel as his coach. In 1996 he turned pro with Saturn. The team gave Freddie an opportunity to mature as a rider and man before heading to Europe to ride for Mapei.This is one of two interviews with Freddie about his career and what he's doing now.

Today's episode is all about music. Since I'm having  road bike issues I'm forced to get on my trainer in the garage and go at it. Music is a must so I've created a few playlists. I'll be sharing them as time goes on and hope to hear from you about what you like listening to. Maybe ya'll can introduce me to some new music. 1) Artist: A. Billi Free & The Lasso, Album: Holy Body Roll, Song: Thrive, Despite2) Artist: Alison Wonderland, Album: Run, Song: Run3) Artist: Amine, Album: One point five, Song: Hiccup featuring Gunna4) Artist: Animal, Album: Retrospective, Song: Don't let me be misunderstood5) Artist: Apathy, Album: Honkey Kong, Song: Check To Check6) Artist : Augustos Pablo, Album: Augustos Pablo, Song: King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown7) Artist: Big Remo & 9th Wonder, Album: 9th Wonder Presents Wonderbread, Song: Wonderbread (featuring Big Remo)8) Artist: Big Tone, Album: Business, Song: Business9) Artist: Borns, Album: Dopamine, Song: 10,000 Emerald Pools10) Artist: Chaz Emphatic, Album: Postcard, Song: NyQuil on Ice11) Artist: Coconut Records, Album: Night timing, Song: Night timing 12) Artist: Cymande, Album: Second time around, Song: Crawshay13) Artist: De La Soul, Album: Grind Date, Song: No14) Artist: Death, Album: For the whole world to see, Song: Where do we go from here15) Artist: Dice Raw, Album: Single, Song:10016) Artist: Electric Citizen, Album: Sateen, Song: Light years Beyond17) Artist: Gary Numan & tube way Army, Album:Replicas, Song: Heartbreak18) Artist: The James Hunter Six, Album: Minute by Minute, Heartbreak19) Artist: Kid Ink, Album: Missed Calls, Song: Rain Dance

The "Star Track Youth Program" is based around the Kissena Velodrome in Flushing, Queens. The program focuses on kids between the ages of 8-16 from under resourced communities. Star Track is a 100% free program. The kids set goals, participate in a weekly training schedule and become part of a competitive cycling team. In 2022 Star Track starts a UCI track team. Members on the team include current national team member Josh Hartman, Grant Koontz, who just won a gold medal in the Pam Games scratch race to Joe Christiansen. This program is  funded by sponsors like Felt Bicycles and private donations. Star Track is a program solely focused on bettering the lives of kids whether they go on to race or not.

Tommy Nankervis comes from a cycling family. His dad raced and his grandfather raced. But, it was the great Sid Patterson who first got him on the track. Patterson was a world champion as an amateur and professional. He also won countless Australian national championship titles. And it was Tommy who won the 1st ever Sid Patterson Grand Prix  which is held annually. In his younger years he rod for the famous Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club. Track was Tommy's bread and butter. But he had his eyes on crits and road races. He progressed quickly. Once he made the move to the road his eyes turned to America. Former Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke helped get him to the U.S. Tommy rode for teams like Priority Health, Jittery Joe's  to Bissell to name a few. He also did a stint  in Belgium with Cinelli-Down Under with Frank Vandenbroucke. After years of living abroad it was time to head back down under. He would ride for Team Budget Fork lifts. He would eventually retire in 2016. He's still riding, married with two wonderful kids, and he works for Tineli Custom Cycling Clothing.