Mabra Radio

For our third installment in this series we feature Céline Oberholzer of ATX Wolfpack p/b Jakroo. When life as a professional dancer became impossible because of a series of injuries, she was fortunate to find bike racing through the Little 500 at Indiana University. She quickly fell in love with the sport and her passion led her to chase racing all across the country.  The backstory of life before bike racing included struggles with an eating disorder. She talks about those struggles and her efforts at promoting social justice and equality. If you, someone you love, or simply someone you know is suffering with an eating disorder there are tons of resources for you. Kristen Arnold, MS, RD, CSSD, has been kind enough to provide us with a few resources like Eating Disorder Hope or the National Eating Disorders Association. There is hope and help.

In part 2 we take a look at faith, the faith that a team and veteran riders place the future and the younger riders in whom they see potential. Dalton Collins, of Automatic Racing, is just 21 years old; but he has the faith of the 2019 USACRITS individual champ, Tom Gibbons and the full squad of veteran heavy hitters on team orange.  Follow them on IG: @its_dalton_yoo & @automatic_racing

A new year brings with it promise and potential; and, that is what this four part series of episodes is all about. We've linked together stories from four of the best and brightest hopes for criterium racing's future and present them to you at the beginning of this year.  The first up is Tyler Reynolds of Pella, IA, and First Internet Bank Cycling Team. He's the 2017, 15-16 national road race champ, and is on year two of being on the verge of stepping up to the big leagues with his spot on a domestic elite team. Follow them on IG: @tyler.reynolds20 and @firstibcycling

There's nothing quite like New York City. It's got lights, life, culture action, and plenty of crit racing. Yes, you don't have to have miles and miles of open farm roads to have crit racing. You can do it right in the heart of the biggest city in the United States. Michael Tan of Good Guys Racing p/b High Water Women is here to tell us all about it. Follow them on IG @the_michaeltan @goodguysnyc 

We all have our favorite holidays, and Starla Teddergreen's is Christmas. There is something about gift wrap and the joy of opening presents that fills her with joy. For us, the joy has been watching her race the best criteriums and road races in the country. She's set to take on the world now, with a new contract with a Team Illuminate she will be taking her show on the international road in the coming future. Fortunate for us, we got a chance to talk with her before she set out on this journey.

The Lioness has found her way back to the pack. Kendall Ryan, now of L39ion of Los Angeles is focused on earning her spot on the the US Olympic team for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the Team Pursuit and the Madison. However, that focus isn’t going to preclude her from pursuing her dreams of complete and total domination of the #critlife. The Crit Queen joins us to talk about how she’s taking the time to invest deeply in herself and preparing for the challenges that are going to face her in the coming year. We also talk about her focus on recovery including the vital importance of sleep. She’s became an ambassador for ChiliSleep and cannot say enough good things about their product. And just for you she’s here to provide a promo code: Kendall22 to help save 22% off your purchase of a unit that she says has changed her sleep quality for the better.

When you think of the geography of crit racing in the US, you don't often put Boise at the top of your list . . . but you should. The guest on today's episode Allan Schroeder of CS Velo tells us all about why the Treasure Valley should be on your list of places to go, ride, race, and live. Allan is fresh on the scene; but he's already making an impact. That sort of energy gets noticed, and that's why he's been picked up by Philadelphia-based CS Velo. So come on board this week and learn more about Idaho and tacos.

Olivia Ray is back on the show after completing her journey across the international date line and over the equator. She returns just in time to tell how she won the 2021 New Zealand National Criterium Championship and sealed a deal with Rally Cycling on a contract to ride with them for the coming year. We are also joined by her new sporting director Joanne Kiesanowski who fills in the details on how Olivia caught the team's attention and what their plans are for her now that she's a part of the team.  Interested in realizing the science of results? Check out Source Endurance for the best in performance coaching. Use the promo code "criteriumnation" at checkout for $50 off.   

This week's episode is Avenger's Endgame worthy. In this episode we bring together the guests from 2020 to give you a show about finding happiness and giving thanks in a year that was not designed for either. To do this we enlist the help of guest co-host Lily Williams of Rally Cycling and the 2020 Team Pursuit World Champion. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the stars of this year in order of appearance: Robin Meidhof The guys from The Gravel Lot Lindsay Goldman, Eliel Cycling Apparel  Dino Piskopanis, ButcherBox Cycling Adam Mills, Source Endurance Madison Kelly, CWA Racing Adam Pulford, DC Velo Ali Sheehan, Team Tekkerz Christina Gokey Smith, Team Colavita Olivia Ray, ButcherBox Cycling Zach Gregg, Project Echelon Maize Wimbush, Team Twenty24 Jason Meidhof, Monster Media Eric Hill, Project Echelon Bruce Buckley The guys from The Slow Ride Podcast Amanda Nauman, SDG Factory Team / The Groadio Interested in realizing the science of results? Check out Source Endurance for the best in performance coaching.

In summer 2016, the Meidhofs packed, 2 dogs, a cat, and their possessions into an RV and took off for California and a new adventure. Just a couple weeks after arriving, and without much in the way of a support system in LA, Jason was hit by a negligent driver and seriously injured. This is the story of his recovery, and return to form. Previously a master's world champ on the track, he was forced to rebuild his fitness and reconnect parts of his brain that were injured. Fortunately he wasn't alone, and neither was his wife Robin. The two of them came closer together than ever before; and thanks to that bond, and the countless hours of help from others, they were able to get back to normalcy. And when you suffer a traumatic brain injury, normal is such a beautiful word.  Please remember to visit Source Endurance for your coaching needs. When you find the services you are looking for, please use "criteriumnation" at checkout for $50.00 off. 

Experience is a great; yet brutal teacher. The lessons we learn from it can make us stronger; however, we don't need to suffer the most onerous lessons ourselves. Rather, we can learn from others. In this episode we share with you some of the important ones to know when you line up for your first big race. Our teachers are the best of them all...the real life pros that light up the world's biggest crit stages. Sit back and listen as your instructors Tina Pic, Kristen LaSasso, Christina Gokey-Smith, Whitney Allison, Kristen Arnold, Tyler Reynolds, Eric Hill, Stephen Vogel, Ricky Arnopol, Evan Hartig, Natalia Franco Villegas, and Cesar Gallego share what it is they wish they had known before signing up to race the best of the best.  And while we are talking about the best, check out Source Endurance for all the best in endurance coaching and nutrition services. Remember to use the promo code: criteriumnation, at checkout for 50% off.

Ata Marie, is good morning in Maori, the language of the native population of New Zealand, and the home of Olivia Ray. At just 22 years old, she already owns 16 U.S. and New Zealand national championships and a dominating crit racers. We met her earlier this year at the ButcherBox team camp in Southern California and knew we had to have a sit down with her to talk bike racing, the Olympics, and so much more. But our timing took a huge turn when she said she was willing to fly 26 hours, and quarantine for 14 days just to get back to Auckland to try her hand at the Vantage New Zealand national criterium championship in Christchurch. Cleary, Covid was also discussed. Follow Olivia on IG @oliviaraycycling or her team @butcherboxcycling. Today's show is brought to you be Source Endurance, the Science of Results. If you are looking for a coach, advice, planning, guidance, or any of it, please check them out and use the promo code: criteriumnation to save money at sign up.

It’s been a rough year for us criterium racers. If some of us were lucky, we were able to sneak in a race in warmer climates or out west in March or February before the coronavirus hit our shores and shut everything down. It’s left a lot of us trying to figure out how to keep training and riding; or looking at other priorities in our lives. For some of us, it has led to some incredible creativity and new discoveries like baking sourdough bread or that long-lost talent for guitar. However, for most of us it has left us frankly wondering what if.  Well look no further than this episode to answer that question. What if the 2020 crit season had taken place? Who would have walked away with the biggest prizes in all the land, from winning the USA Cycling criterium championships to the vaunted USACRITS overall in both the team and individual competitions. We’ve got that covered. In addition, you’ve probably been thinking to yourself; what are the criteriums that can make a cyclists career? Why don’t we have the monu

Perseverance is far from easy. When you get tossed off your horse and break your back, or when a tragic crash shatters bones in your body, you could be forgiven for giving up. However, Christina Gokey-Smith of Team Colavita never got that memo about giving up. She’s battled hardship, injury, and adversity to get to where she is among the elite of crit racing in North America. As she has gotten older she hasn’t slowed down; but rather gotten better and stronger. Each year she dedicates herself to refining and developing new traits to improve her training and performance; including delving deep into meditation and mindfulness, two often overlooked elements of athletics. In late 2017, long after most teams were formed and with full rosters, she and long-time friend Tina Pic, picked up the pieces of Team Colavita, a legendary women’s organization with a storied history. Through trial and error, and with some serious bumps along the way, they cobbled together a group of women who would in time become sisters and c

Everyday 22 veterans commit suicide in the United States. It’s a sad reality that has plagued our nation for far too long. In the absence of comprehensive public assistance programs, private citizens and organizations have stepped up to provide much needed services to this community. Enter Eric Hill of Project Echelon. After a veteran friend of his made his third attempt at suicide Eric acted to create a program to help veterans confront the emotional and psychological struggles they face through physical activity. At the same time he created an elite cycling team to help spread the message beyond Wisconsin and the Midwest. Thus was born Project Echelon the team, and the foundation. Move forward 5 years and that team is now one of the best in the country and poised to start European campaigns in addition to their domestic schedule. This is where Zach Gregg comes in, already a collegiate national champion, and at 27 years old, at the beginning of an incredible career in bike racing. Zach’s rise in the sport mi

Reviresco is a latin word which translates multiple ways; but our favorite is “I shall rise again.” Six months into the quarantine and amidst social turmoil we are confronted with unprecedented challenges to our cycling community. Those challenges face not just individual bike racers; but also the companies in the cycling industry. We are learning just how interconnected we all are, the lack of races means less marketing opportunities for clothing manufacturers, less bike racing means people are foregoing upgrading equipment and bike companies are struggling to keep up with a demand that went through the roof at the outset of the quarantine. The events of 2020 have exposed the limits of our industry; but also they are creating new opportunities. In this episode we speak with 3 storytellers about the industry. First we speak with Ryan Cady of Eliel Cycling Apparel about creating a brand and what it takes to grow a company in the challenges of normal life. Then we speak with Simon Marks of Feature Story News ab

With the stormy present surrounding us all the time, sometimes it’s hard to remember that the future exists, and that the sun will rise tomorrow. Judging by the athletes who make up the juniors ranks, that future may be way brighter than we think. Take Maize Wimbush of the Team Twenty20 Junior Team, and a 14-year old from southern Maryland. Maize is already a multi-time champion in the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association; but she’s set her sights on an even loftier goal— becoming the first African American woman to represent Team USA in cycling at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to sit down with Maize and her father Mark to talk about her growing up a bike racer and how she’s primed herself to be one of the next great ones. But beyond that, this episode explores the issue of diversity in bike racing and how it takes a whole community to raise a champion. This community must be strong and vibrant, because Maize’s future looks solid. Follow Maize’s story on Instagram @amaizencyclist

Titanium was first discovered in Europe in the late 1700s. Its value was immediately apparent as a lightweight yet incredibly strong metal. It goes into our bikes, and in some cases our bodies. After coming to the United States from Colombia, Sait Arana started racing bikes in the Mid-Atlantic in 2015. His rise up the ranks was legendary and in 2019 he landed himself on a UCI continental team, Skyline Bicycles. The bike racing world was his oyster. Then, at Spartanburg, he caught the edge of a metal crowd control barrier at full speed and found himself in the hospital. That crash earned him a titanium rod in his right arm and recalibrated what he considers important in the bike racing world. 2020 dawns with him sporting a slightly darker shade of green for Kelly Benefits Strategies and a positive attitude about life on and off the bike. That’s where this story picks up, I was lucky enough to get him to come over and hang out with me in the courtyard for a socially distant in-person interview. Follow Sait on

In Mr. Automatic, the 2019 USA Crits men's individual champion Tom Gibbons of Automatic Racing joins Rob from the back porch of a cabin in Idaho City, ID, to talk about the proper pronunciation of Boise. After getting that out of the way, we voyage on to "is it really the dream we think it is to race in Belgium." But mostly we focus on the place we all love and know-- criterium racing and what it takes to be the best in the country. Follow him on IG @vandergibbon and Automatic Racing @automatic_racing. And visit the Automatic Endurance website. We also announce, in this episode that I will donate $1 per every mile I ride from June 24 - July 8 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to help support the continuing struggle for racial justice and equality. Please consider donating yourself as well.

Interested in American racing? Want to learn more about the people, teams, and places that make our Criterium Nation so exciting? Then this is the podcast for you. Come join us every two weeks as we talk to the racers, promoters, team directors, and people who make the fight for each corner so captivating.  www.notrainingwheelspod.com www.wideanglepodium.com  @notrainingwheelspod on Instagram @ntwheelspod on Twitter