The off season flew by way too fast. It felt as if just yesterday I was grinding gears (& some skin) in Europe. It feels like I have not done enough group rides, although my list of attendance to the Saturday Group ride is off the charts. This off-season has treated me well, and so has the winter weather in Fresno, never unbearably cold, thank the Lord. I got to spend time with good people, while riding, it was really the best of both worlds. It made me forget about racing, and just enjoy riding my bike.
A few highlights from 2013 before I start to talk about 2014:
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| Winning the Madison event at Track Nationals with Matt Valencia, my best friend, and ex-teammate. |
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| My first win in Europe, as a team we went 1st, 2nd, & 4th that day. |
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| We won the Team Time Trial at the West Vlaanderen Tour. |
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| A bittersweet moment, my last race with my Specialized teammates. |
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| A lowlight of the year, this is me crashing in the 3rd Stage of the West Vlaanderen Tour. |
2014 will be a new year for me. For those who do not know, this year I changed teams from Specialized to Hot Tubes. Although leaving was bittersweet, I can not stress how excited I am for the new experiences I will partake in this year with Hot Tubes. I also can't wait to race with my good friends on my new team. The opportunities seem endless on this team, and I am so excited to be apart of it. As much as I loved this off-season, I can not wait to race my bike. I am ready for crunch time, I am ready for the pressures and stresses this year will present to me.
In 2014, I will be apart of multiple International Races. With Hot Tubes, as a team, we will be traveling to race the infamous race "Axl", and also in late summer we will race in Tour of Ireland. On top of the International Races I will also be doing more east coast races, as Hot Tubes is based out of Boston. It will be fun to race with different people on the other side of the continent. Another thank you going out to Hot Tubes, thank you for the experiences and opportunities to come.
Also, a HUGE shoutout to Illest (AKA Tselli) and Fatlace for their generosity by sending me a Tselli cycling kit. You guys are awesome, the kits looks and feels great.
Also, a HUGE shoutout to Illest (AKA Tselli) and Fatlace for their generosity by sending me a Tselli cycling kit. You guys are awesome, the kits looks and feels great.
Oh and not to mention something totally utterly cool, and rad; here are some pics of Jove (one of my group ride friends) after he hit a deer descending down to Pine Flat Lake.
Happy Racing Everyone, and Happy New Year!
Jack Maddux
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