Patrick Collins Wins a JAM Grant

Shrewsbury cyclist rides to the top for a JAM Grant

Photo above by Katie Busick

Patrick Collins of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts jumped into cyclocross two years ago following a year of racing on the road. He was a natural at cross and immediately landed on the podium in 2014, winning the Riverfront Cross of Hartford, his third cross race ever.

Collins, 21, started riding a bicycle when he was a junior in high school.

“I was overweight and I wanted to get in shape,” he said. “I took my dad’s road bike out one day and reached speeds that were exhilarating. I got serious about it, bought my own bike and did group rides that were really hard for me. I got dropped at first but got stronger and knew I wanted to take it to the next level and start racing.”

Collins is the winner of the JAM Fund Grant. He is one of thirteen cyclists who will receive financial or equipment assistance from the JAM Fund to support racing cyclocross and help offset the cost of the sport.

“If it’s money, I’m going to use it on the expensive UCI race fees,” he said.  “If it’s equipment, I’m looking to get another bike so that I can have one in the pit. Last year I didn’t have a pit bike and that proved to be tough in a couple of races where I had a mechanical. I’m hoping this year to have a pit bike.”

Last fall, Collins upgraded to Cat 1, raced 23 cross events, scored ten podium finishes, and earned the title of Best All-Around Rider at the New England Cyclocross Series.

Patrick Collins won the Ken Harrold Memorial Road Race on June 4 in Harvard. Photo courtesy Angelica Dixon.

Collins is proving he is certainly a rider to watch after winning the pro 1/2 Ken Harrod Memorial Road Race in June and Plainville Spring Crit in April.

“My results have been good,” he said. “I’m really passionate about the sport and dedicated to my training. I’m consistent and race from March on the road until December in cross.”

Collins is senior at Clark University in Worcester. He is studying geography and economics and hopes to continue onto grad school.

“I applied to Clark’s fifth-year master’s program in environmental science so I can do something about climate change,” he said. “That’s what I’m really interested in.”

There is no cycling team at Clark, so Collins is mostly on his own; however, he receives support from his team Minuteman Road Club.

“My club is very supportive of me and helps me out with race reimbursements,” he said. “One of the members gave me his cross bike back in 2014, when I was looking for a bike but couldn’t afford a new one, and that’s the only bike I’ve ever raced on. I still have that bike now. Another member gave me tubular wheel sets to use that I gave back at the end of the season.”

Collins is working 40 hours a week during summer to save money for the upcoming race season.

“I have a full-time job this summer at Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations,” he said. “I work as an intern in the town’s electric department with engineers doing GPS of all the electrical infrastructure and GIS data entry.”

Once school resumes in the fall, Collins will focus strictly on his homework and cyclocross.

“I like that cyclocross is mainly up to the individual to do well,” he said. “You need good technical skills and good power. There’s no hiding in cross and it rewards the complete cyclist. I also like the community of cyclocross. It’s a great group of people that you can see every weekend.”

Collins discovered JAM Fund three years ago while watching Bay State Cyclocross in Sterling.

“I hadn’t seen cross racing until then,” he said. “I watched the elite races and saw the JAM racers place in top ten and do really well. Last year, I applied online. I was looking to get on the team, but the grant is great.”

Collins will receive his JAM Fund Grant at the July 16 Grand Fundo, a one-day ride through scenic Western Massachusetts. The event is the non-profit organization’s biggest fundraiser and includes a post-ride barbecue and raffle for some really nice prizes, including a bicycle owned by four-time U.S. National Cyclocross Champion Jeremy Powers. All the proceeds benefit the JAM Fund and go directly to supporting the riders. The public is invited to register for the Grand Fundo, get raffle tickets or just attend the barbecue and awards ceremony by going online to bikereg.com.

Kale Wenczel Wins a JAM Grant

Amherst Teen's Homework Leads to Grant

Imagine competing in cyclocross races every weekend during the season. That’s what 18-year-old Kale Wenczel did last year. The Leverett, Massachusetts rider competed in more than 16 cross races, missing only one race weekend. That’s pretty dedicated for a guy who started racing cross two years ago.

“I got on my game and registered in time for Gloucester, Providence and all the big races,” he said. “I made sure I got there and did my best.”

Wenczel successfully completed every cross race he started in 2015 and finished in the top twenty at the KMC Cyclocross Festival in Providence.

“I started at the back of Cat 3 and moved up by the end of the season to call ups for Cat 3, which was pretty cool,” he said. “In Providence, I got in the money, which was so awesome.”

Wenczel is one of thirteen cyclists selected for a JAM Fund Grant—financial and equipment assistance provided to promising cyclists to help offset the cost of cyclocross racing.

“I’m really psyched to have a grant,” he said. “I applied for it last fall, and I think it helped that I have been riding with the whole JAM group in the past couple months.”

Wenczel often saw the JAM Fund Team at races; He met JAM’s Co-Founder Jeremy Powers by doing a high school homework assignment.

“I was taking an Anthropology class and had to write an ethnography about some culture I observed,” Wenczel said. “It was a big project, and I decided to do it on cyclocross because I already knew the subject, so I thought it would be easy. My teacher wanted to see that we got interviews, so I emailed Jeremy and didn’t expect a response, but I had to show my teacher that I at least tried. But then he responded, and I was taken back by that. We ended up meeting. It was too late for the paper but we went for a bike ride and I stayed in touch. Eventually we went for another ride in late February with the whole group, and I’ve been going with them a bunch of weekends ever since.”

Wenczel graduated from Amherst Regional High School last month and will be starting classes at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in September.

“I’m going to be a mechanical engineer,” he said. “My end goal is to hopefully work at Sram some day. That would be ideal. I picture myself designing derailleurs.”

Wenczel got a later-than-usual start to cycling training after playing Ultimate Frisbee this spring.

My team was undefeated this year, and we were invited to world’s tryouts with the top 100 people in the country,” he said. “We won the Paideia Cup in Georgia, the high school invitational, where they invite the eight best teams in the country. Our team solidly won that, so we can say we are the best in the country.”

Kale Wenczel (far left) and his team, the Amherst Regional High School Hurricanes, won the Paideia Cup Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Atlanta, Georgia on April 17. Photo by Christina Schmidt. 

Wenczel says Frisbee helps his cycling fitness.

“Ultimate is such a physical sport, it conditions your whole body to take pain,” he said. “If nothing else, it gives me a lot of mental strength, which is essential in any sport, and my running and general conditioning is pretty solid as a result. I’d say it’s definitely helpful.”

For now, Wenczel has packed away his discs.

“I just entered retirement last week, but I’m not going to give it up for good,” he said. “I pick up a disc every now and then, but I’m going to focus on biking, my first and only true love.”

Wenczel has been racing the past two years for Joe’s Garage, but someday hopes to make the switch to JAM Fund.

“I am a strong person who has a lot of potential because until this summer, I never trained a day in my life,” he said. “As far as I’ve gotten is just me going out on rides with nothing particular to them and learning from just doing it. I have a ton of potential in terms of technique, training and becoming more specialized. Going out and riding with Al, Jeremy and everybody else and have them see what I can do, is hugely instrumental. I have the drive to make something happen here, that’s the reason I got a grant.”

His short-term desire is to move up the ranks.

“My big goal for this year is to move from Cat 3 to Cat 2,” he said. “That will be huge, if I can achieve it. Also, nationals is very doable in the U23.”

The JAM Grant that Wenczel received is made largely possible by the fundraising at the JAM Fund’s Grand Fundo, a one-day bike ride through Western Massachusetts. Wenczel will formally receive his grant at the Grand Fundo on July 16.

“I’ll probably use the grant for entry fees,” he said. “I guess I would replace broken things, because I break a derailleur every season.”

Beau Guenther Wins a JAM Grant

Vermont Teen Inspired by Tour is Awarded JAM Fund Grant

Beau Guenther started riding a bike when he was six years old while growing up in Putney, Vermont.

“I got obsessed with it after I watched the Tour de France with my friend Darius Parker,” Guenther said. “From then on I looked for a small road bike that I could race and ride.”

Now 12, Guenther is certain about his future.

“I want to be a professional cyclocross racer,” he said. “I want to race for Jeremy Powers’ team.”

Guenther is one of 13 dedicated cyclists who are receiving a JAM Fund Grant award—financial or equipment assistance to help defray the expenses related to competitive cyclocross.

“I’m very happy about the grant,” he said. “I race as hard as I could basically, and that’s why I think I got it.”

Beau Guenther sports his Tour de France team kit that he got as a birthday present in June.

Guenther started racing when he was eight. His first cross race was local event by the West Hill Bike Shop.

“It was quite awesome, one of the funnest races I’ve ever done,” he said. “I got the Vermont State Championship and that was my first medal. There were 20 people in my race. It’s pretty fun. You go through a bunch of cornfields and gnarly run ups and crazy barriers and obstacles.”

His other favorite races are the Northampton Cycle-Smart International and Providence KMC. This fall, he plans to do those again and more.

“I want to do some night races like the Night Weasels and Fitchburg.”

Guenther is in the 7th grade at Putney Central School. He’s learning science and studying genetics about the characteristics and traits of ancestors. After class, he often rides bikes with his friends Darius Parker and Liza Bell.

“I ride a few times a week with my core group of riding friends Darious, Liza and a couple other kids,” he said. “We do a 20-mile ride every Wednesday with this guy who leads it.”

Guenther races for the West Hill Thunderbolts, a team made up of young kids like himself.

“Our team helped put on a mountain bike race last summer called the Cider House Classic, which goes around the Putney High School campus,” he said. “I helped make the course.”

In addition to being a little ripper on the bike, Guenther is serious about cross-country skiing.

“This winter, I raced 4 and 5k classic and skate all over the place in the White Mountains,” he said. “I’m pretty hard core into it. Sometimes when the snow gets hard and icy, I go out in the field and ride around on it on my mountain bike.”

Guenther also likes to play around on the skateboard and ride BMX.  He played trombone when he was in 4th grade.

“I played it for two years and kinda stopped,” he said. “It’s a little heavy.”

But of all his hobbies, he says cross is the best.

“Cyclocross is my favorite because it’s a mix of mountain biking and road and you’re riding on dirt and roots and harder obstacles and stuff,” he said.

Guenther’s dad rides cross too and supports his son’s passion.

“It’s great and I think he has realistic view of it,” Pete Guenther said. “It keeps him on a bike and off the couch and keeps him fast. If he becomes a pro cyclocross racer, that would be great. I’ll go cheer for him and even be his team mechanic.”

Beau is excited for the fall cross season to start.

“I’m just going to do as many races as I can and place well so I’m more noticed,” he said. “Also the JAM Fund will be good thing for that.”

Beau Guenther catching air while playing around on his cross bike in France. Photo by Greg Guenther.

The grant that Beau Guenther received is largely funded by the JAM Fund's biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, a one-day scenic ride through Western Massachusetts. This year's ride is on July 16, where grant recipients will receive their award. The public is invited to the ride the Grand Fundo and attend the post-ride barbecue and awards ceremony. Registration is at bikereg.com.

A list of current and past JAM Fund grant winners is at http://www.jamcycling.org/grant-recipients/.

Erik Carlson Wins a JAM Grant

Rhode Island Teen is Selected for JAM Fund Grant Award

Above photo by Alice Johannen

Erik Carlson dreams of becoming a rocket scientist. This summer, the 17 year old from Greenwich, Rhode Island started basic training at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where he will study aerospace engineering. As part of his acceptance into the Academy, Carlson is required to play a sport. But when he first applied, he wasn’t sure if the Academy would accept cyclocross.

“The Academy weighs your application on whether you played a sport in high school like football,” Carlson said. “It was in the middle of cross season, and I told them I really want to race cross. I want to make something more of bike riding. It is the best sport ever, and if it was going to jeopardize my entrance into the Academy, I said, heck with it.”

Fortunately, the Academy agreed to accept cyclocross as a sport. JAM Fund is pleased to help support Carlson’s passion by awarding him a JAM Fund Grant. He is one of 13 grant recipients to receive the award of financial or equipment assistance.

“This spring I applied to JAM Fund, and I got the grant, which is amazing,” he said.

Carlson started riding bicycles when he was 3 years old.

“Cycling was a family activity where we’d go out every weekend and ride around the pond by Big River Management Area,” he said. “I started riding every day three or four years ago.”

By the time he was in high school, he started racing mountain bikes, but he also played football and hockey.

“I was goalie and not as good as other goalies,” he said.

Erik Carlson played goalie for his high school hockey team, but gave it up for cycling.

Carlson competed in his first cyclocross race in winter 2014, as he was finishing his junior year in high school. But he didn’t have a cross bike.

“I went to my first race at the Battle of Burlingame and I was riding a 26” hardtail that I bought on Craigslist," he said. "And that was my do-everything bike."

And so, he rode the mountain bike at his first-ever cross race, the NBX of Cross.

“I hadn’t heard of cross before and didn’t know anyone, so I was getting into it blindly," he said. "I saw Matt, the owner of NBX, and he said I could race this on a mountain bike. I decided I was going to try it, and I loved it. It was the last race of the year, so I didn’t do any other cross races that season.”

Carlson raced in the men’s Category 4/5.

“It was a massive field with 100-some riders,” he said. “I was in the back of the pack, and it was my first time ever experiencing cross. I didn’t finish poorly, I got like 80th. It wasn’t anything to write home about, none of my results are, but I wanted to see what this sport was. When I do poorly at a race, it makes me more motivated, and I want to strive to be so much better at it.”

Last year, Carlson was at the NBX race again, and this time he noticed JAM Fund.

“I remember seeing the truck. It was my first time there,” he said. “And then I remember learning about Ellen Noble and realizing she rode for JAM Fund. And it clicked- oh wow, cyclocross in New England is huge.”

Carlson raced a lot last season and had hoped to go to Cyclocross National Championships in Asheville, North Carolina, but it was the same week as his midterm exams. So he watched the races on his laptop.

“I watched nationals while I was doing my AP Chemistry homework,” he said. “I watched a race and then went back to homework and then watched more of the race and back and forth it took me five hours to do my homework that night.”

Carlson took Advanced Placement Chemistry, Physics and Calculus at East Greenwich High School, where he graduated last month. He played football and hockey but gave up both of those sports for his real love, cycling.

Carlson is not only a rider but a cycling advocate. He helped start the New England High School Cycling Association at his school.

“I was the only student in my school who enjoyed mountain biking, and I wanted to see more juniors in mountain biking and cross,” he said. “My biology teacher Christopher Wren was a mountain biker who got me into mountain biking, and he and I held assemblies and showed kids in the high school what mountain biking is. We got about 20 kids in our school to sign up for the league. And sometimes I had to talk to their parents and tell them it’s not as dangerous as you think. My biggest contribution was that I was able to get kids out on bikes who would not normally give it a try.”

The grant that Carlson received is largely funded by supporters and the JAM Fund’s biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, which is a one-day scenic ride in Western Massachusetts. This year’s ride is on July 16, where grant recipients will find out details of their award. The public is invited to join the Grand Fundo and attend the post-ride barbecue and awards ceremony. Registration is at bikereg.com. 

A full list of current and past JAM Fund grant winners is at http://www.jamcycling.org/grant-recipients/.

Jaden Wise Wins a JAM Grant

Belchertown teen is awarded JAM Fund Grant to support his cyclocross racing

Above photo: Jaden Wise lines up at the start of the NEXC Bar Finals in Fitchburg, Mass. on 11/29/15, where he got 3rd in the junior boys 12-14.

Jaden Wise wants to be a pro cyclist. The 12 year old from Belchertown, Massachusetts is certainly on the right path. He started riding bikes four years ago and began racing cyclocross soon afterward.

“I went to the races with my dad and I saw the juniors racing and what fun they were having, and I wanted to do it too,” he said.

Wise races for the Northampton Cycling Club, and last year he competed in 14 cross events. While watching his dad Greg race at Providence, Wise met JAM Fund Coach Alec Donahue.

“Al said I could send a letter and apply for a grant,” Wise said. “He said that once I’m older that might turn into a spot on the team.”

So Wise applied for a grant, and this year he got it. Wise is one of 13 grant recipients to receive the JAM Fund Grant to help support their cyclocross racing.

“I’m going to use it on a new kit and for race fees,” Wise said.

“I’m really excited about the grant and so proud of him,” said his mom Jessica. “So much of cycling is teaching him about life, about how to work harder, be a team player and how to deal with defeat.”

Wise is dedicated to his training. When he gets home from school, he rides his trainer in the basement for an hour and a half or rides with his dad outside.

“We have trails in the backyard and I ride with him there to gain confidence on the barriers,” he said. “In winter, we zip around when he gets home from work.”

Wise also rides with his friend Michael.

“I’ll go over Michael’s house and we’ll do jumps in his backyard,” Wise said. “So I’ll go over after I ride the trainer.”

Jaden Wise on a leisurely mountain bike ride. Photo by Greg Wise.

Wise is in the 8th grade at Jabish Brook Middle School where he plays soccer on Mondays and Thursdays.

“I play midfield offense and defense,” he said. “There’s a lot of running and sometimes after I ride and have a game I’m tired, but I do it to get better at cross.”

Wise says his favorite sport is still cycling. His favorite race is the Grand Prix of Gloucester where he got 7th and 8th place in the junior 9-14.

“The start was hard to get into a good spot for the first turn,” he said. “I started in the second row and I was behind the leader. I followed him and had a good start. Some spots were steep, and you have to make sure you’re in the right gear and take the right line in the ruts or you’d slip and someone would catch up. I had a pretty clean race.”

Wise rides five days a week. This week, he was working on long miles on the trainer.

“I did two endurance rides this week of one to two hours at 18 mph, so that’s 150 watts for me,” he said.

On the weekends, Wise and his dad enjoy riding a two-hour loop through nearby towns.

“Every time we do it, seems we’re getting faster and faster,” he said. “It goes through South Hadley, Granby and Amherst. There’s a decent amount of hills. Best part is where you can go super fast down a hill. We’ll go 35 mph, and my dad will say I’ll meet you at the bottom, and we’ll sprint down and meet up again.”

And once in a while, he rides with his mom too.

“The reason I get on the bike is to maintain a relationship with my son,” Jessica Wise said. “Some of my favorite time with Jaden is when I’m on the bike.”

Jaden Wise hopes to be successful like his favorite three pro riders.

“Jeremy Powers, Stephen Hyde and Scott Smith… those are the guys I look up to,” he said.

Jaden’s mom is smitten.

“Cycling has connected him with a lot of positive peers,” she said. “There is a fire he displays when he is on the bike that he doesn’t display with other things. But he’s humble. He’s not a kid to brag. He didn’t even tell his friend Michael that he won the JAM Grant.”

Wise will formally receive his JAM Fund Grant on July 16 at the non-profit organization’s biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, a scenic bike ride through Western Massachusetts. The public is invited to ride the Fundo and attend the post-ride barbecue and awards ceremony. Registration is at bikereg.com.

A full list of current and past JAM Fund grant winners is at http://www.jamcycling.org/grant-recipients/.

For media inquiries, contact Vicky Sama, JAM Fund Media Coordinator at (707) 362-1420.

Katherine Johnson Wins a JAM Grant

Katherine Johnson, 14, of Kittery, Maine tootled around on a bicycle as a little kid, but it wasn’t until a year ago that she really fell in love with cycling. She started riding mountain bikes in May 2015 and by last October she competed in her first cyclocross race at Orchard Cross in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.

“It’s super cool and they put on such a great race,” she said. “There were so many people. The race goes through the apple orchard and the apples fall on you and good friends throw apples at you. It’s so much fun.”

Although she’s new to cyclocross, Johnson was selected this summer for a JAM Fund Grant. She is one of thirteen grant award winners who will receive financial or equipment assistance from the non-profit cycling development program.

“I’m over-the-moon-so-crazy thankful,” she said. “The JAM Fund is so cool that they recognize the younger generation’s passion for cycling and believe in us and are willing to help us out, because it’s certainly not easy to afford everything.”

Katherine Johnson jumps the barriers on a borrowed bike at Orchard Cross on Oct. 25, 2015.

This fall, Johnson will enter her sophomore year at Traip Academy, where classes start at 7:30 a.m.

“I get off school at 2:15, so I grab something to eat at the grocery store and head to work until 7,” she said. “I do homework before dinner, then ride the trainer for about an hour and take a shower. On a good day, I’d get to bed around 10:30, if I didn’t have too much homework.”

During the summer, Johnson is working four days a week as a sales associate at the Colonial Bicycle Company.

“Right now trying to learn more mechanics about bikes,” she said. “It’s not really my strong suit but I’m trying to learn more.”

Johnson is becoming more structured with her training and even got a coach.

“I’m working with Ellen Noble,” Johnson said. “She is really kind and so supportive, and I always looked up to her. She reached out one day and a few weeks later we met for coffee and a few weeks later she was my coach. We started working together about a month ago. It started slow, just getting base miles, and now we’re focusing on nutrition.”

Noble, the U23 National Cyclocross Champion and JAM Fund graduate, shares some similarities with Johnson. They’re both from Maine, worked with the same mechanic and are passionate about cross.

“I saw her race at my very first mountain bike race at Weeping Willow Kenda Cup,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know who she was at the time, but I thought, wow, she’s riding really fast. And then I saw her again at Bear Brook. We talked and she said we should meet up and she was really generous and gave me a lot of equipment. I told her I was looking for a coach and a couple of weeks later she offered, and I couldn’t say no.”

Johnson was in serious need of some guidance after breaking her femur in an April skiing accident at Cannon Mountain in Franconia—part of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

“I was skiing down with my friend and I caught an edge and that was that,” she said. “It was the last day and the last five minutes of ski season. But I am great now and back to normal. I’ve pretty much forgotten about it.”

Johnson had surgery the day after breaking her left femur. Doctors repaired the bone with a four-inch titanium plate and 12 screws. After a month of complete rest, she started riding the trainer.

“The first two weeks back on my bike, my leg was really swollen and I had to break up the scar tissue by riding the trainer outside,” she said. “I pedaled one side at a time and get the motion going. After a while I was able to clip in, and right now I’m working on rebuilding that muscle.”

Johnson is riding and doing well. She says she’ll be racing a full cross schedule this fall, with some mountain biking during the week.

“I’ll do the high school mountain bike league for a bit of fun and some cross training,” she said. “That’s about six mountain bike races and 20 cross races including nationals. I’m focused on getting my A-game back.”

Johnson turns 15 at the end of July. She hopes to get her Cat 3 upgrade this fall and finish strong at Cyclocross National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut in January.

“I would like to continue pursuing cycling and working hard and see where that takes me,” she said. “I want to go to college and fulfill my dream of living in the Vermont mountains. That’s my ideal place to live, where I can go skiing and riding all the time.”

The grant that Johnson received is largely funded by supporters and the JAM Fund’s biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, a one-day scenic ride in Western Massachusetts. This year’s ride is on July 16, where grant recipients will find out details of their award. The public is invited to join the Grand Fundo ride and barbecue by registering at bikereg.com. 

For media inquiries, email JAM Fund Media Coordinator Vicky Sama at jamcycling@gmail.com.

Anna Savage Wins a JAM Grant

Westborough Teen is Awarded Grant to Support her Cyclocross Racing

Photo by Janice Checchio

Anna Savage of Westborough, Massachusetts is an active 15 year old. She plays volleyball and softball, does gymnastics, is member of the Girl Scouts and races cyclocross.

“My parents raced a lot when I was younger,” Savage said. “I learned to ride when I was little and started racing when I was eight.”

This month, Savage was awarded a JAM Fund Grant. She is one of 13 grant recipients who will receive financial or equipment assistance to help support them in racing cyclocross this year.

“My dad called me after I finished a final and told me that I won the grant,” she said.  “I didn’t believe it for the first half hour, and someone said it was on Facebook. I looked and saw my name, and then I knew it was true!”

She says her favorite cross race was last year’s Cycle-Smart International, where she won the Verge New England Cyclocross Series overall ranking for junior women 15 to 18 year olds.

“I just love that race and the Verge jersey,” she said. “It’s officially the first time I had it and it was cool. Ellen Noble had given me one of her Verge jerseys when I was younger, maybe my first year racing. I’ve known her for a while. Our dads went to high school together.”

Anna Savage with her mentor, U23 Cyclocross National Champion Ellen Noble at the Verge New England Cycle-Smart International in November 2015. 

When she first started racing in 2010, Savage raced on the same team as her dad, the Minutemen Road Club. But riding for a team named for men didn’t satisfy her. So she eventually did something about it.

“I made a team called Girls First to encourage girls to ride,” she said. “I raced with them for two years, and then one of the other girls won a national championship and I got an offer to join the Cannondale team. And now I’m here.”

Savage raced for Girls First p/b Milton Cat from 2012 to 2104. She joined Cannondale Sports New England last year and raced for it at Cyclocross National Championships in Asheville, North Carolina in January. She says the JAM Grant will help her achieve her goals this coming cross season.

“I’m going to do a lot more training this year than I’ve done in the past because I want to be competitive at nationals,” she said. “I’m also going to do all the Verge races this year and hopefully upgrade to Cat. 2.”

Savage is in the 10th grade at Westborough High School. This past year she took Honors Algebra, Honors Biology, English, History and Spanish.

“I got mostly A’s but foreign language and English I struggle a little bit,” she said.

All that, and she still manages to enjoy her favorite sport.

“What I like about cycling is I get to play with my friends,” she said.

The grant that Savage received is largely funded by supporters and the JAM Fund’s biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, which is a one-day scenic ride in Western Massachusetts. This year’s ride is on July 16, where grant recipients will find out details of their award. The public is invited to join the Grand Fundo ride and barbecue by registering at bikereg.com. 

For media inquiries, email JAM Fund Media Coordinator Vicky Sama at jamcycling@gmail.com.

Jonathan Hills Wins a JAM Fund Grant

New Hampshire Teen Selected for Grant Award

Photo by Kent Baumgardt

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Hills grew up in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio watching Jeremy Powers race in the Cincy3 cyclocross events. Ever since he started racing cross when he was eight, Hills would compete in the junior races and then cheer on Powers, the U.S. Cyclocross National Champion and co-founder of JAM Fund. When Powers won the Pan Am Championships last November in Covington, Kentucky, Hills went to his tent.

“I asked him for an autograph, and he asked me how long I’d been racing,” Hills said. “I got an autograph and water bottle. He told me about JAM, and then I looked it up.”

Hills applied for a JAM Fund Grant, and this month he received word that he won. He is one of thirteen grant recipients who will receive financial or equipment assistance from the JAM Fund this year.

“I’m young and I’ve raced 50 races,” he said. “I love riding and competing in cross is fun.”

In November, Hills moved with his family to Westmoreland, New Hampshire. His mom Tiffanie, dad Peter and 9-year-old sister Alexis all race cyclocross. Hills says his favorite race was winning the 2014 Cap City Cross Finale in a combined field of juniors and women.

“I raced against my mom and beat her by a fair amount,” he said.

Hills keeps a busy race schedule. He competed in 15 cross races last year and then competed in his first Cyclocross Nationals in Asheville, North Carolina in January.

“I felt good and it was a hard race, “ he said. “I got 57th out of 74, and I learned a lot. The hardest part was the big run up. It was really steep.”

Hills will enter 7th grade at Westmoreland Middle School this fall. And like a well-prepared student, he has already planned his race calendar.

“I have 17 races scheduled but that might change if I need to rest or have other things going on,” he said. “I hope to have 15 races and finish in the top ten. I want to have fun and do well.”

The grant that Hills received is largely funded by supporters and the JAM Fund’s biggest fundraiser, the Grand Fundo, which is a one-day scenic ride in Western Massachusetts. This year’s ride is on July 16, where grant recipients will find out details of their award. The public is invited to join the Grand Fundo ride and barbecue by registering at bikereg.com. 

For media inquiries, contact JAM Fund Media Coordinator Vicky Sama at jamcycling@gmail.com.

Natalie Tapias: Dancing Ballet to Pedals

Story by Vicky Sama

Above Photo by Tim Willis

Natalie Tapias is racing the Longsjo Classic this weekend—three days of pro criteriums in three different cities in Massachusetts. She’ll be wearing the kit of her road team Velo Classic p/b Stans No Tubes, but starting this fall, Tapias will be racing for the JAM Fund's Elite Cyclocross Team.

“I was very excited to be selected for JAM," Tapias said. "This is crazy. The support network and people who give their time and people who live in that area seem really amazing.”

Tapias is moving from Brooklyn to Western Massachusetts to live, train and race with JAM.

“It’s going to be a way for me to change my life,” she said. “This will allow me to become the best cross racer I can and achieve things I could not do on my own. I’m a driven person and want to succeed."

Natalie Tapias racing in the Downtown White Plains Criterium on June 5. Photo by Nin Lei.

Tapias, 26, is a legal coordinator at CBS in New York, protecting the network from copyright and trademark infringements and sending out cease and desist letters. But there’s no stopping Tapias now. She’s determined to pursue her passion for cycling. She and her boyfriend Tim will move next month, and racing Longsjo gets her closer to the new digs.

“When I came to New York, I thought I would be passionate about my career, but cycling is what keeps me sane,” she said.

Tapias is racing in the pro fields, and it might be surprising to hear that her first long bike ride was only two years ago.

“April 2014 was my first real long ride,” she said. “I was so enthralled by the experience of riding through the city that I wasn’t looking on the ground. My boyfriend pointed out a beautiful theater that I had never seen before and I hit a pothole and flew over the handlebars. I skinned my shoulder and elbow. And you know what? I kept going. I got back on the bike and rode all the way from Brooklyn through Manhattan up to the George Washington Bridge, across into New Jersey and up to Piermont. Round trip it was about 50 to 60 miles. I was ‘all in’ immediately, and I started riding different distances over the bridge every weekend.”

Tapias was hooked on cycling, joined a club and started racing.

“I wanted to challenge myself and grow,” she said. “So I got a new road bike and road so much and started racing immediately. I did Tour of the Catskills and stage races and got tan lines and all new friends. It was amazing.”

By the end of that summer 2014, her teammates introduced her to cyclocross. She rented a cross bike and raced at Gloucester and Providence.

“Never before would I have taken myself riding in the rain and mud,” she said. “It was freezing and a new experience. It was so much fun, so I raced every weekend. I don’t think I had a weekend off.”

Last fall, Tapias raced cross in New England, California and Washington, D.C. She upgraded to Cat 2 in October and got her UCI license. Then she went to Cyclocross National Championships in Asheville in January.

“It was really eye opening,” she said. “On race day, the course was extremely technical and very different from what I had pre-ridden, so I was pulled at two laps. Katie Compton and Elle Anderson passed me. It was insane. I can’t believe I was going down that shoot! I went to nationals hoping I would have a great performance, but I didn’t have the best. But it was interesting to see that level and what I have to do to be a part of that race. It’s so great. Glad I went.”

A 14-year-old Natalie Tapias pictured as the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker at the Vancouver Dance Theater in December 2002.  

Tapias may not have a long history in cycling, but she has always been a serious athlete. She grew up as a ballet dancer in Vancouver, Washington. She started dancing when she was six. By the time she was 14, Tapias was traveling five hours from Vancouver to Portland six days a week for dance practice.

“I went Monday through Saturday for class at the Oregon Ballet Theater,” she said. “I would leave school early to rehearse with the pro ballet company. I loved dancing and music. There was something about the discipline that I was attracted to it.”

When she was 18, Tapias gave up ballet to attend the University of Washington in Seattle.

“It came to a point where there was a fork in the road,” she said. “There were women who were going to become professional dancers, and I wasn’t, so I refocused and went to college.”

During sophomore year, Tapias took her brother’s bike to campus, despite her mother’s concerns.

“She was uncomfortable with that and told me she didn’t want me to ride in the streets with cars,” Tapias said. “I was defiant. I took the bike anyway. I met a group of people who rode bikes and that was my first interaction with cycling.”

Tapias used the bike for commuting and road it casually. She graduated and moved to Brooklyn three years ago with a steel Brittoni that she bought from a neighbor for $50.

“My boyfriend fixed it up with cruiser bars and a nice saddle,” she said. “I brought that bike with me to New York. A year goes by and I don’t have much going on. Change is good, but nothing I’m doing was like ballet was for me. I lived and breathed that life and I didn’t have anything to fill that void. I’m a really stubborn person, I got to the point that whatever I did had to be my idea. I told my boyfriend I want to go on a 60-mile ride some day, so I trained for that.”

And hence, her maiden ride across the GW Bridge.

Now, Tapias is racing the road in preparation for her first cross season with the JAM Fund. She raced a series of criteriums at Speed Week in May and tonight she will be racing in the Twilight Criterium in Leonminster. Her race will be online live at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

“It’s been two years and I’ve traveled so much and I raced nationals with an Olympian,” she said. “I never thought I’d be expressing myself in this manner. Bikes change the world. They changed my life.”

You can ride bikes with JAM Fund’s new elite team rider Natalie Tapias and the rest of the JAM crew at the Grand Fundo on July 16 in Southampton, Massachusetts.

JAM Fund Announces Grant Recipients

THIRTEEN CYCLISTS WIN 2016 JAM FUND GRANT AWARD

The JAM Fund is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s JAM Fund Grants. Thirteen cyclists from Western Massachusetts and New England were selected to receive the annual grant award. JAM Fund provides the grants to developing riders who demonstrate a commitment to cycling through racing and serving the racing community. This year’s grants go to the following nine men and four women:

Erik Carlson, 17, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island

Patrick Collins, 21, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Mira Fowler, 13, of Florence, Massachusetts

Beau Guenther, 13, of Putney, Vermont

Jonathan Hills, 12, of Westmoreland, New Hampshire

Ben Jankowski, 20, of Mansfield, Massachusetts

Katherine Johnson, 14, of Kittery, Maine

Aiden Mapel, 14, of Southwick, Massachusetts

Chris Norvold, 17, of Berlin, Massachusetts

Anna Savage, 15, of Westborough, Massachusetts

Daniel Vaughn, 17, of Horseheads, New York

Kale Wenczel, 18, of Leverett, Massachusetts

Jaden Wise, 12, of Belchertown, Massachusetts

The grants provide financial and/or equipment assistance that best serves the goals of the recipient, and also includes mentoring by the members of the program. Riders are encouraged to join the Northampton Cycling Club (NCC) if they don’t currently have a supporting club. The NCC and JAM work collectively to develop riders. See more details here.

“The JAM Grant helped me out tremendously,” said Trent Blackburn, who received the grant last year. “I used a large part of it for race fees and to pay for my cycling license.”

Full details of the 2016 grants will be announced at the JAM Fund’s Grand Fundo on July 16 at Black Birch Vineyard in Southampton. Grant recipients will be present at the Grand Fundo, the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser, where hundreds of cyclists gather to ride bikes through the Pioneer Valley. Afterward, everyone celebrates the day with a scrumptious barbecue, raffle and the coveted grant awards presentation.

The JAM Fund was created in 2003 by U.S. National Cyclocross Champion Jeremy Powers, Coach Alec Donahue and Mukunda Feldman, good friends brought together with a passion for cycling. The JAM Fund helps young, motivated cyclists achieve success both on and off the bike.

Registration for the July 16 Grand Fundo is open now.

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Vicky Sama, jamcycling@gmail.com

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Rhys May Wins Marathon MTB Nationals

JAM Fund has a new national champion.

Just one month after joining the JAM Fund elite team, Rhys May won the Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships in the women's 19-29 category on Saturday. The 60-mile race in Columbia County, Georgia was even more of a challenge due to the 95-degree heat and sweltering humidity. May won the race in 6:06:29, beating the second place rider by sixteen minutes.

"It was a hot day so pacing was all-important, and dialing back after a hard start worked out well," May said. "I moved into first after about four hours of racing, and kept it together for another two hours to pull off the win in my category. It definitely didn't feel real until I had the jersey on, and I'm celebrating with an epic burrito."

Immediately after the race, May posted the following message on her Instagram:

"I destroyed myself racing some very badass ladies today, and I get to go home with this stripey shirt and I can't stop smiling."

May competed against defending 19-29 champion Elizabeth Lee, one of her longtime friends, who ended up in third place.

"I got to line up with my cyclocross friend of several years Elizabeth Lee, the defending 19-29 champ!" May said. "She's been racing with me since I was off the back of the cat 4 CX races."

19-29 Marathon Mountain Bike National Champion Rhys May and her friend Elizabeth Lee celebrate after their podium finishes on Saturday. 

JAM Fund Announces 2016 Team Roster

New riders named to elite and development teams

JAM Fund is excited to name two new riders to its elite cyclocross team. Rhys May of Athens, Georgia and Natalie Tapias of Brooklyn, New York are relocating to Western Massachusetts to train and race for the JAM Fund.

May was born in JAM’s backyard in Northampton, Massachusetts but has lived in Georgia since she was ten. She started racing cross four years ago on a singlespeed steel Univega. Since then, she started her own small grassroots cycling team got a coach and drove around the country racing cross. She participated in Cycle-Smart Cyclocross Camp for the past two summers where she met JAM Fund members. Now she returns to her birthplace to race for the JAM Fund elite team.

“I got an email that said we have a spot open for you on JAM if you’re interested,” May said. “And I’m crying, jumping up and down, and of course I’m interested. They asked if I can make the move, and I said, see you soon!”

Tapias has a unique athletic history as a highly disciplined ballet dancer who made the switch to cycling two years ago. She fell in love with cross while watching Cross Vegas and raced almost every weekend this past season. She also races on the road and just competed at Speed Week, a series of pro criteriums in the Southeast, when JAM made her the offer to join the team.

“This will change my life,” Tapias said. “Being with JAM Fund will help me become the best cross racer I can be and achieve things I don’t think I could do on my own.”

JAM Fund Coach Al Donahue says May and Tapias show a lot of promise.

“Both of them are newer to elite racing and we are going to take a multi-year view on their progression,” Donahue said. “The main reason they were selected is the willingness to immerse themselves in the team environment. This means moving to Easthampton and expressing intentions of making CX their primary focus for the next two years. I would say these riders will give us an idea of how much of an environmental factor the program has on turning ambition into performance.”

May and Tapias join Scott Smith and Jack Kisseberth who continue to represent JAM’s elite squad. Three-time U.S. National Cyclocross Champion Ellen Noble, who raced for JAM for the past two years, has graduated to the pro ranks and will be racing along with four-time National Cyclocross Champion Jeremy Powers on his team, Aspire Racing.

JAM Fund is also adding two new riders to its development team. Trent Blackburn of Wilmington, North Carolina and Ian Gielar of Keene, New Hampshire are relocating to Western Massachusetts to train and compete in road and mountain bike races this summer. Blackburn and Gielar received JAM Fund Grants last year. Chris Niesen and Case Butler continue racing on the development squad for a second year with Niesen showing especially good improvement at Ontario, Canada’s Paris to Ancaster gravel road race last month.

In addition to the four new team members, JAM Fund has made a new partnership with Kask helmets for the 2016 cross season. JAM Fund continues its longtime partnership with the Northampton Cycling Club. Riders interested in joining future JAM Fund development teams are encouraged to join NCC and volunteer in its events.

“The idea is to have people race for the club first and then come race for JAM,” Donahue said.

JAM Fund is a non-profit cycling development program founded by Powers, Donahue and Mukunda Feldman. Their purpose is to create the next generation of cyclocross pros and good ambassadors of the sport. The organization’s biggest fundraiser is the Grand Fundo, a challenging scenic ride through the Pioneer Valley, on Saturday, July 16. Register for the event and ride your bike with the new JAM Fund cyclists, alumni and friends.

JAM Fund will have more in-depth profiles on the new riders out in the coming weeks.

Above: Natalie Tapias (courtesy Tim Willis); Rhys May; Trent Blackburn; and Ian Gielar (courtesy Alan Thomas).