About two years ago, I met Alison while working at a local bike shop. At the time I had no idea she was such and incredible racer. What struck me was how kind and genuine she was. Well to tell you the truth, I was really taken by her awesome curly hair and her amazing smile…..who isn’t? I soon changed jobs, but kept in touch while she traveled the world exploring her racing career with various pro teams. She seemed to be everywhere and kicking butt all over Italy and France. Then in 2008 she became the National Time Trial Champion. Even with all of the wins and international travel she is still the same Alison. Every time I see her at a race, whether it is CX or road, she smiles and takes time to talk. So, here is one of the nicest and most successful cyclists the metro area.
1. With what team do you ride? Team Fuji for CX. Team Type 1 on the road.
2. How long have you been racing? 5 years on the road. This is my first real year of racing CX.
3. How did you get started racing? I missed being an athlete (I used to ski race until 2004).
4. What is your all-time favorite race? Good question! I don’t know. There are so many great races and, of course, it always depends on how you do at that race.
5. What is your strongest discipline? Time Trialing
6. What part of bike racing do you absolutely loathe? Road rash is a major bummer.
7. Tell me a little about your bikes and gear. What are they, what cool little gizmos do you use to train, what is your favorite piece of equiptment? This year, I used Orbea bikes. Ordu TT bike, Opal road bike and Occam mtn bike. For CX, I am using a Fuji Cross RC. I use an SRM when training and that is amazingly helpful. My favorite piece of equipement is my singlespeed CX bike. I love it!
8. Do you have any superstitions about racing or any pre-race rituals? What are they and how did they start? No, I don’t have any spuerstitions.
9. If money was absolutely no object, what bike would you ride and how would it be painted? I’d have a Cervelo TT bike painted blue (that’s my favorite color).
10. If you could race with any pro, from any time in history who would it be?No idea.
11. You are granted a riding session with one current (international) pro team. This session includes as many hours of riding as you would like, lunch at any location you choose and the ability to ride any place in the world. How do you fulfill this dream? Please be specific with details about lunch conversations with riders and any pertinent gossip that is applicable. I’d ride with Team Luna to learn some mtn bike and CX skills/secrets. Riding with the new team Radio Shack wouldn’t be bad either. Learn from Lance…
12. Who would you absolutely love to beat by the end of this year, and why? Alison Dunlap. She’s an amazing bike rider, and a true inspiration to the sport. Plus, then I could talk smack to her.