Athletes

MARCH 24, 2009

Vanderkitten Kicks Off the 2009 Season

The 2009 Vanderkitten team is ready for action armed with all new white Tifosi sunglasses and a need to dominate any race they enter. Learn a little more about the team by reading their bios and be sure to keep up with their Redlands results March 26-29 2009.

Liz Hatch

Liz is the founding member of Vanderkitten Racing and joined Vanderkitten in late 2006. Liz is considered to be one of the most unselfish riders in the women's peloton and will do the hard work to get her team on the podium. Considered to be one of the most popular cyclists in America, Liz shares her personal path to becoming one of cycling's top talent with all of her fans.

Leigh Hopkins

After a head start in the mid-90s as a mountain bike racer, Leigh moved over to road racing in 2000. Leigh joined Vanderkitten Racing in late 2007 as a guest rider in Las Vegas after racing with Target Training. Her experience and guidance led her to being selected as the team captain for 2008. Leigh's powerful riding and strong finishing have given her excellent results in the NRC and USA Crits Series.

Melissa Sanborn

One of the most experienced and strongest women in any field, Melissa uses her confidence to ride at the front of the peloton. A feared sprinter and excellent tactician, Melissa has many wins domestically and abroad and is looking to add several more this season. She'll be spending a few weeks abroad representing Vanderkitten in Spain and beyond!

Jennifer Wilson

Jen joined Vanderkitten in the spring of 2008 and quickly found her way on to the podium at the Athens Twilight. Serving the role as protected sprinter, Jen led the USA Crits individual points for most of the season over prestigious competition like Cheerwine and Aaron's.

Liz Williams

Liz is a Kiwi Track sprinter who has competed in the Commonwealth Games and World Cup track racing. She has turned her focus onto crits where her ability to come out on top in a bunch sprint is greatly rewarded. Liz will be joining Vanderkitten in April for the 2009 season. Liz is a PhD student studying Forensics and Bio Mechanics and her proximity to Oakland should provide some invaluable field experience.

Melodie Metzger

Melodie began her cycling career in college as a mountain biker, quickly moving to the pro ranks and transitioning to cyclocross and road. She excels in her ability to find the proper wheel in the pack, making the break and closing the gaps with her punchy sprint. Melodie is a full time PhD student at Cal and balances her training with her education. Melodie still finds time to support the Nor Cal High School mountain bike league and getting juniors involved in cycling.

Virginia Perkins

A former runner, Virginia took up bike racing in 2006. Virginia manages to be one of Northern California's strongest racers while practicing Law at the same time. A balance in life, like her racing, helps her achieve top results in both professions. Virginia's rapid rise through the amateur ranks can be attributed to her incredible power delivery and ability to bridge to break aways with the best riders, solo. At 5′11″, Virginia is lean and mean on the bike and soft spoken and warm off the bike.

Laura Bowles

Laura is a veteran of powerhouse teams like Victory Brewing and Advil Chapstick and excels at crit racing. On her "off days" racing she still manages some serious results with the best of the best. Laura is new the Vanderkitten squad this season and brings team co-management experience from Advil and a long list of outstanding results!

FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Tifosi Optics Athlete wins silver at the U-23 Cross-Country World

Norwegian cross-country skier and Tifosi Optics athlete Astrid Oyre Slind won a silver medal at the U-23 Cross-Country World Championships. Held on January 31, 2009 in Praz de Lys, France, Slind edged out Marte Elden in the women's 15 km pursuit to place second, a mere 1.8 seconds behind gold medal winner Jaskowiec.

Satisfied with her performance, Slind spent a moment with the media.

"I had a very good start and an easy race in classical technique because the tempo was not fast," Slind said. "I tried to push hard during the skating part and had a hard fight with Jaskowiec but she was better than me in the last 100 meters. But I'm satisfied with this silver medal and with these Championships."

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Catching up with Kent Pearson

Resident BMX rider and long-time Tifosi champion Kent Pearson has certainly had an interesting 2009. We caught up with Kent recently at Interbike to get the insider scoop on his upcoming filming projects. Check out the clip as well as some photos of Kent doing what he does best.

Tifosi- So after a broken wrist and a knee surgery you're back on and filming once again?
Kent-Yes, the knee surgery went well and I'm going to physical therapy once a week for the wrist to get me back to where I want to be. Because of the injuries I missed a couple of chances and deadlines to film for some really good videos but now I'm getting to put some stuff together and get back in action.

Tifosi-What plans do you have for upcoming filming projects?
Kent- Well, after missing out on the deadline for the Kink Bikes DVD (maybe next time Darryl?) I was really disappointed. But I was lucky enough that Vitalbmx.com was into having me do an edit for their website and it's one of the biggest BMX websites there is, so now I get to have a video coming on there and the "teaser video" on the Tifosi site.

Tifosi- Do you enjoy filming or is it stressful?
Kent-I enjoy filming when it's stuff that I would be doing anyway. If I'm surrounded by my friends and everyone is having a good time then it's a blast and it comes through on camera. When I'm lucky enough to have the honor of someone asking me to film for something in particular then I don't want to disappoint and hope to have something original that hasn't been seen before. I don't want to go out and do the same tricks everyone else does so the stress is only put on by myself.

Tifosi-Is your son always in your filming?
Kent- Mason has been in a few BMX DVD's but for the web stuff, if you see me and Mase is on there, then you know it was a video from me. If he's not on there then it was someone else's video project and I was lucky enough to be on it. He's like my little stamp of authenticity (ha!).

Tifosi- Any last words?
Kent-Thanks to Tifosi for the interview, and thanks for asking for the video edit! I'm treating it as the teaser for the upcoming full web edit for Vitalbmx.com, so check out the Tifosi clip and check in on the vital website http://www.vitalbmx.com for the full video soon!

AUGUST 19, 2008

Ron Williams to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games

Two-time Paralympics medalist and Tifosi sponsored athlete Ron Williams will soon be heading to Beijing on a quest for his first gold metal.

At the tender age of 15, Ron was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer that would ultimately lead to the amputation of his left leg and the end of a very promising soccer career.

After beating cancer, the ever-athletic and competitive teen took up water skiing, and eventually attended Georgia College on a partial sports scholarship where he captured two world records in water skiing: the World Disabled Slalom and the World Disabled Jumping records, both of which he still holds today.

Ron found road cycling-or rather road cycling found Ron-post-college during a mountain bike race in which a fellow competitor asked if he had ever tried road riding. Intrigued by this challenge, Ron bought a new bike and started competing.

Ron was good. So good in fact that he hired Lance Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael and started training to compete internationally for the United States Elite Paralympics Cycling Team. During his tenure as a cyclist, Ron has competed in two Paralympics games and is the current Paralympic National Time Trial Champion. Ron is also a member of the Myogenesis Nutrition presented by Landmark Dodge Pro/Am Cycling Team, one of the top amateur teams in the nation.

Keep up with Ron's pre-competition training at www.ronswilliams.com and be sure to look out for him in Beijing September 12 and 13, 2008 as he competes for gold in the both the Road Race and the Time Trial.

JUNE 25, 2008

Hayduk Bound for 2008 Track Junior World Championships

Tifosi Optics sponsored athlete Colleen Hayduk is one of only three Juniors age 17-18 to be chosen by USA Cycling to represent the United States at the 2008 Track Junior World Championships.

Hayduk, 17, will travel to Cape Town, South Africa in July to compete against the best Juniors from around the world in hopes of improving on her sixth place finish last year at Junior Worlds.

In addition to her recent Junior World's selection, Colleen is also the current national record holder in the 500mTT, 17-18 Women, and a nine time National Champion.

After placing first overall at the 2008 Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic, Colleen has proven that she can also compete-and win-against a competitive field of Elite Women's racers.

Track Junior Worlds will be held from July 12-16. Check back for Colleen's results and to see where this promising young athlete goes next!