Mastering the US cycle circuit
It’s lots of travel for little pay, but a Nelson cyclist is relishing the chance to keep pedalling in top-level competition overseas.
Warrick Spence is back in his hometown after a second season of racing on the US masters circuit.
‘‘Everyone thinks I’ve been away on holiday, but it’s only been in the last couple of days that I’ve forced myself to do nothing,’’ he said.
Competitive cycling has been a part of Spence’s life for more than 30 years. Having first ridden the Trafalgar Park cycle track as a teenager, he attended the 1989 Oceania Games in Australia and had previously raced in the US as a junior, before later basing himself in the UK.
Keen to keep racing at a high level in his mid-40s, Spence said the lure of racing in the US had been a slowburning idea as the hours in the saddle began to feel more strenuous.
‘‘I’d heard about it when I was in the UK and I thought one day I’d like to give it a go, but never really put a date on it until I realised I was getting a bit old, so I didn’t want to wait too long,’’ the 46-year-old said.
Spence found the quality of the masters circuit to be extremely high, featuring former world champions and athletes from other sporting disciplines who had made the switch to cycling. He is based at Crystal Lake, near Chicago, with his American-born partner Jeannie Kuhajek where he races for the Intelligentsia-Allied team.
Founded by coffee magnate and former cyclist Doug Zell, who at one stage raced in the Tour of Southland, the team has a large international roster, with only two US riders.
Although the sole Kiwi, Spence said the strong camaraderie within the team had made the busy schedule easier to handle.
In 2018, Spence competed in 49 races in the US alone, securing three wins and 11 podium finishes.
Intelligentsia-Allied’s team work produced another 11 team victories and 13 podium finishes.
‘‘We’d always race for the win or the podium, while other teams were in it for the cumulative points thing – we still wanted to race, instead of having some neutral, shutdown approach.’’
The two main series that Spence competes in are the Tour of America’s Dairyland, an 11-day event through Wisconsin, and the 10-day Intelligentsia Cup around the Chicago area.
The rest of the season takes them through eight different states, as far south as Oklahoma and Arkansas and Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and at altitude in Colorado.
That means each season Spence and Kuhajek cover more than 12,000km.
Kuhajek’s parents lend the couple a car to travel to each leg and accommodation is usually billeted with host families.
Intelligentsia-Allied provides the bikes and gear while covering the entry fees and travel expenses.
The money isn’t the big drawcard – the average winner’s pay cheque is about US$300 (NZ$450).
However, Spence wouldn’t change his current life for anything.
Spence’s only regret is that he hasn’t done it sooner.
‘‘It’s not so much a step up – it’s just a matter of being older . . . last year I was in the best form I’ve ever had, and this year I was even fitter.
‘‘I didn’t expect to get signed up for a team and I didn’t expect to still be racing – knowing it’s a goal, [the money is] not a big deal – it’s just a matter of talking yourself around those barriers and restrictions that you put up.’’
Back for the summer, Spence is keeping involved with local races and working at Richmond’s Village Cycles before heading back to the US in April for his third circuit.