2010 Season, Here We Come

By Martin • March 18th, 2010

Six months after last having rolled to the line for a race, District Velocity Racing p/b The Bike Rack is kicking off the 2010 season with new sponsors, new members, a new kit and newly invigorated determination to make its presence felt in Mid-Atlantic racing.

SPONSORS: For 2010, DVR both sees the return of faithful sponsors and welcomes new ones to the fold. The Bike Rack, the Logan Circle bike shop that spawned the team back in 2008, is back as a title sponsor, again providing us with expert advice, first class service and equipment, and invaluable friendship. Lyons & Sucher advertising, which joined in 2009 and gave us a much-needed boost as a young team, also returns, alongside The Farm at Sunnyside, one of the area’s best local farms. New to team are the folks at View 14, one of the District’s premier new buildings in the heart of the thriving U Street corridor, and Capitol Home Inspection, a home inspection firm.

Along with our valuable sponsors, DVR benefits from a number of in-kind supporters and partners. Honey Stinger will provide us with delicious honey-based nutrition products, Cycling Camp San Diego will work with the team to fine-tune our training, Let Larry Do It will keep our taxes and finances in order and Inward Out Design and Twisted Brazz Studio will snazz up our website and team kit.

It’s not too much to say that without our sponsors, partners and supporters, we wouldn’t be much of anything. They have provided the assistance and resources needed to allow the team to grow and reach its full potential. More importantly, though, they have become our friends and riding buddies, and saying “Thank you” is the least we can do for them. Our success in 2010 will be based on their commitment to the team.

KIT: For the last two years, we’ve been rocking the blue, black and gold. In 2010, we’ll be flying the white and blue. We sat down and re-imagined the kit, and what we came up with looks little like what we’ve come from but faithfully represents the growth and development that we’ve seen. Plus, it looks damn fast. And unlike last year, we actually have it in time for the start of the season. That in of itself is a huge accomplishment.

NEW MEMBERS: In 2010, we’re happy to be joined by a number of new members. Fresh from a tough season racing cross (in ridiculous-looking socks, no less), Justin Resnick — or just Rez — is sure to light it up in the Cat 4 races. Grant Mandsager has already seen the podium a few times over the last three years, while Eduardo Maeyama will be cutting his teeth racing in the Cat 5s until he becomes our own Paraguayan National Champ. Amy Kuether has shown the ability to both crush on rides and put up with all the crap that ends up on our team listserv, so she’s bound to have a good season. And last but not least, Brian Sacawa jumped from Kelly Benefit Strategies to DVR and will be bringing his brand of strong and consistent racing (not to mention jazz saxophone) to elite races throughout the year.

RACES SO FAR: Even though we’re not even through March yet, we’ve seen a smattering of racing over the last two months. In February, Grayson traveled solo down to North Carolina, where he took second place in the Top of the Hill Road Race. And later that month, Tony, Matt and myself drove to Richmond to take part in what may be the only time any of us does anything mildly NASCAR-related — we took part in the Team Nature’s Path crit at the Richmond International Speedway. No real news there; Tony and I hung in during the 1/2/3 race, and the three of us survived a last-lap crash in the 3/4 race.

RACES TO COME: DVR will be active in all of the usual Mid-Atlantic races, and we’ll surely be hitting up some of the offerings in Pennsylvania. And yes, a number of team members are hitting up the legendary Tour of the Battenkill, while others of us cower in fear and stick to the paved roads. There is also interest in going further asunder for stage races, including Massachusetts (Longsjo Fitchburg Classic) and Vermont (Green Mountain Stage Race), so look for us up there. And you’ll surely see us in the next two weeks at the Vint Hill Classic and Jeff Cup.

THE BLOG: I swear we’ll have weekly updates, with plenty of race reports, in the months to come. Winter training routines doesn’t make for very interesting blogging, but racing sure does. We’ll also have some hard-hitting analysis of current political trends; a he-said, she-said love column; financial advice from our local tax preparer; and maybe horoscopes. OK, fine, we won’t. This is a cycling blog. If it’s not on two wheels, it’s not really our business.