Stradalli Cycle Race Teams Head Into Speed Week

Speed Week begins Saturday April 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina and Stradalli Cycle will be at the front of the race in full force.

Stradalli – Safetti will be present along with Stradalli – Finish Strong Elite Cycling Team, Texas Roadhouse Elite Cycling Team, Stradalli – Papa John’s Women’s Elite Team and Stradalli – Wizard Development Cycling Team. Stradalli Cycles will be heavily represented in the men’s professional category race and in the women’s professional category race Saturday evening.

The Charlotte Criterium, which is widely known as one of the toughest races in the United States, kicks off a week-long series of races held throughout the Southeast. Speed Week will see hundreds of professional riders race in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The Stradalli – Papa John’s Women’s Elite Team began their USA Criterium campaign at the Sunshine Grand Prix and took several podium spots over the week of racing.

Stradalli – Wizard Development Team also had a successful beginning in top level racing with Justin Pfaff taking a top 10 placing in the first USA Criterium Series race of the year in Tampa.

Stradalli – Safetti took multiple podium finishes during Speed Week in 2015 and will be looking to repeat the same success in 2016. Stradalli – Finish Strong currently has two riders in the top 10 of the overall standings in the Tufmed 2016 USA Criterium series after the first round of USA Criterium racing and will bring a full team to continue their success in 2016.

Riders from Stradalli teams will be using a variety of frames for the event. Stradalli – Finish Strong and Texas Roadhouse are using the AR7 for 2016 due to its high performance in high speed criterium racing. The Stradalli – Papa John’s and Stradalli – Wizard teams will be using the light weight R7, the most popular frame ever released from Stradalli.

Hell of the South

Texas Roadhouse traveled to Lewisburg, Tennessee for the Hell of the South Road Race this past weekend. They brought a full masters elite squad for a race through the rough, hilly roads of Tennessee.

This race traditionally has had the worst weather the South has to offer. Both previous editions were held in wet, freezing temperatures. The winner of the Hell of the South receives a giant cobble to honor the tradition of the Hell of the North, the most famous one-day race in the world.

Paris – Roubaix is referred to the Hell of the North because of the incredible conditions the racers have to endure in order to have a chance of even finishing the race. The race passes over 27 cobbled sectors, each of which forces riders to compete for top position to lessen the chance of crashing, but even then the riders need luck on their side.

Texas Roadhouse currently rides the AR7, a frame built for tough sprinters and powerful riders. The AR7 has been one of the toughest frames to be released by Stradalli Cycle. It is currently being used by Texas Roadhouse and all other domestic elite teams sponsored by Stradalli Cycle for technical criteriums and rough cobbled races.

The Hell of the South seeks to imitate similar toughness with a course that keeps riders attentive at all times. Texas Roadhouse brought home two wins with Dirk Pohlmann in the 45+ Category and Curtis Tolson defended his 2015 win in the 50+ Category make it back to back wins for Texas Roadhouse.

Stradalli Cycle To Continue As Bike Sponsor For Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team in 2016

Stradalli Cycle has announced that they will continue on as the official bike sponsor for the Texas Roadhouse pro cycling team. The 30-man elite team from Louisville, Kentucky, has been racing around the United States for over 10 years and in the past were sponsored by manufactures including Aerocat and Cervelo, but switched to Stradalli bikes in 2014- 2015 riding primarily the Stradalli R7 and AR7.

Last year the Texas Roadhouse team competed in several National Criterium Calendar and National Racing Calendar races around the United States, bringing home several wins on Stradalli Cycles. The team has been working closely with Stradalli to promote both brands and the relationship will continue for this season. 

Texas Roadhouse is stacked with U.S. National Champion racers in road, criterium and track racing in past years. One of the major goals this year is Elite Road Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, but the team will also be focusing heavily on the track. In preparation of this they have padded their roster with many top performing Marian University cyclists including Brice Brookshire, Jordan Marhanka and Jos Chalmers who will be joining Texas Roadhouse for 2016 to help the team compete for national titles. The Marian University Cycling Program has produced over 30 national titles in its history.

Another major focus for the Texas Roadhouse team will be track nationals where Curtis Tolson, owner and captain of Texas Roadhouse, has won several national championships. Tolson and Texas Roadhouse will be targeting wins in many major track events throughout the U.S.

Texas Roadhouse will officially start their season at the Inaugural Cardinal Criterium in Louisville, Kentucky. The race will be hosted by the University of Louisville, a school well known for their NCAA Basketball Championships and expects to add to it as March Madness begins.