Team Kenda Fan Zone!

[mashjaja]

oh, you've got jokes, eh?! nice....okay okay...i see how you want to play!

First race:
April 18 - 19, 2009
Tour of the Battenkill
Cambridge, NY

Velonews:

Organizers of the 2009 Tour of the Battenkill cycling race (www.tourofthebattenkill.com) announce team selections for the Pro Men's Invitational Race on Sunday April 19. A new addition to the event for 2009, the Pro Men's Invitational is the marquee race for the April 18-19 weekend. Preceded on Saturday April 18 by the nation's largest single-day Pro/Am - the Tour of the Battenkill which will draw more than 1500 Professional and Amateur racers from throughout the USA and Canada - the Pro Men's Invitational will feature 20 Professional & Elite teams including one UCI Continental Professional, 7 UCI Continental, 4 Canadian Professional, and 9 Regional Elite teams. Racers will be competing over the rugged, 124 mile course in Upstate New York's Battenkill Valley made famous for it's several dirt road sections.

Teams accepting invitations:

UCI Continental Professional Teams: BMC Pro Cycling (US)

UCI Continental Teams: Bissell Pro Cycling (US), Kenda Pro Cycling (US), Team Mountain Khakis (US), Team Type 1 (US), DLP Pro Cycling (US), Kelly Benefit Strategies (US)

Canadian Professional Teams: Team Planet Energy, Équipe Volkswagen, Ride with Rendall, Jet Fuel Pro Cycling

US Elite Teams: CCB, Bikereg/Cannondale, Jittery Joes Cycling, Haymarket Cycles, Main Line/Mazur Cycling, Metlife Pro-Am Cycling, Champion System, CRCA/Empire, IF Racing/ Lionette's Elite Cycling

[chaoscycling]

are you going to be there?

Too bad Rock isn't going! nor Team Harley Davidson or whatever they are. I love a Motorcycle company that sponsors a cycling team!

so who is Kenda GC dude! We need a profile!!!!

[mashjaja]

i can't take more time off work, so i can't go

It's a fairly young team, but here's some info for each of the riders currently slated to start for Kenda:

Jake Rytlewski
2007: 2º in Cone Azalia Spring Classic (USA)
2007: 3º in Stage 3 Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, Wachusett Mountain (USA)
2007: 1º in General Classification Fitchburg Longsjo Classic (USA)
2008: 2º in Stage 3 Tour of the Bahamas (BAH)
2008: 3º in General Classification Tour of the Bahamas (BAH)
2008: 3º in Kirkwood Road Race (USA)

Jonathan Parrish
2006: 2º in Stage 2 Tour de Grandview (USA)
2009: 2º in Avondale, Criterium (USA)
2009: 3º in Stage 3 Valley of the Sun Stage Race (USA)

Ben Renkema
2008: 1º in Tour de Via Italia (CAN)
2008: 3º in Traverse City (USA)

Tyler Stanfield
1st year racing!

Russell Stevenson
2001: 3º in Tahuya-Seabeck-Tahuya Road Race (USA)
2004: 1º in Stage 2 Mount Hood Classic, Cooper Spur (USA)
2004: 2º in Stage 3 Mount Hood Classic, Scenic Gorge (USA)
2004: 1º in General Classification Mount Hood Classic (USA)
2005: 2º in Stage 1 Mount Hood Classic, Panorama Point (USA)
2005: 2º in Stage 4 Mount Hood Classic, Downtown Hood River (USA)
2005: 3º in Stage 3 Mount Hood Classic, Scenic Gorge (USA)
2005: 1º in Stage 1 Greenville Classic (USA)
2008: 2º in Los Angeles, Cyclo-cross (USA)
2008: 2º in Hendersonville, Cyclo-cross (USA)
2008: 2º in Hendersonville, Cyclo-cross (b) (USA)


Tim Swain
Neo-Pro


Bennet van der Genugten
Neo-Pro (who admires Jens Voigt lol)

Scottie Weiss
2003: 1º in Stage 2 Tour of Shenandoah (USA)
2003: 1º in General Classification Tour of Shenandoah (USA)
2003: 1º in Stage 1 Morgantown, Omnium (USA)
2003: 1º in Stage 2 Morgantown, Omnium (USA)
2003: 1º in General Classification Morgantown, Omnium (USA)
2003: 2º in Stage 3 Tour de Toona, Altoona (USA)
2004: 1º in General Classification Tour of Shenandoah (USA)
2006: 1º in Krem's New Year Cycling Classic (BIZ)
2006: 3º in Stage 7 Tour of Belize (BIZ)
2006: 2º in Stage 8 Tour of Belize, Armenia (BIZ)
2006: 2º in Stage 9 Tour of Belize (BIZ)
2006: 2º in General Classification Tour of Belize (BIZ)
2006: 2º in Stage 1 Greenville Classic, Greenville (USA)

[mashjaja]

I wrote up a profile for USCR....here's part one....it's just really long is the only reason I didn't post it here, but worth the read if I do say so myself lol

http://uscyclingreport.com/content/inde ... 9&Itemid=1

or

http://www.truesport.com/rzone/articles ... ?recid=907

[mashjaja]

so big news for my team....

http://www.velonews.com/article/99304/f ... ro-cycling

(and yes, guess who at least partially wrote that bad boy lol)

[mashjaja]

pretty nice write-up by CN about us, too

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kenda-p ... ss-in-2010

[mashjaja]

From CN/Chad:

Italian Luca Damiani's debut season with the Kenda team is at risk after he was denied a traveler's visa to enter the United States of America by the US Consulate in Milan, Italy on Tuesday. Damiani was expected to arrive in Stateside this month to begin his road racing season with team Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Gear Grinder.

"The problem is the paperwork and now the team wants to have the athletes visa ready in time for the end of February," Damiani said. "This is a problem because it will cost more to have it done quickly. If everything is going OK, I should have my visa in time for the training camp."

Damiani applied for a B1-B2 Visa, a temporary non-immigrant visa used to enter the US on business or pleasure. The US Consulate denied him the visa citing him as a possible immigration risk, according to Kenda Pro Cycling Team owner Chad Thompson.

"Our attorney asked Luca to apply for a B1-B2, since we are not paying him a salary, instead of a P1 Visa that is a corporate," Thomson said. "They denied him because he does not have a stable paycheck or job in Italy nor own a home in Italy. So, the US Consulate officer thought he was an immigration risk. He contacted me right away."

Thompson has hired 'visa specialist' Michael Hoops of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP Attorneys at Law to complete the paper work for a P1 Visa for athletes and entertainers on Damiani's behalf. Costs of the P1 Visa reach as high as $3000 USD.

"Since he wasn't getting paid he opted to apply for a B1-B2 Visa and now that he's not getting that one he is getting a P1 Visa." Thompson said. "The P1 is in process we are confident it will be ready and he will be at camp on February 26. We've already purchased his flight tickets."

Damiani recently completed his European cyclo-cross season with the Italian National Team at the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships held in Tabor, Czech Republic. He was expected to return to the US in time for his team training camp held in Macon, Georgia on February 26.

Kenda Pro Cycling and MATTEO Studios have designed a 'FREE LUCA' t-shirt for sale on the Kenda Pro Cycling team website for $25 dollars. The proceeds will go toward the cost of Damiani's P1-Visa. The 'FREE LUCA' T-shirts can be purchased at http://www.infernoracing.org/

"I laughed about the t-shirts," said Damiani who has purchased four t-shirts. "It is interesting. Another website in Italy linked the t-shirt sale and so it looks like it's becoming an international case."

Damiani is a long-time member of the Italian National Cyclo-Cross team. In 2008 he joined the US-based team Colavita-Sutter Home in a two-year contract before joining Kenda Pro Cycling in 2010. Damiani is best known for winning the CSC Invitation Criterium in 2008.

[mashjaja]

Update:

http://uscyclingreport.com/content/inde ... 7&Itemid=1

[mashjaja]

Camp seemed to go well, including getting Luca over here.

(cn) The men of Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Geargrinder met their new directeur sportif Frankie Andreu at an opening 10-day training camp held in Macon, Georgia, this week. Andreu brings years of racing experience to the young team and has a vested interest in watching it continue to grow in the years to come.

"It's fun going riding with the guys, making out a calendar and figuring out the rider's goals," Andreu told Cyclingnews. "If the program continues to grow which is something that Chad [Thompson] and I both want to happen, then it's something that I will continue to have a lot of interest in. It's a matter of bringing in more sponsors to increase the budget, get more riders and become a more powerful team."

"You want to be able to win races, but I want to get to the point where we can dominate races," he added. "It makes it more fun. The problem is all the other directeurs and managers, we all have the same goal."

Andreu retired from pro bike racing in 2000 after competing in the Tour de France nine times. He raced under the banner of esteemed teams like 7-Eleven, Motorola, Cofidis and US Postal Service. In the more recent past, he has directed US-based teams Toyota-United, ZTeaM and Proman-Hitsquad. Now, he has committed his attention to the fast-growing Kenda Pro Cycling Team.

"I was familiar with Kenda and knew that they wanted to expand," Andreu said. "I was not specifically looking for a team to work with. The timing was right for Chad, he had a good group of guys, everything was clicking, falling into place and it looked like we could really grow this program."

Kenda Pro Cycling has taken on several name changes since its inception in 2005 as the Honey Stinger-Spinergy team. The team is owned by Chad Thompson and managed through Inferno Racing. This year, it will embark on a second season as a UCI-Continental outfit and thus considered relatively young with in the US professional peloton.

"I was excited to be apart of a team and help it grow," Andreu said. "Hopefully, expanding it in the next couple of years, continue to grow and be stronger. Chad is an incredibly hard worker and has that same passion for cycling that I have. He is so enthusiastic that it rubs off on you. We have a great group of riders and so far things are going well."

The squad wraps up its opening training camp this weekend. Thompson and Andreu put together a 10-day program that allowed the riders to get to know one another on the bike. Additional amenities included V02 Max testing at Life Time Fitness, blood work, lactate threshold testing and bike and shoe fits.

"We have all these bells and whistles including riding a lot," Andreu said. "We have a lot things to be able to help the riders. We wanted to give all these things to the rider so that they have the tools to be able to race well."

The team brought in a series of new riders Luca Damiani, Philip Gaimon, Chad Hartley, Jonny Sundt, Nick Waite, Stefano Barberi, Nick Keough, Rob Bush, Jim Stemper and Jonny Parish and Chris Monteleone. Returning riders include Jake Rytlewski, Scottie Weiss and Chad Burdzilauskas.

"Chad already had commitments to a good amount of riders so my hands were tied a little bit with that," Andreu said. "At the same time, I say my hands were tied but they weren't really because they were good riders. We have a good group of sprinters, climbers and guys who can hold their own to compete with the other teams. We are ready to start racing."

One rider that Andreu expressed enthusiasm over was Jonny Sundt, who was a long-time member of the Kelly Benefit Strategies team. Andreu gave Sundt a captain's role to help guide the team in its quest to earn results at the National Racing Calendar.

"He's been around for a long time and he has always shown leadership roles," Andreu said. "He is also aggressive when he races and that's important for our team because our guys love to attack so, he fits into that role."

Italian rider, Luca Damiani made it to the final day of camp after visa troubles prevented him from entering the US. The team sold more than one hundred t-shirts labeled "Free Luca" to help offset the application fees for his P1-Visa.

"He is here, received a warm welcome and fit in immediately," Thompson said. "The confusion over his visa was unfortunate and was due to inexperience on Inferno's behalf on the process. The shirt sales were tremendous and we still need to sell more. Nonetheless, he is here and ready to race."

The team will begin racing at the UCI 2.2 Tour of Taiwan from March 14-20. Andreu admitted that the seven-stage race will be a tough one to take on so early in the season.

"As difficult as that race is, it's our first race and one of our biggest goals," Andreu said. "That's difficult because you don't know how the riders are because they haven't raced yet so that's going to be very challenging."

[mashjaja]

Introducing the "Win the Contract With Our Team" competition:

http://www.infernoracing.org/KPC%20WinA ... ontest.pdf