Team Mike's Bikes 2022 Spring Recap - Its been a busy few months! 🥵

Holy moly, what a year it’s been so far for your favorite domestic elite team Team Mike's Bikes p/b equator. The first three months have been a whirlwind for the team with new riders taking the reins, with the seasoned vets delivering support.

Road Boys

The road team hit the ground running this season, racking up seven wins already this year. New rider Ryan Gorman has been the star of the show racking up five of these seven wins‚—Pine Flat Road Race, Cherry Pie Crit, Landpark Crit, Cat’s Hill, and Satna Cruz Crit. Fun fact about Ryan, with the support of the team he went from a Cat 3 at the start of the season to the most-feared Cat 1 in Norcal in just a few measly weeks. Other notable results had new rider Robert Pearce winning his first Cat 1 race in the season opener at Cal Aggie Crit, new rider Tim McBirney winning Bariani Road Race and placing 4th at the pro-stacked Sea Otter Road Race, and veteran rider Jackson Duncan placing 3rd at the Berkely Hills Road Race.

Gravel Squad

The gravel team has been racking up podiums throughout the year as well. Ryan showed he’s more than just a roadie, starting the gravel season off with a 4th place at Low Gap Hopper, while new rider Sandy Floren has been on quite a tear himself—2nd at Huffmaster Hopper, 4th at Lake Sonoma MTB Hopper, and winning Fish Rock.

Redlands Bicycle Classic

While the focus for the road boys is bringing the fun to the local scene here in Norcal, they also have some big races on the calendar—the first being Redlands Cycling Classic. Known in the cycling world as a feeder for some of cycling’s best American riders, it’s quite the race. The team rode well throughout the race, with some standout results: Guest rider Jason Saltzman was 15th on stage 2 and 16th on stage 5, bringing in a top 10 overall in 9th; new rider Tim McBirney flew his way to 3rd in the Individual Time Trial – the highest-ever individual stage finish in the PRT; and veteran rider Chris Riekert spent three days in the sprinter's competition leaders jersey, finishing the week tying for first in points. Yeah, they crushed it.

The Season Ahead

Be sure to look out for both the road boys and the gravel squad at the upcoming races. On the road, they’ll be hitting Madera Stage Race, Folsom Classic crit, and then heading to US Pro Nations and Elite Nationals. The gravel squad will be traveling a bit themselves hitting both Grinduro California and Lost and Found in the Sierras, as well as the BWR series.

Crashes Happen

Whether you’re JRA on a training ride like rider Dillon Hollinger, or fighting for the best wheel at the end of a crit like Jeff Linder, crashes happen whether we like it or not. While unexpected grounds smacks took these two out for the first part of the season, they are both ok and soon on their way to a podium near you. The moral of the story: make sure your helmet is crack-free and not expired—your brain will thank you when the inevitable happens.

📝 by Dillon Hollinger

📸 by Jeff Vander Stucken

Follow the Team on Instagram - @TMBEquator