Stradalli First Race Weekend Hot then Cold

It was an up and down weekend for the Stradalli race team, literally. The team had awesome results Saturday night at the Sunny King Criterium Race but cold temperatures and hilly terrain made Sundays Fort McCellan Road Race anything less than desirable.

“Needless to say our Florida Fast Crit squad is not cut out for the hilly, cold road race courses. This was a race more suited for Cesar Grajales.” Jokingly said Tom Steinbacher after the race was over. “This was a new challenge for the Florida boys! I mean it was so bad the team was in Wal-Mart looking for extra gloves and we spent over an hour finding Princess more clothes. She definitely was not happy about the conditions.”

Sundays’ rough conditions aside this was undoubtedly a successful weekend for Stradalli Racing, starting of their 2015 NCC season at the Sunny King Criterium Pro Race with a top 5 finish. Led by newcomers Ruben Campioni and Sebastian Morfin, the team was able to make huge strides in a single race, proving that the offseason moves and work was well worth the effort. Steinbacher, the team owner was more than pleased. “To come out here to the Sunny King Crit and compete against 120 other racers and almost 25 teams is huge. It is a major race to even be in, yet alone finish in the top 5! That is an awesome start to what we expect to be the best season ever for Stradalli Racing.”

It was extremely important that the team get off to a fast start in the NCC this year to justify all the moves Steinbacher made as well as to make sure the rest of the circuit is aware of the presence of team Stradalli.

“At the end of last year I looked at the team as a whole. Not just can we improve with new riders but can we get better everywhere. How can our frames be better, our gear be better, how can I be better as an owner? I wanted to find answers to what has been holding us back for years and just like a race team it starts from the top. I knew we wouldn’t go anywhere in 2015 unless I showed we are serious about being competitive this year. What surprised me is how much support and interest I found. Our sponsors were all in with us and the changes I would be making, racers wanted to come here because they knew we were heading in the right direction. It is just such an amazing feeling to see all your hard work pay off and this is just the start of the season for us!”

Sponsorship has played a big part in the success of the Stradalli race team with SAFETTI providing the uniforms, JACO Athletics providing additional clothing gear, DIADORA providing the shoes and FULL SPEED AHEAD (FSA) providing the cranks. Many who follow professional cycling noticed the change in the Stradalli game plan early on when riders were looking to join the team. Now the question is can Stradalli continue and even improve upon its early success? Many believe they can.