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Bob Mccarty and Doug DeWeese getting ready to race there Stradalli carbon Race machines at Marathon XC National Cahampionships

Bob Mccarty and Doug DeWeese getting ready to race there Stradalli carbon Race machines at 

Marathon XC National Championships

Stradalli shows their versatility

The 2015 season is off to a great start for Stradalli Cycle Racing. However, that success is not only limited to road racing. Mountain biker Bob McCarty had a very successful weekend at the USA Cycling Marathon Nationals over the weekend on his 650b carbon cross country full suspension bike

The race in Georgia, just outside of Augusta, is over 60 miles along and has some of the toughest terrain you will find. There are parts of the race where you actually cannot ride your bike, you have to hike with it over your shoulder as you walk through streams and over down trees. Mountain bike racing is certainly a different breed of racing but it brings excitement to fans and competitors alike. McCarty led most of the race in the age 40-44 category and finished 2^nd. The most impressive stat of the day is that he finished with a top ten time out of all amateurs of the weekend, including riders half his age.

“This is the type of race where you have to be in great shape, you have to be able to grind it out there, but you also need to have the experience and understanding of what the course is going to throw at you. Sometimes it’s the weather and sometimes, like this weekend, it’s the actual terrain you are up against. You can be the fastest guy on a bike and that’s great, but this is mountain bike racing, if you can’t transition from clean road to throwing your bike over your shoulder and hiking through water and then jumping back on your bike and not letting that slow you down, you aren’t going to be very competitive.” Bob McCarty.

Bob was not the only one pleased with his race results at the USA Cycling Marathon Nations. Team owner Tom Steinbacher loves the versatility of his race team; “When people look at cycling, when they look at our team they may think of us as a usa pro road team and we have been having a great year at that. But I want to be more than just a pro road cycling and pro ncc crit team, I want us to compete all over the world in any type of race that involves a bike. That’s the mark of a true race team and bicycle brand, not just versatility but being able to win races, no matter the type of race it is. You want to be a real race team, you have to be able to compete anywhere. Every weekend it seems we have great news regarding the team because we are in so many races and competitions. I love that. ”

2015 Speed Week Athens Twilight Pro Criterium ,first official USA crit race

2015 Speed Week Athens Twilight Pro Criterium ,first official USA crit race

Team Stradalli cycle went to Athens Georgia to make a statement, that they were a team to be reckoned with.
After lots of blood, sweat and tears the team left Speed Week having proven just that. Ruben Companioni  finished 2^nd in one of the most competitive races of the year, but this was a win for the entire team as owner Tom Steinbacher discussed; “Look at the field, look at the course. You are going against the defending NCC Champ, Daniel Holloway, you are going against a fully stacked Pro field with world champions and Olympians. This is where you have to prove what you are made of and right now I’m completely ecstatic.”

Stradalli brought a full team including Ruben Companioni , Sebastian Morfin, Yosvany Falcon, Grant Potter, Cesar Grajales and Abel Quintana, a new rider to the team. This was the biggest group to go to any race this year and before the race Stradalli cycle received a special call ups for 2 riders, Ruben Companioni and Yosvany Falcon were among the call-ups to begin.

It didn’t take long before there were some fireworks first a 9 man break and then Olympian Bobby Lea went down in turn 1 causing several riders including Ruben Companioni to crash as well.

“My heart jumped in my throat when I saw Ruben go down. You worry about these guys like they are your own kids , they are going extremely fast and it’s not like they are wearing nfl football pads. Ruben hurt his lower back and got bad road rash but got up and got back in there.” He is a real fighter.

Following the crash, Companioni went into the Sram Wheel Pit to get his bike fixed before returning to the race. After 2 laps another break in the field formed with Holloway and Companioni  leading up front and with in minutes it was just 2 racers of the front alone .  Companioni continued to battle, rotating in the breakaway to finish 2^nd with plenty of time left over to wipe the blood off and put on his Stradalli Cycle ball cap and ascend to the podium.

“What an exciting race. I never feel like an owner at these events, I always feel more like a fan ( and father )
but I am so proud of what we accomplished this weekend. Stradalli Cycle/ SAFETTI and Team Texas Roadhouse/Stradalli have been doing great this season and we wanted to come into Speed Week and make people realize we are contenders at every race.” Tom Steinbacher

Steinbacher wanted an “all hands on deck” mentality this weekend because of the competition. Speed Week is the first official USA Crit Race of the year and with brutal competition from all around the world it was important that Stradalli have an impressive showing. The sponsors; FSA providing their cranks, SAFETTI providing the uniforms, DIADORA providing the shoes and JACO Athletics providing additional athletic clothing as well as the new racers added to a team of veterans has played a major role in the early success of the team.

“I wanted this to be a team building experience and it was a great weekend. We stayed together, trained together and ate together and I feel that the younger guys all learned a lot from the veterans. I see a lot of teams out there with the next young stud of cycling but if you cannot surround that youth with veteran guidance and a “team” mentality it doesn’t usually workout the way you planned. This is such an exciting year and we circle races like these on our calendars because we know how important they are. The field was stacked but we left Georgia knowing AND proving we can compete with anyone and we raced and worked togther like a Family !” 

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Cesar Grajales Wins Boulder Rubaix Pro Race on Stradalli Cycle Faenza Carbon Bike

What is shaping up to be the most successful season in Stradalli racing added another huge accomplishment Saturday, and this time it wasn't from the race team itself. Cycling great Cesar Grajales won the Boulder Rubaix Pro 12 Men Race using the Blue Faenza Stradalli Bike in a solo effort. This year the field was stacked at one of the hardest races on the calendar.

“This is a deceptively difficult course because you feel confident after the first couple of laps. Then suddenly you start hearing “pop, pop” everywhere and it’s the sound of the riders popping off the back of their bikes because the pace gets so much faster. Your legs have to work harder to handle the constant surges on sandy hard pan and just before you think you have made it through the worst, the wind begins to mess with you. All these conditions string out the field and gutter the back half. You feel like you are on the rivet before you are back to a swelled field with a slightly slower pace. Just as you catch your breath you are on the attack again with the “pop, pop” noises coming out everywhere. The conditions make this a war of attrition and energy conservation.”

With only two laps to go a small group formed. The lead contenders in the main group began opening the lead from the peloton. That’s when Grajales took advantage of the growing gap and went in for the winning move. It was a tough move as other riders tried and failed to pull away from the main group, but the group itself was not gaining on the leaders. Grajales surged forward alone and began working with them. It was there that he took the hard workload of the group for the next twenty miles as other riders eased up, taking advantage of his pull. But he could tell the race was his to win as no one else had enough in the tank to surge forward with him. He went on the attack with 3 miles to go, pulled away from the lead group and finished with a solo victory!

“This was an awesome win for Cesar Grajales and Stradalli racing! This was a stacked field, major competition, tough conditions, over 65% of it was gravel roads in Colorado that is a great win for Cesar Grajales and Team Stradalli! Cesar is one of the greats in the sport, people watch him because of what he can do on a bike. His work ethic, his passion and his aggression are unmatched in road racing and I am so very proud of him and what he has accomplished.” Tom Steinbacher, Stradalli CEO.

Stradalli cycle continues to see success in Pro Races all around the country. Their bikes are being used in multiple races each weekend and the results are steadily coming in. Champion riders are taking advantage of all the team has to offer at it is already paying dividends. Cesar Grajales’ triumphant win is another huge indication that this is the year of Stradalli in the cycling world.

Emile Abraham Testing Stradalli White R7 Frame; Reviews and Findings

Stradalli Racing continues to push the envelope of what a cycling team can do in a single season. Designing and manufacturing their own frames, team Stradalli has unveiled its new White Stradalli R7 bike which is now in production and available as of spring 2015. Even bigger news is that accomplished pro racer Emile Abraham will be racing for team Texas Roadhouse - Stradalli Cycle on the brand new White R7. Abraham (pictured above) has a long and impressive resume in Pro cycling since 2001 with nearly 40+ wins including the his home race, the tour Trinidad and Tobago International and has raced and won all over the world. Currently the team leader for Texas Roadhouse-Stradalli Cycle, Abraham is the first pro cyclist to test out the new R7 and so far it has not disappointed.

When asked about the new frame and why it is being tested out with the Texas Roadhouse Stradalli Cycle team owner Tom Steinbacher had this to say; “I didn’t pick one cycling team over another. Emile is a badass, look at his resume. You put him in a Crit race; he wins, if you put him in a circuit or road race he wins. I’m pretty sure if we dropped him in the ocean with a bike he would find a way to win. You win and finish in the top 3 of all those races you know what you are doing. We have our guys in Florida and we have our guys with Texas roadhouse and others around the country and internationally. I went with Emile because of his track record. There is no one I trust more to literally beat up on the new frame and tell me what he honestly thinks about it. I need the best to review how this bike will work. Emile has been in more races than I can count and he knows what it takes to win those races. That’s why when I had to find someone to test out the frame it was him, no question about it.”

The decision to go with Abraham wasn’t surprising, but what has surprised people in the industry is how quickly the frame went into production for public sale as well as being used in professional races. After going through rigorous wind tunnel and factory tests along with countless reviews, Steinbacher wanted to put the frame under the ultimate test, having Abraham use it in Pro races. This is certainly an aggressive move by the team and Steinbacher wasn’t shy about the decision.

“We are going against the titans of the racing world and we have spent years putting together a great product and now a great team. This is a frame built for racing at the highest level of competition and I want everyone to know it. We spent years designing and manufacturing the R7 and it is ready to be shown off. I want other teams, fans of the sport and anyone else who follows cycling to know exactly what we are bringing to the table. Stradalli has the best bikes, the best sponsors and the best riders in these races and we are going to win and look good doing it. Emile has been working with this bike for months and I wanted him to be the first one to use it in pro races. The results speak for themselves and we are ready for the next step. People are going to know very soon if you want to win you win with a Stradalli Cycle!”

Stradalli has begun to sell the R7 “Team Edition” publically and racers from around the world have inquired about it already. This is a major boost for the team as a whole and seems to be the start of what could be the most successful season for the entire team, racing as well as business. 

Healthy dinner in Georgia for Team Stradalli with friend and cycling buddy UFC Fighter Cole Miller

Look at these bad boys…

From the left

Yosvany Falcon - Veteran Pro Cyclist former Cuban National team member

Ruben Companioni Blanco - Pan American medal winner and top level Pro Cyclist 
Cole Miller - Pro MMA - UFC Fighter and World Champion medalist

Sebastian Morfin - Pro Cyclist and State Champion

Thomas Steinbacher - Stradalli team owner and entrepreneur

Princess the Stradalli Team mascot and 7 lbs happy cheerleader :)

Stradalli Begins 2015 NCC Season With a SPLASH!

The buzz around the Stradalli Race team for the 2015 NCC season was certainly warranted. Saturday night, at the Sunny King Criterium Pro Race, the first for team Stradalli in 2015, newcomers Ruben Campanioni and Sebastian Morfin led the team to an exciting 4^th place finish despite facing steep competition. Almost 25 race teams and 120 racers entered the competition. This was a great opportunity for the team to prove that its offseason moves were warranted and the results speak for themselves. No one was more excited than team owner Tom Steinbacher.

“This was an absolutely amazing way to start the season. I am so excited, we not only had great support from our fans and sponsors, but we were able to get off to a great start for our season. I knew brining in Ruben and Sebastian was going to help us be more competitive than in years past, but I am amazed at how quickly we have now seen the impact and results. This is a big step for team Stradalli and it shows we are headed in the right direction. You do not come to the Sunny King Crit and place in the top 5 without having an offseason of hard work and dedication. I am so proud of our team and it’s like I told them all day on the drive up here, we can do this, we can steal the show each race because we have the talent to do just that!”

The offseason Steinbacher is referring to was certainly a busy one for team Stradalli. It began with a more focused look at all aspects of the team starting with the bikes themselves. Stradalli manufactures and uses its own frames and the team wanted to make sure that the frames and other products being used were going to be an asset rather than a negative for the upcoming season. Next came the sponsors; Jaco Athletics providing performance wear, Safetti providing the uniforms, FSA providing the cranks and Diadora providing the shoes. There is little doubt that Steinbacher wanted to have the best gear and products available to help lure big talent to the team. Once these were in place he was able to add Campanioni and Morfin to an already talented race team and the results are showing.

“You have to build a team from the ground up and in cycling that means the equipment being used. Stradalli has to have amazing frames and products if it is going to compete in the NCC against some of the giants in this sport. We cannot just show up with anything and anyone and think we are going to compete. After last season I took a long look at this team and said we need to start over, I wanted better equipment, better athletes, better training routines, better everything. This was the most time and energy we have put into this team and I am so proud of the results. This is the start, this race is what justified all the hard work we did this offseason and it shows we are going to be a team to watch this season!” 

Stradalli starts its 2015 NCC racing season with new dream team!

Stradalli starts its 2015 NCC racing season with new dream team!

Friday March 27^th 2015: The Stradalli race team loaded up the van today to head towards their first NCC race of the season. Team owner Tom Steinbacher, racers Sebastian Morfin, Ruben Companioni, Yosvani Falcon, guest rider Yasmani Pol and of course Princess, the team dog(pictured above), are eager to start this season with the Sunny King Pro Criterium Saturday night and the Fort McClellan Pro Road Race Sunday morning.

This is the first race for the new dream team put together by Steinbacher during the offseason and the expectations have never been higher. “We have an exciting team this year, a great combination of youth and experience, racers who have had success all around the country and the world and want to come to the NCC to prove they can compete with the best there is in all of professional cycling.”

News of the new Stradalli 8 man team has been well received as the team had no trouble finding sponsorship for the upcoming season. JACO Athletics will be providing active wear, DIADORA will be providing the shoes, FSA (Full Speed Ahead) will be helping with the cranks and SAFETTI is providing the team racing uniforms. Needless to say the optimism surrounding this season is undeniable as the team gathered this morning to begin the 2015 season, a season they expect to be the most successful in Stradalli racing history.

With such a high level of support from fans and sponsors of the Stradalli race team, team owner Tom Steinbacher knew that he had to put together the best team possible and he is confident that he did just that. “You look at last year and we built a foundation, this year we added Sebastian and Ruben to the team and it is very exciting. The sponsors have been awesome and the support for the team we have built is undeniable. You combine all of this with the Stradalli frames and products we are already using and it’s going to be fun. We have Yosvani on this trip as well for the weekend, he is an awesome racer with great experience and it is just another example of the excitement and expectations surrounding this year’s team. Even Princess is excited and she does not get excited for just anything! We are very excited, we want to thank our fans and sponsors, they have all been fantastic and they are the reason we are here. We want to put the best products, the best frames, the best gear into a team that already has the best racers and that’s what we finally have. ”

This is expected to be one of the more competitive seasons in recent NCC history with so much talent from around the world coming to the United States to compete. The NCC has gained enormous popularity over the last few years with better coverage and viewership via the internet and more cycling events across the country. Stradalli has high expectations for what this team can do.