Hagens Berman U23: A Year in the Life of a Development Team
“Not every one of you will become a Grand Tour guy.” Mike Sayers wasted little time before deflating some of the air out of the room filled with testosterone and aspirations emblematic of his audience of bike racers ranging in age from 16 to 23. For many riders present in the room, hearing these words from Sayers — the U23 Program Director at USA Cycling — was a first reality check of many as they began their transition from amateur bicycle racing to the professional peloton. This was their first day on the job at the Hagens Berman U23 Cycling Team.
The real work started a few months later under the warm spring sun of Southern California when team principals Todd Herriott and David Richter pulled the team together for training camp. Between the hundreds of miles ridden in the Santa Monica mountains that week to the first race of the season at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, all the way to the the wet and blustery conditions in the season-closing race at the Bucks County Classic in Doylestown, PA the year was filled with its share of highs. There was Adrien Costa’s overall win at the 1/2 race at Tour of the Gila, Owen Gillott’s podiums and top 10 omnium finish at the Tour of America’s Dairyland, Stephen Bassett’s Best Young Rider jersey at the Joe Martin Stage Race and Sebastian Trillini’s stage win on the final day of the Tour of Walla Walla. Of course, the season was not all podium flowers. There were crashes, mistimed attacks, mistakes and learning experiences. But such is life on a development squad. And now that it’s time to shake up the roster for the upcoming season, some will stay on for another year, some will move on to other teams, some will decide to leave the sport altogether. And the development continues.
I spent a good part of the season following the team and have documented some of the progress, struggles and successes in a series of photographs. Here are some of my favorites.
