Todd Wells

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Todd Wells was born December 25, 1975 in Kingston, N.Y. He fell in love with the bicycle at an early age starting with BMX from the age of five through sixteen. After graduating high school he picked up his first mountain bike and has been on a tear ever since. He found his way out to Durango, CO where he attended Fort Lewis College and began a pursuit of his career in cycling.

Wells won two Cross Country Mountain Bike Collegiate titles for Fort Lewis College and the inaugural Semi Pro NORBA National Series title in 1996 before taking a break from his studies to become a full time professional cyclist with the Specialized Mountain Dew team.

His initial professional career was short lived as he decided to hang up his wheels at the end of the 1998 season and finish his collegiate studies at the University of Arizona. In 2000 he graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Management Information Systems and immediately started working for I.B.M., a company he interned with during his time as a student.

Wells quickly realized that being a bike racer was better then having a “real” job and started training once again with his sights set on returning to the professional ranks. Some good results landed him a contract with the Mongoose Hyundai team and he was back on the circuit full time by the end of 2001.

By 2008 he was back where he started with the Specialized team and his results seem to get better with age. He has won nine National Championship titles across four disciplines. In 2011 he took on some endurance races and racked up wins in both the Leadville 100 and La Ruta de Los Conquistadors.

2012 might have been his best season yet with his third trip to the Olympic Games where he placed a career best 10th. He also managed to win his second PROXCT series title, second Pan American Championship title and stood on the podium at the Windham World Cup.

When Todd isn’t racing all over the world you can find him in one of three places; hanging out with his wife Meg and dog Winston, grinding it out on the golf course or hitting the dirt jump trails around Durango or his winter home of Tucson, AZ.

Achievements

2012 Marathon National Champion
2012, 2010 PROXCT National Champion
2012, 2010 Continental Champion
2012, 2010, 2001 Short Track National Champion
2012 Olympic Games 10th
2012 Windham World Cup 4th
2011 US Cyclocross National Champion
2011 La Ruta de los Conquistadores Champion
2011 Leadville Trail 100 Champion
2011 US Cross Coutry Mountain Bike National Champion
2011 Sea Otter Classic XC 1st Place
2011 World Championships 7th
2004, 2008 Olympic Games Team Member

Cyclocross National Championship

December 14, 2010

My season ended this weekend in Bend, OR with a National Championship Hat Trick. 2010 has been a dream season for me with wins in both the Cross Country and Short Track Mountain Bike National Championships but until this weekend my cyclocross campaign had left a little to be desired. I had been close to winning a few times this year during cross but hadn’t been able to put it together until this weekend.

I had planned to only race the first day of the USGP in Portland last weekend but after a bad first day I realized I needed some more racing and training at sea level. I decided at the last minute to stay in Bend all week rather then go back home to Durango between the two West Coast races.

The weather in Oregon was pretty good all week and even though there was some rain, it was much warmer then last year and I was able to ride outside everyday. When I arrived in Bend on Tuesday there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground and the course had only a single track mud trail through the snow. There were also some giant puddles on the track earlier in the week.

By the time Sunday rolled around the course had dried out quite a bit and the promoter pumped a good portion of the lakes/puddles out of the low-lying areas. The thin mud had turned thick though and the second half of the course was very slow and boggy.  There were a lot of exposed rocks and plenty of places to flat. The temperatures had also climbed into the mid-fifties, which is about thirty degrees warmer then it was last year.

I chose to ride the new Specialized Terra tubular tires since the course was so rough and they have an extra flat protector built in between the tread and the casing. I was bottoming out the tire at least five times per lap but paired with the bomber Zipp 303s I didn’t have any worries of flatting.

The race started fast and I managed to come out of the first corner in about tenth place. By midway through the first lap I had moved up to about sixth place and by the second lap I was off the front with Powers. People were crashing all over the course but I was riding smooth and keeping it upright. A few laps later Powers went into a corner to hot, laid it down and I had no where to go but over his bike. My foot got stuck in his front wheel and it took us a bit to get untangled. I finally got his wheel unclipped from my shoe and I was off on my own. Trebon had closed a bit though with five laps to go I had fifteen seconds on him.

I buried myself for the rest of the race and was able to keep the gap around ten seconds by taking some risks in the corners and giving it everything in the muddy bogs. I hit the finish straight with a good gap and was able to really enjoy my ride to the line. 

It was my third Cyclocross National title with my last one coming in 2005 that everyone had been reminding me was a long time ago.

Now I’m really going to enjoy my vacation.

Thanks for your support and making 2010 a great year…..

Stats for Todd Wells are coming soon.
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