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

World Cup #1, South Africa 4/23:

April 26, 2011

The World Cup season kicked off this weekend in Pietemaritzburg, South Africa, which is about as far away from the U.S. as you can get with out a space shuttle.

The course has undergone quite a few changes since the last time we were there in 2009 and has morphed into a modern day XC course.

I arrived in Pietemaritzburg on Tuesday missing the torrential rains that pounded the course just a few days before. As a result of all the moisture the course had been closed to training for a few days to help preserve it. As the weekend neared, the weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s and minimal moisture. By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around the track was perfect and so hard packed there were black marks all around it from the tires.

I started in 19th position or third row based on my World Cup overall finish from last year. When the gun went off and I was able to hold and improve my position on the start straight so I knew I was on a good day. It’s crazy that you can tell how an endurance race is going to go in the first thirty seconds of the event. The group blew apart the first time up the climb and I was able to close the gaps as riders started to crack. It’s an awesome feeling being able to jump past guys like Vogel and Naef when they open a gap. By midway through the race I found myself in a group racing for 6-8.

I tried to save a little for the end since I usually come unglued toward the latter part of the race. When you’re competing with the best in the World though if you hold back, you go back so there wasn’t much I could do but try to hang on. On lap 5 of 6 I started to pop a bit and by the end of the last lap I was racing to hang on to 10th.

I had set a goal of achieving a top ten finish for the weekend and I nailed it, that’s a great feeling. The World Cup didn’t go very well for me last year so to get a good result at the first race of the season is great. It’s very hard to describe the intensity and focus required to race around a mountain bike track with the best in the World so when I have a good day I really appreciate it. Specialized even won the team competition for Kulhavy, myself, Burry and Susi all got to go up on the podium for the number one team.

Thanks for your support….

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