Todd Wells

Recent Todd Wells Videos:
Todd Wells's Gear:
  • http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/epicfsr

    S-Works Epic

    The Only Full Suspension 29er World Champion.

    Learn More at Specialized.com

S-Works Epic

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

2012 Continental Championship Race Report

April 9, 2012

The Pan American Continental Championships took place this past weekend in Puebla, Mexico. Puebla is a small (one million people) suburb of Mexico City located about eighty miles from the heart of Mexico City. The town sits at 7,500 ft and has a very arid climate.

I was suppose to be in South Africa recovering from the Cape Epic this past weekend but a crash at the first World Cup sidelined me for a few weeks. I injured my ankle training on the course at the first World Cup and had to skip both events. After some serious rehab at home for two weeks I thought it was ready for a test and luckily the US team still had a slot left for me on the team. We headed south of the border on Thursday morning for what always proves to be an adventure.

The flights went smooth, everyone got their luggage but then the fun started trying to locate our lodging, Mexico Institute of Sport. After spending four hours to go eighty Ks we arrived to our 8-person room full of bunk beds and proceeded to pass out.

The course was open, dry and dusty. It consisted of some stair step climbs, a few technical descents, lots of sharp rocks and rain ruts. I opted for my Epic 29er since my ankle isn’t 100% and I needed all the shock absorption I could get.

The temperatures were in the low eighties for most of the time we were there which isn’t exceptionally hot but with no trees and high altitude it felt like an oven.

The U-23s went first on Sunday with USA taking gold and bronze; the elites went in the heat of the day at 2:30pm. Luckily some clouds rolled in at the start of the race and kept the temperatures in check.

The race started like a World Cup as all the central and south

American races I have ever done do. I had a bad start and found myself pretty far back but managed to bridge up to Soto by the end of the first of five laps. We rode together for the next lap and a half before I was able to surge ahead at the bottom of the climb on the third lap. I kept it full gas but only managed to put a handful of seconds on him by the end of the lap.

Luckily he finally started to crack on the last lap and I was able to

ride in with over a minute’s gap. It feels great to win my second Continental Championship. It doesn’t seem to be that important in the U.S. but to those other countries it seems as important as the World Championships. Columbia picked their Olympic team off the event and battling with Argentina’s Olympic rider, Soto was a great fight.

I’m now off to Belgium for round two of the World Cup in Houffalize this weekend. It will be my first World Cup of the year since I didn’t get to race in South Africa and I’m hoping for some good form to move up on the grid.

Thanks for the support….

Stats for Todd Wells are coming soon.
All content © copyright 2013 Specialized Bicycle Components. All Rights reserved.