Tour de Todd

John Eustice was one of the pioneer American cyclists to break into the world of European pro cycling. He founded and captained the first U.S. team to race in the Tour of Italy and is a two-time U.S. professional champion. Eustice worked for ESPN and ABC Sports as a cycling analyst for the Tour de France from 1992 to 2006. He's organized race like the Univest Grand Prix to the Harlem Skyscraper criterium.  Now retired John gave me a bit of his time pick his brain about everything cycling. This is one of two episodes with Eustice.

This episode of the Tour de Todd Cycling Podcast we're going to do something a little different. On this episode the focus is on the velodrome at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City. I spoke with the man who runs the track, Lenny Hall and a new rider to track racing. Plus, at the end you'll hear about the upcoming flea market they're holding March 5th.    COME AND PARTICIPATE IN THE FVA BIKE SWAP AND FLEA MARKET!!
Bring anything bike related to sell.

We will also have a mobile bike repair shop, cycling apparel vendors, a mobile bike shop, a food truck and beverages at the event.

Claim a 10’x 10’ space for only $10! 

If you don’t have enough stuff by yourself, buddy up with 2 or more friends and combine your stuff into one space!

Call 305-796-2885 to sign up today! 

Help make this a great event! Share this to all your friends!!

Benoit Vetu began racing after seeing French sprinter Frederic Magne race. He never had a desire to race on the road. Once he began racing on the track his career took off. In 1992 he finished third in the kilometer during the French Track Championships. In 1994 he got third in the keirin and the kilo. In 1995 he won a silver in the team sprint with Florian Rousseau and Herve Robert Thuet at the World Championships in Bogota, Columbia.    By the time he was 25 he had decided to hang up his wheels and coach. According to him he realized he was never going to world sprint champion so it was time to move on. In 2005 he succeeded Daniel Morelon as head track coach in France. By 2012 he'd moved on and began coaching the Russian national sprint team with Denis Dmitriev.  Coaching the Russian national sprint team only lasted a year. Vetu soon moved on to China where he saw incredible success. In 2015 the women's team sprint squad became World Champions. 2016 saw the women's sprint team go first and second in the sprints at the worlds. And, in the same year he saw his women's team sprint squad win gold at the Olympic in 2016.   In 2016 Vetu made another move this time heading to Japan as the national sprint team coach. The goal is gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But, the Japanese sprinters didn't win any medals. After the Olympic Games Vetu sees a position change. He is currently the technical director and international strategy adviser for the Japanese national track team. Jason Niblett has taken over the sprint program.    I sat down with Vetu to discuss his philosophy on sprinting, and his success as a coach. 

 

     

Charlie Issendorf is a name you need to know. Let me give you a rundown of his story. Charlie started racing in 1978 at the age of 8. He turned Cat 2 when he was 14 and Cat 1 at 16. He's a silver medalist at the Junior National Pursuit Champs. He lost to no other than current U.S National Sprint Coach Erin Hartwell. He raced for the national team at the Vuelta de Chile and Tour of Greece. He rode for the famed GS Mengoni amateur team for years. A team that once had Greg Lemond, George Hincapie, Rich Hincapie, Adam Myerson, Wilson Vasquez on their roster.    When Charlie hung up his wheels he wasn't done with racing. He's organized over 400 races in the NYC area for 17 years. Races like Prospect Park, Floyd Bennett Field to the Harlem Skyscraper Criterium. Issendorf handed his race promotions responsibilities off in 2021.    In 2014 he began working with Zwift when it was a startup. He raced with Eric Min, Zwift CEO and co-founder back in the 80's when they were juniors. Currently Charlie is Zwift's event director.    I recently sat down for a chat with Charlie about all things cycling especially in the NYC area from the 80's to what's going on right now.   

Quincy Alexander is from Trinidad and Tobago and I would say a legit track star. He's a gold and bronze medalist in the Pan American Championships. He's won national titles in the sprint, kilo, and was an alternate for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.   As one of Trinidad and Tobago's premiere sprinters he's dedicated to bringing in a haul of medals from the World Championships, Nations Cups to the Olympics.       I recently spoke with this plant-based athlete about his training, career as a cyclist, and his new coach Bill Huck who won the World Championships in sprints in 1989 and 1990.

In episode 26 of the Tour de Todd Cycling Podcast I spoke with Andrew Frey. He's one of the managing directors of The Tour of America’s Dairyland racing series in Southeast Wisconsin. The bike racing series started in 2009. Bill Ochowicz and Tom Schuler, put together five-days of racing.     Since then the series has grown to 11 days in 11 different communities. Frey says each year they have nearly 1,100 athletes pro and amateur from 40 U.S. states and 15 countries. This race has truly become one of the most popular racing series in the U.S.    Not only did I speak with Frey about TOAD but also about his time running the Astellas professional cycling team that featured Australian Clay Murfet, Justin Williams, currently with Legion, and Adam Myerson. 

Stefan Logan is a Miami native. He began playing football at a young age. His dream in life was to play in NFL. After not playing a few years of high school ball he got his chance in college. Not only did he play ball at the University of South Dakota he also ran track and became an All American in both sports. Once he finished with school he was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2007. Logan played 13 years of pro football. He also played for the BC Lions, Montreal Alouettes, and the Ottawa Redblacks in the CFL. He did a stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers and eventually played for the Detroit Lions. He ended his career at the young age of 39.    Eventually he came back home to South Florida. And, because of COVID he eventually picked up the bug to ride a bike. Now he's riding and racing his bike all over Florida. I sat down with Stefan recently to talk football, Miami, the city he loves and bikes.     

Haseem McLean got into cycling when he was 4. By the time he was 17 he was riding with the national team representing Trinidad and Tobago for Junior Pan American cycling championships. He placed 8th at the Junior Pan Ams, it was then and there he decided to pursue cycling as a profession. Haseem went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago in numerous Pan American cycling championships, as well as C.A.C games 2006 and 2010 and the Commonwealth Games 2010, coming away with 5th place finishes in various events. He also holds an impressive 23 national championship medals and is a 10 time national championship title holder. He's been ranked five (5) times in the top 100 World rankings, and international medals – silver and bronze from the 2011 Alba Games in Venezuela and a silver from the Copa del Cuba in 2013.     In 2014, Haseem was working on qualifying for the 2016 Olympics when he suffered a debilitating knee injury. This forced him off the track for 2 years. He's now back into training to revive his career.