He couldn't match last year's excitement but Ben Chaddock's pro cycling career sure hasn't slowed down.
A year ago, the Richmond native burst onto the competitive cycling scene by knocking off seven-time National Time Trial champion Svein Tuft to win the Tour de Delta Prologue event. This time, tour organizers decided to drop the speed race and added a second criterium event. Chaddock managed to finish a respectable 12th in North Delta and won the $1,000 crowd prime (designated lap leader) one night later in Ladner.
Although he didn't reach the podium this time in all three events, there was still plenty to smile about.
The former competitive FIS alpine skier raced among his family and friends and even landed a sponsorship deal with a local fitness centre.
"My family was there and a lot of people who followed me when I was ski racing," said Chaddock, who signed on with Team Exergy last fall. "All the physiotherapists and chiropractors that have seen me since I was 15, my old math teacher, all those types of people."
Chaddock also put himself on the radar of the Canadian track team with a strong performance at nationals last August, finishing top five in every event he entered on his first time racing track, and may train with them in Los Angeles this fall.
The 2011 season got off to a tough start.
After breaking ribs go-carting in January, he hit a rough patch at an Exergy training camp mid-February that continued through March, and didn't feel like he was really contributing to his new team. Then, on his 26th birthday, they gave him a Volvo, and told him to get it to Greenville, SC in six weeks, with scheduled stops for altitude training camos and smaller races along the way. By the time he rejoined the main squad for Speedweek, he felt a lot better.
"It really helped me get into form and at Speedweek we raced six criteriums in eight days and my form continued to get better every day from the altitude training and I was able to learn something every night and apply it immediately the next night, which is huge," he said.
