Cycling is far from your usual international sport. Rarely do we see sports that start off for many of us as a form of transportation to school, work, or around town. For some, cycling is something deeper. It’s a source of passion, pride, and personal fulfillment. When baseball fans go to a ball game at their favorite field, they often spend several hundred dollars on tickets alone, sometimes thousands just to break out of the nosebleeds. 

Cycling is different; there are no tickets, no designated seating, no hours of continuous entertainment. Cycling is one of the few sports where you will see passionate fans scale the side of a mountain to catch a glimpse of the peloton as it flashes by. In some cases, fans camp out by the side of the trail to watch their favorite mountain bike athletes zoom past for a split second at a time, catching no more than a minute per lap of racers speeding by. 

This dedication is what makes cycling so interesting. Even as a casual fan, it is possible to appreciate the level of effort and dedication some fans invest in the sport. Oftentimes, however, the most dedicated of fans will see new names on their favorite team’s roster and question where they came from. Where did these athletes develop the skills to get to the top of the competition? Why have their names never reached the screen before? This is where cycling contrasts with many other sports; the development stage is an essential part of a cyclist's career, yet it receives almost no coverage in the cycling world. 

Unlike college football, which oftentimes has viewership numbers that eclipse that of the NFL, Under-23 cycling rarely gets the coverage the category deserves. Covering everything from up-and-coming 15-year-old talents to next year’s “Neo-Pros” (Newly-minted professional cyclists), the development stage in cycling is the window into the future of the sport. This is where the Bear National Team resides, shaping promising talent from across the United States into the next generation of professional cyclists. 

Founded in 2011 by Stu Bone in Kentfield California, Bear National has operated as a leading example for young athlete development. Originally founded to provide an opportunity for young Under-18 talent, the team expanded in 2017 to include Under-23 athletes in an “Elite” team. In 2013, Bone was joined by Chris Burnham and current director Julia Violich. Since then, the team has expanded its roster from 10 riders in 2011 to more than 50 student-athletes pursuing a career in professional cycling. 

Bear National Team’s successes speak for themselves, with more than 40 athletes from the team being named to the USA Cycling national team to represent the United States in both national and international events. The team also has a plethora of awards to its name, with Bear athletes winning National Road and Mountain titles on a regular basis. 

The team attributes much of its success to its value and goal-driven approach to training and racing, emphasizing the importance of relationships between team members, sponsors, and staff to ensure success. Most importantly, however, the team underlines the importance of enjoying the sport and having fun no matter the circumstance. 

 Selecting and growing young talents is an essential part of any sports industry, where the information and training presented to young athletes directly impacts the future of the sport. Bear National Team thrives in this space, utilizing years of experience in the professional cycling industry and directing it at growing cycling talents.

 Athlete development in cycling is broad, with programs ranging from Under-14 to Under-23 programs such as Bear. However, they all operate in the same ecosystem, feeding off each other and developing the process as a collective organism.

Cycling development has not had a very deep history in the United States. Oftentimes, homegrown American talents would make their way across the US and Europe for the summer race season, hitchhiking and riding through the countryside. Riders would show up with their racing license and jump on the start line with whatever experience they had.

Today, however, American development cycling sees teams from across the US form rosters of promising young talent, sending them to races that best suit their potential and their brand. With athletes and events popping up across the United States once more, the development stage in professional cycling is gaining more speed than ever before.

The American cycling industry did not always look as it does today, with few teams and domestic events worth the attention of major broadcasters. When the American cycling scene was only beginning to take off in the 90s, it greatly resembled the European cycling scene that had been blossoming for years already. The United States was packed full of riding opportunities for young cyclists, both male and female.

“Back in the day when I was racing, there was a plethora of teams. Every single, every single car manufacturer had a team.” Bear Director and former racer Julia Violich noted, “It was unbelievable.”

Julia Violich has long been involved in the cycling community, with her roots stemming from her racing career in the early 2000s which saw her win multiple National Titles.

“It was kind of a new, exciting sport and people didn't want to miss the opportunity and they were all over it,” Violich notes that that excitement over the sport seems to have dwindled out in the United States, with a new push for more mainstream sports such as Football being more present in today’s youth. At the start of the US cycling boom of the 90s, few athletes knew much about the cycling world.

“Who knew bike racing even existed?” Julie Young, a sports physiologist and former member of the US National Cycling Team said. “I totally stumbled on it.” Young took an unusual route to the cycling scene, graduating college before getting her start in the racing scene. While working in the finance sector in California, Young met a couple of colleagues who moonlighted as bike racers for the 7-Eleven Cycling Team who regaled her with tales from the cycling world.

“I ran to the bike shop the next day and got a license and just started racing,” Young said.

These were the heydays of American cycling, where anyone with a bike could purchase a license and show up to a race the next day and get fully enveloped in the sport. Young would go on to have an extremely successful racing career, spending 12 years as a member of the US National Team from 1991 through 2002.

While the cycling movement in the US has seen a decline, the opposite is the case in Europe, where development teams and professional opportunities are seemingly everywhere. Violich believes this to be partially due to federal funding and involvement in the sport.

While Team USA has recently featured some incredible talents such as Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) and Riley Amos (Trek Factory), they are often outmatched in both performance and preparedness at the international level. Violich notes that since the sport of Mountain Biking has hit the Olympic stage, European countries have invested significant resources into national teams.

“We don't have that in the United States, which is very unfortunate,” Violich said.

This is where the American development market steps up to the plate. The space left by the US National and big-name domestic teams has been picked up by development teams such as Bear. “I do think people are not going to be able to, you know, ignore what we're doing here.”

Much of European cycling benefits from a different style of investment as well. While almost all teams working in the cycling industry require significant financial investment from corporate and private sponsors, the level of engagement from sponsors supporting European teams is at a whole other level when compared to American investment.

Rob Evans, a former professional cyclist who has worked with the Bear Development Team as an advisor, believes the difference in support stems from cultural attitudes toward the sport and the level of marketability a cycling team can be characterized by.

“If someone's going to spend money on a market, it's easier than ever to have a tangible, provable ROI (Return On Investment),” Evans said, “The rolling billboard model of cycling just doesn't cut it anymore … you're really at the mercy of, of the patrons of the sport.“

Evans also noted that the majority of those patrons seem to be located outside of the United States, leaving a few teams scrapping for a handful of willing investors to pick up the bill. This could be due to the change in attitude towards cycling in the American Market after Lance Armstrong’s doping scheme came to light. Armstrong’s admission to cheating took a costly toll on the American cycling industry, causing many US bases sponsors to separate themselves from teams and leaving a significant funding gap at all levels of the sport.

This is where the American development market steps up to the plate. The space left by the US National and big-name domestic teams has been picked up by development teams such as Bear.

 “I do think people are not going to be able to, you know, ignore what we're doing here,” Violich said.

This is where Bear has thrived in the 2010s, picking up the slack in the development chain that USA Cycling has left. A strong development chain exists in many European programs in a very similar process to American Baseball, with clear-cut leagues that funnel athletes from youth teams into the professional sector in a very structured manner. 

While in the US some of these cycling leagues exist, the majority of them are supported by private investors and charitable organizations. The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) is one of these leagues. Created in Northern California in 2009, NICA was formed to provide an opportunity for students who never felt the call to more traditional sports. 

Through NICA, statewide high school cycling leagues were created, where high school teams could compete against each other in a professionally organized format. This program allows students to gain exposure to the outdoors while taking an active role in the sport they are partaking in.

Hauswald’s cycling program was the first program in the NICA leagues and has set an example for the rest of the leagues in the program.

As of the end of 2020, NICA had more than 25,000 students participating in leagues across the US in both High School and Middle School leagues. According to NICA’s 2020 Annual Report, the league was experiencing a 19% increase in student participation and had 21% of total athletes identify as female at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Hauswald has pushed NorCal even further, with a 30 / 70 split in gender participation. Hauswald attributes this to their efforts in hiring female coaches and maintaining a “No Cuts, No Bench” philosophy within the league. 

“I think that the no bench, no cuts thing is a really big deal,” Hauswald said, “the only requirement was that they tried their hardest and to show up.”

The NorCal League has also worked to push through socioeconomic barriers. Cycling has a notoriously high cost of entry across the board. However, thanks to strategic partnerships with brands such as Specialized, NICA, and NorCal have been able to provide bikes to kids who otherwise could not afford them. Additionally, NorCal is also working to create more races in urban areas. 

“Let's bring the opportunity to them where they can ride within a bus or drive from home the same day, Hauswald said. 

The league has noticed an increase in interest from many cities in California’s central valley and wants to create more opportunities for these students to get involved in the sport. 

Leagues such as NorCal also serve a crucial role in the development stage in professional cycling. With the expansion into middle school leagues, NICA has begun to offer opportunities to athletes who are interested in the sport. This provides a crucial opportunity for developing an interest in the sport for future generations, one that Hauswald compares to that of Baseball’s junior leagues.

 “I wish there were more of a continuum in cycling. Honestly, I've always felt like we need the little league baseball model.” Hauswald said. In many European countries, nationally funded junior programs and leagues exist to foster this interest in the sport. 

“You can go from a little league, all the way through to pros and baseball, and that's why it's such a complete part of American culture.”

While NorCal and NICA are filling this gap, Hauswald and Julia Violich agree that there is plenty of room for improvement from USA Cycling (USAC). Much of the slack being left by USAC programs is also being taken up by Violich’s Bear National Team. While NICA operates as a sort of T-Ball or Farm League, Bear operates as a AAA Baseball team; the last step required before hitting the professional levels of the sport.

Bear provides an array of products to its athletes, ranging from world-class coaching to industry-leading technology. However, Violich contends that the thing her athletes are experiencing is less about showcasing their skills and more about learning how to become professional athletes off of the track. 

“I think primarily they're learning to self-promote, be their own business managers, be their marketing manager, brand manager,” Violich said.

While it is incredibly important that the riders are getting the racing experience that will shape their careers and expose them to international competition, Violich affirms that it is paramount that they understand how to represent cycling culture as being humble, gracious, and kind. “They're also learning to hold their own,” Violich says. 

This is something that Hauswald says stands out about Bear’s athletes.

 “Every podium is stacked with Bear kids, but they also know how to shake people's hands,” Hauswald said. “They know how to look people in the eye. They know how to be genuine.”

This is something that Bear does very well, and very intentionally. Violich says that the team has two primary products that they offer to their riders. First and foremost, they want to ensure every rider on the team can enjoy the sport and doesn’t get burnt out by the rigors of training and competition. Second, and arguably the most important, is that athletes understand the professional world.

“Our most important final project product is producing an athlete that is well-rounded, understands dedication, understands commitment,” Violich said. “I provide them with seeds of inspiration that I depend on them to do their own negotiation and do their own self-advocacy.”

Violich and Bear are acting as that final stepping stone before the professional level of cycling. Offering an opportunity to young athletes, shaping them into conscientious human beings, and allowing their abilities to speak for themselves on an international playing field. Bear has continuously pushed for increased opportunities both on and off the bike for its riders. 

As it sits today, Bear has a strong field of 46 riders. Of those, 21 are female riders, meaning Bear is one of the most diverse teams racing in the US today. Despite this, Bear is still fighting an uphill battle against a growing reality. There are very few opportunities for talented young women, with a stacked competition fighting for a handful of professional spots on the international stage.

“Women see–kind of–the writing on the wall and think, oh, maybe I should focus really on college and getting a degree and going to work, which is in my opinion, sad,” Violich said, “I would just encourage people to continue to provide opportunities for women.”

The Bear National Team has long been held as the closest thing to “Pro” for young athletes in Northern California and National Cross Country competition the nation-over. The Blue and Pink uniforms leave a noticeable impression on any starting line, usually filling the front of the field.

Growing up in the sport of Cross Country Mountain Biking, competitors quickly placed a target on the backs of those jerseys, marking the wearer as someone to stick to and hopefully beat. Not that this was an easy feat, especially considering their sheer numbers.

Bear actively recruits athletes from across the United States and often sponsors riders from U.S. Territories. For the 2022 mountain bike season, Bear has 46 riders on the roster split between the U23 Elite teams and the U18 Club and Race teams. This year’s roster pulls from 16 U.S. States, with Colorado and California being the two with the highest concentration of riders.

“All the kids on Bear seemed like professionals already, and they definitely seemed pretty distant.” U18 Bear rider Vaila Heinemann said while reflecting on her first interactions with the team before joining. “ these are all normal people, but they're all really dedicated and really fast and really good at what they do.”

Heinemann, who races in NICA’s NorCal cycling league, joined Bear National in her sophomore year of High School after her sister was exposed to the team by a friend. Now a senior and soon to be a college student, Heinemann says she has grown considerably from her time on the team.

Bear National was founded to allow aspiring young athletes to get to the top reaches of the sport in a similar way to European development programs. However, where most international programs have significant national support, Bear operates with support from donations and corporate sponsors.

Because of an abundance of support for the team, Bear National can provide opportunities to athletes of all backgrounds to compete at the highest level professionally. Bear is also able to expose their athletes to other professional athletes, allowing them to learn the tricks of the trade from a young age.

“The sport kind of helps you grow and mature and like definitely take on quite a bit more responsibility in a good way,” Heinemann says. “it helps you kind of realize like how much the pros are dealing with, but then kind of finding a way to make them realistic for someone like me.”

Additionally, Bear creates an opportunity for aspiring professionals to race on the international circuit and represent the USA in World Cup events in select cases. This was part of the draw for U23 Women’s Rider Ruth Holcomb, who was eager to get to the next level of racing when she joined Bear at 14.

“It seemed like a really serious team and, I don't know, they definitely seemed like they were the top level and what I wanted to be,” Holcomb said, “I guess I really knew nothing about bike racing or anything.”

Holcomb, now a freshman at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, has proven she is pro-ready both on and off the bike, winning the Cross Country National Championship in 2021.

“They kind of help you see how it's possible to go from like racing NICA to racing at worlds and like racing at the top level,” Holcomb said, “I think the resources that Bear gives us of like, helped like make these things that don't seem possible, possible.”

Bear is also exceptional at delivering athletes from the development to the professional stage, no matter the skill level. Names such as Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing) and Bjorn Riley (Trek Vaude) have made their way from scrappy XC racing in Colorado to the professional level in a manner of a couple of years.

Caleb Swartz is another example of a Bear rider turned professional, with the Elite Cyclocross and Cross Country racer signing to the NEFF Cycle Sport - Giant team for the 2021-22 cyclocross season this past winter.

“I think I came in with a lot of those skills already. Um, and I think that they, you know, being on Bear really helped cultivate those and grow those even more.” Swartz said, “but then yeah, being on Bear, you know, and really having the tools and the resources to apply those skills and grow those skills at a high level.”

The Madison, Wisconsin native had already experienced quite a few races before joining the team, including bumming rides to races and organizing his pre-race service for his equipment. However, with Bear taking care of the mechanical and financial aspects of race day, Swartz was able to increase his focus on personal preparation and mental health.

Despite being a rather polished product going into the team, Swartz was able to take away several key lessons that have shaped his professional career today. “I think the first lesson is the importance of, you know, your support network, your web,” Swartz said, “it's an individual sport, but it's really not. I mean, when you look at that web of connection, and that outsourcing of who's doing what for you. It's just immense.”

Swartz has proven his ability to ride and his ability to self-manage, earning him sponsorship and crucial opportunities to race in both the National and International race circuit. Sadly, however, the opportunity to do just that is not always accessible to everyone.

Women’s cycling programs beyond the U23 stage are exceedingly rare, despite a plethora of American talent deserving of an international race seat. This is something that Bear Director Julia Violich has been trying to battle, and a concern that has been weighing on the mind of Junior racer Vaila Heinemann.

As a member of Bear, Heinemann has been continuously exposed to professional racers from the United States thanks to the team’s wealth of connections in the industry. Athletes and Olympians have made regular appearances at team meetings and group functions.

“I think that I've kind of been sheltered in a way, like watching people like Kate Courtney and people like Haley Batten,” Heinemann said, “they're a good ambassador of the sport and it seems like they don't have much trouble.”

Despite having interactions with these athletes, Heinemann is still concerned about the future she has in the sport. Violich does her best to make sure her athletes have a in-depth understanding of what a professional career could look like. However, concerns about the future have a habit of cropping up.

“Who would I go to if I wanted to be a professional cyclist and I wanted to like, get a contract and all that?” Heinemann said, “You know, like if I wanted to do that, like, I think I could do that … but I do still think that it is, um, It is still harder.”

The lack of resources available to female athletes after the development stage is a continuing deficit, one that requires collaboration from the greater cycling community. “I need to think about where I spend my energy; what really helps me both as a person and as an athlete and as a student.”