Two Pacific NW Teams Join to Form RAD p/b CycleU Junior Program – Cyclocross Magazine

SEATTLE, Wash.—Rivals for nearly a decade, two of the Pacific Northwest’s most talented Junior cycling teams will join forces, beginning with the 2019 cyclocross season.

RAD p/b CycleU is the fusion of RAD Racing NW and the Cycle University Junior Team. Each program brings an array of talent and resources to the partnership, including national-caliber coaching and a storied history of rider development that has helped usher riders onto the national and world stages.

Calder Wood is among RAD Racing NW’s alums. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Team Director Erik Anderson (RAD Racing) and Coaching Director Craig Undem (Cycle University), himself a 2018 Cyclocross National Champion, agree that the merger will strengthen both team’s efforts to foster healthier and happier Junior athletes through the sport of bike racing.

“I have always admired Craig’s coaching experience, dedication to Junior cycling and his passion to see kids ride bikes,” said Anderson. “His passion will be a new foundation on which we can continue to build the heritage of RAD Racing.”

Undem’s goal is to build a Junior team to expand on the success the CycleU Junior program has had over the past decade, working with more than 100 riders from 1st grade and up.

“This merger gives us the talent, tools, and resources today to be a major force on the Northwest cycling scene,” said Undem.

Riders of the former rivals will roll to the starting line together as one team for the first time at MFG Cyclocross’ opening race on September 8, 2019.

A roster of the team’s varsity riders is below. You can follow the team on Facebook this season.

Erik Anderson, age 43, started racing mountain bikes in the early 90s and transitioned to road racing by the mid-1990s. Since then he has raced Road, Cyclocross, and Mountain Bikes. Before joining RAD Racing 6 years ago, Anderson was the President of the Washington State Bicycle Association. He is also an active race director who has been organizing events in the Pacific Northwest for more than 15 years.

Craig Undem, age 56, is a former professional cyclist who became enamored with the bicycle in 1983 in Seattle. He has spent his life focused on mastering cycling skills and teaching them to others.  Undem has raced at the elite and world-class level in multiple disciplines, including road, mountain and cyclocross and has been an elite coach to some of the best riders in the world since 1997 when he retired from professional racing.