Sacramento Valley Velodrome Association » Sacramento Valley Velodrome Association

Interview of Mike Sayers, member of the Board of Directors

Heather Nielson — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:27:43 +0000

What would it mean to have a track in Sacramento? ‘In a word, incredible’ was Mike Sayers’ answer to my first question during our interview. Dean Alleger had asked if Mike would be on the board of directors for the Sacramento Valley Velodrome Association last winter and he was happy to participate. Since retiring from professional bicycle racing, Mike has been an assistant director sportive for BMC Professional Cycling team based out of Santa Rosa California. He was a professional cyclist for over 14 years both in the United States, Europe and the Pacific. He is also a two-time member of the US World Championship Team (2002, 2003). Although the majority of his career was spent racing on the road, Sayers greatly values what track racing can do for any cyclist. He said that it would enhance what is already an excellent cycling community. It would open up cycling to different demographics in this area that don’t normally get into bicycle racing. He feels that it would significantly improve the sport at the city, state and national level. To have the ability to bring national and international level events to Sacramento to compete would fit a niche and fill in some niches that have been recently vacated by track and field etc. The Sacramento Sports Commission had been working on prestigious events like the National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships but those competitions have recently left Sacramento. Velodromes are unique in that they are limited in number and would create a place that would bring in revenue not only for the venue itself but also for the city. The monetary benefit from hotels, restaurants etc already seen by active Velodromes are pretty significant. ‘Whatever money the city would put into it, if any, would come back 100 fold over time.’

Rider development

When asked how the current professionals got started on the track, Mike said that most of them started off as pursuitors or team pursuitors in the national program; a lot like the national academy that the British have.

‘The British have completely turned around their cycling program by basing it on the track.’

Many of the professional cyclists from Britain that are competing at the pro tour level started off on the track as kids and it is evident how successful their program has been, especially over the last five years. In the United States however, there hasn’t been as much transition from the track to the road since the pursuit program ended. It was popular in the early and mid-90’s and many of the athletes transitioned nicely from the track to professional road teams. The Australians did the same thing during the 90’s also and their program was centered around the Olympics to develop their riders on the track. Some of Australia’s most successful road cyclists all started on the track like Baden Cooke, Stuart O’Grady & Bradley McGee. The idea was to get them racing with the intention of taking them to the Olympics and then afterwards helping them to further their career on the road.

‘Americans need to do THAT because it’s proven to be such a successful recipe.’

Mike feels that all we need are the right development programs and the right coaching to push riders on the track and beyond. Track racing is really good for cycling as a whole and it starts at the junior regional level and transcends all the way to the international level.

Sacramento Valley Velodrome Board of Directors role

Right now Sayers is hoping to help bring media exposure and to help raise money to help the program move forward. As he has more time in the future, he would like to be involved on a day to day basis scouting out and recruiting riders and getting involved with the racing and development. In the future, as track racing becomes a nearly daily occurrence, he hopes to participate at least on a weekly basis. It’s also important to him that the general public is educated on what track racing is. Getting kids involved now as a result of public knowledge is vital to developing those skills young. The track is a very spectator friendly venue and all the successful tracks in the nation have weeknight events for the public.

Interview of Carlos Josa with Stantec Architectural Design

Heather Nielson — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:10:59 +0000

By: Heather Nielson

Stantec is a global architectural company based in Canada. They started in the mid 1950’s and strive to remain one of the top 10 global design firms. Carlos F. Josa is an associate working out of their Sacramento office. Dean Alleger put me in touch with Carlos for an interview as Carlos had taken the initiative earlier in the year in contacting Dean in an effort to help support the goal of getting a velodrome in the Sacramento area. They have offices all over the North American continent and have projects worldwide including Dubai, Singapore, US, Canada & the Caribbean. Carlos indicated that the company is passing 15,000 employees worldwide. Stantec does design, engineering and coordinates construction efforts. Carlos has been with Stantec since 2001. He enjoys the opportunity to travel to Canada while working for Stantec.

Carlos has been a cyclist long before he was an architect. His face lit up during the interview while he was naming those racers he followed in the 1970’s and 80’s. He’s been to the the Hellyer Park Velodrome located in San Jose California but primarily participates in road racing because of the long distance necessary to travel from Sacramento to San Jose. He exclaimed that ‘in the back of my head and in my heart there’s always been a soft place for track racing. It’s the purest form of bike racing. There’s no hiding.’ In September of 2011, he read an article in the Sacramento Bee about the velodrome campaign and the possibility of one being built here in Sacramento. He immediately contacted Steve Rex and introduced himself as part of Stantec Architecture. He told Steve that Stantec had worked on at least half the projects for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics; and that they have extensive experience in designing sporting venues. Carlos offered his and his company’s resources to help generate some public interest and movement behind the Sacramento Velodrome Campaign.

His excitement was obvious when he exclaimed that it was his ‘chance to marry the two things that I love and am passionate about.’

Steve put Carlos in touch with Dean to talk about donating some time in putting some drawings together. Alleger talked about the SUPERDROME in Frisco Texas to model after plus some of his other specifications and Carlos immediately put together some drawings.

One of the most attractive things about having Stantec involved in the fulfillment of the velodrome campaign is the fact that the firm is a leader in sustainable designs and in utilizing LEED[i]: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED consists of a standardized rating system for the design, construction and operation of both commercial and residential buildings as high performance green architecture. Carlos said that it’s basically a way to lessen the carbon footprint and that a velodrome is a great way to incorporate alternative sources of energy like solar, which is very feasible. Carlos stressed that although the general public believes that building green is more expensive, it’s actually not, depending on how it is designed and incorporated. Stantec is a leader in LEED construction and is at this point, almost completely 100% LEED as that is one of their main goals. The company is even working on going paperless. He said that generally speaking, Stantec can build a facility that is LEED applicable and still be within a normal project budget.

As far as the velodrome campaign goes, the next immediate steps include finalizing the general concept and getting approval from the city council; then generating full scale construction documents and then finally submitting them to the city for permit approval so construction can begin.

[i] http://www.usgbc.org/

Savage Sprints finale and Alleger’s plan for the future

Dino Dante — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 07:28:57 +0000

By: Heather Nielson

In January of 2011, Dean Alleger started his first series of Savage Sprints roller racing. His hope was that it would bring awareness to the Sacramento Valley Velodrome Project. They ran on alternating Sundays and totaled 6 events. He has held them at The Hot Italian on 16th and Q in midtown Sacramento California. There were sometimes wall to wall spectators from two-wheeled athletes to many other athletes aside from track racing. It garnered so much attention from passers-by that several people were inspired to participate in their first bicycle competition; albeit on stationary track bikes on top of rollers with the front fork affixed. Some have even begun taking up cycling and possibly bike racing in the very near future as a result of their curiosity with the event’s inaugural weeks. Results and timing were mostly done by hand with volunteers helping where needed. For the second series of Savage Sprints which began in October of 2011, Alleger wanted to make the event more efficient so he enlisted the help of local time keeper Gene Redmond, owner of Time Your Race to help with registration and timing.

The second series of Savage Sprints which began in the fall of 2011 was also done on alternating Sundays with a total of 9 events running into late February of 2012. Near the end of the second series, Dean felt that they had reached the point of diminishing returns in fundraising when he calculated in time spent writing e-mails, having meetings with possible investors and advocates, set-up and break-down of each event; it was easily 200 hours to put on just one series. That being said, the momentum has obviously been building and continues to draw support.

The Sacramento Valley Velodrome Association has filed the necessary non-profit paperwork with the IRS to qualify as a 501(c)3 organization. Alleger said the check has been cashed and expects the arrival of the final certificate and paperwork in the mail any day.

The cost analysis of the Savage Sprint event and the recent filing for the 501(c)3 status helped inspire Alleger to feel that something different needed to be done next year to raise the project to a higher level. He officially dismantled the Savage Sprints after the final event last month. For the next part of the campaign, he envisions a formal gala event with perhaps a dinner and silent auction and professional cyclists and industry leaders as some of the attendees. If it’s at the right venue, then adding a sprint tournament to the festivities would only bring more fireworks to the campaign.

Last weekend he had a booth set up right at the front entrance of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show held in downtown Sacramento. Again, his purpose for being at the NAHBS is on the same theme and focus of bringing awareness to the project. Until the next big gala he wants to try to participate at as many events as possible that he feels would help bring awareness to the campaign. He plans on being at the Girl Scouts of America anniversary at the end of March and then also for Diva Night at Bicycle Plus in May.

Artists Rendering from Stantec

Dino Dante — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:01:52 +0000

Our friend Carlos Josa at Stantec set us up with some beautiful architectural renderings of our proposed velodrome at Granite Regional Park site. Look for a story in the next week or two about Carlos and Stantec! We will have an information booth at the North American Handmade Bike Show this weekend so be sure to drop by and say “hey!”

Our Current Board of Directors

Dino Dante — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:27:34 +0000

It seems there is some confusion regarding who is on our Board of Directors. So here you go:

Dean Alleger (Chief Executive Officer) founded SVVA and is a Level II USA Cycling certified coach, competitive track cyclist and mechanic for Rex Cycles Handmade Bikes. During the 2010 track season, Dean earned two first place finishes and one second place. He is also CEO of Savage Sprints, a cycling training program.

Kevin Hedahl (Controller) is a Senior Accountant at the American Red Cross and previously worked in a public accounting firm auditing non-profits. He successfully raced at Alpenrose Velodrome and represented Portland State University at the U.S. Collegiate National Track Championships in 2007.

Carrie Lo (Advisor) has helped transact and manage multi-million dollar investments for investment bank Salomon Smith Barney, mutual fund Parnassus Investments, hedge fund Algert Coldiron Investors and the California State Teachers Retirement System. She is an avid cyclist and previously raced for McGuire Real Estate.

Michael Sayers (Advisor) is a two-time member of the US World Championship Team (2002, 2003) and raced professionally for more than Fouteen years, including for Mercury Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing Team and the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Team. He is currently Sport Director for BMC Racing Team, the USA Elite World Championship Team and the USA Elite Olympic Road Team.

Larry Wolff, M.D. (Treasurer) is a cardiologist who built a respected solo practice in Sacramento more than thirty years ago. He is also an accomplished cyclist, having won two national track cycling titles and competed in three world championship track events, including a third-place finish.

Alleger’s Vision of the Sacramento Velodrome

Dino Dante — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:50:58 +0000

By: Heather Nielson

Since Dean Alleger started his aggressive campaign to get a velodrome built in the Sacramento area, he has often been asked what kind of velodrome it’s going to be: Velodromes can be indoor or outdoor. The advantage of having an outdoor one, like the Hellyer Park Velodrome located in San Jose California, is its’ lower cost of maintenance. Indoor velodromes like the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Carson California, require exorbitant funds for climate control. One estimation puts its’ monthly climate control costs at $30,000. The disadvantage of having an outdoor track is of course exposure to the environment. Since it’s not being climate controlled, the materials that it’s constructed out of need to meet more robust standards. Additionally, when making the decision about whether to build a track outdoor or indoor, the local yearly weather averages need to be considered. A track made out of soft pinewood would not only be too soft and are known to break easily but will also be more susceptible to weathering. Bloomer Park Velodrome in Detroit Michigan is made out of marine-grade plywood and is 10 years old (construction was completed in 2002) and is still in good shape. Another outdoor track, the SUPERDROME in Frisco Texas, sees the opposite extreme in weather as Michigan. Even so, the heat index in Frisco Texas is much higher than Sacramento and their track requires yearly maintenance that includes board replacement. Alleger believes that the marine-grade plywood is more than suitable for the Northern California weather averages as well as its’ extremes. The undercarriage would be made out of steel. The builder that Alleger would like to employ, Dale Hughes built the Bloomer Park Velodrome as well as the track for the Atlanta games in 1996.

Even with the lower cost of building an outdoor track compared to an indoor one, the most financially viable way to realize Dean’s vision is to set its’ construction up into phases. Approximately a million dollars in funds would include the track, tunnel, grand stands for 1,000 and lights. That initial price would be even lower if more local construction and manufacturing companies generously contributed. Alleger is confident however that even under a communal effort, the quality of the velodrome would not be compromised as Dale would oversee its’ entire construction process. Dale’s manufacturing history is so impressive that he’s confident that this first phase would be completed in about 120 days.

This coming Sunday night the 19th will be the final in a series of Savage Sprints for the 2011-2012 season. It’s the second year that Dean has held these sprints in an effort to build awareness, excitement and funds in campaigning for the velodrome.

Alleger stated on Thursday February 16, 2012:

‘This Sunday will be the final event in the current set-up of the Savage Sprints. Our non-profit should be finalized in the next week or two and it’s time to move toward bigger and better ways to gain awareness and support for the velodrome project. Savage Sprints is getting dismantled and sold off starting Monday. It’s time to identify the fast and fearless and take it to the streets! Thanks to all that have shown an interest and contributed to our effort. Don’t miss out on the final episode, it promises to be a barn burner!’

Trivia in a tat

Steve McClelland — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:19:16 +0000

Trivia: Solid Savage Sprints supporter, Kevin Mansker has driven from Southern Cal with little sleep and then drove back again after a few sprints at Hot Italian. What molecule is permanently tattooed on this Olympic hopeful’s shin?

Sprint finals at Savage Sprints 2.7 (videos)

Steve McClelland — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:42:18 +0000

Version 2.7 of Savage Sprints was a huge success with a small but extremely loud crowd. Watch Hot Italian worker bee and sprint regular, Autumn Hardy post against Missy Erickson of Team Badass.

Kevin Mansker showed up with his game-face on, but Nick Oliver’s no stranger to winning sprints. Watch the men’s final as the winner sets a new “track” record.

Sac Bee’s McManus visits sprints

Steve McClelland — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:03:07 +0000

Scores of hard-bodied types adorned either in clingy Lycra or bike-messenger-casual came to Hot Italian, the sopraffino Italian bistro in midtown Sacramento, not to consume calories but to burn them.

Knock yourselves out, guys. I’ll just sit here eating pizza and watching you sweat and strain and contort your faces into a rictus of pain astride stationary bicycles. Hey, pass the red pepper oil, will ya?

So says Sacramento Bee columnist, Sam McManis who visited the latest installment of Savage Sprints to take in the throngs of sweaty bodies and “sequoia-quad sprinters” for his column in the Sacramento Bee.

Read the full Sac Bee.com article to learn more about Dino, “running the show, acting like a ringmaster and looking like the coolest middle-school gym teacher ever.”

Wild crowds, big donations at sprint event

Steve McClelland — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:12:53 +0000

Mansker prepares to square off against David Mann

Version 2.7 of Savage Sprints at Hot Italian proved to be a fund-raising boon despite the small but enthusiastic crowds. Bill Nicely, the president of Stevens Bicycles p/b Pactimo, showed up to race and support the likes of Heather Lipana. But he started off the event by giving a pledge of $100 toward the Velodrome’s Capitol fund for every sub-8-second race. And this on a night that Project London 2012 team member and Olympic hopeful, Kevin Mansker was in town to prove his mettle.

Staunch velodrome supporter Steve Rex of Rex Cycles quickly chimed in with a matching of funds for each racer to throw down in the 7′s. The crowd went wild and the racing hadn’t even begun.

Peggy Rex quickly asked, “Wait, what are you matching?” and moments later David Allen had turned in the first $200 ride.

Peggy Rex and Bill Nicely watching the records drop

From there the energy grew to a fevered pitch as Mansker turned in a time of 7.608 seconds–a “track” record–against visiting diginitary David Mann, the promoter of the Marymoore Grand Prix.

This was only the qualifying round. The normally goofy, playing-around Mansker, who has been known to race one-legged or wearing his TT helmet backwards, showed up with his game face and took his part in the fundraising seriously.

As the women took to the bikes, 11-year-old Zarah Del Duca beat out several old hats, wowing the crowd with an 11.266 and then followed that up with a 10.785 over the 250 meter simulated distance. But then it was time for first-time Savage Sprinter Missy Erickson who donned her race helmet and glasses and spun at Mansker’s urging to a 9.162.

Zara Del Duca shortly after wowing the crowd with a 10.785!

Personal records were beaten again and again on this night, but Mansker wasn’t content with that. Setting a new track record of 7.443 seconds, Mansker raised the pledged donations to $1000 for the night. Only a short time later he did it again, this time shaving .006 off of his short-lived record.

The donations rose so quickly that when former winner of the event, David Allen raced to just above the cutoff with an 8.021 second finish, Nicely could be heard jokingly thanking him. But it wasn’t the end of the record-setting night.

Erickson of Team Badass–no stranger to the track–took the women’s record to task bringing the time-to-beat down to 8.839 seconds with a win against the ever-enthusiastic Autumn Hardy. Hardy is the only contestant that routinely counts down her own start: “Four-Three-Two-One-GO!

Nicely kept the pledges coming with a “side bet” of $100 if the women’s finalists, Erickson and Hardy, could beat 9 seconds. Erickson beat it to take the championship round and bring the night’s fundraising to $2100 for the night.

The top 20 women and top 20 men will compete in the finals for this version of Savage Sprints at Hot Italian on February 19, 2012.

Results for all of the Savage Sprints since October are available at TimeYourRace.com.