Local Voices
Team SmartStop® Pro Cycling Team Wins USA Pro Road Race National Championship
The Team SmartStop® Pro Cycling team defied the odds to finish first and second at the USA Pro Road Race National Championships on Monday, May 26, in Chattanooga, Tenn., winning the national championship. Eric Marcotte of Team SmartStop® placed first, while teammates Travis McCabe and Julian Kyar took second and fifth, respectively.
“This is a huge accomplishment for our sponsored cycling team,” said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Ladera Ranch’s Strategic Storage Trust, Inc., a publicly registered REIT targeting the self-storage market under the SmartStop® Self Storage brand name. “We believe we’re going to see even bigger and better things happen for this team and everyone involved in it.”
Marcotte and Kyar started their attack on the first lap and stayed in a ten-man break for the majority of the race.
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“All of a sudden there were 10 of us, and we were rolling,” Kyar said. “When I went with the move I had a voice in my head that said ‘go,’ and I rolled up there.”
Team SmartStop®’s new director, Michael Creed, one of the most decorated amateur riders in U.S. history, played a crucial role in the win.
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“I thought winning the national championship was possible,” Creed said, “but a lot of things had to go our way. By no way did I think it was a pipe dream, but I never would have thought that we would go first and second. But we came up with a plan, and it literally went exactly as we said. The only difference was that McCabe changed roles with Marcotte.”
Team SmartStop sponsors include Mercury Wheels, Giro Helmets, The Happy Tooth Family Dentistry and Orthodontics, Wilier Trestina bicycles, Champion System clothing, SRAM components, Maxxis tires, TRP brakes, Tifosi optics, Mountain Khakis, Ritchey components, Selle San Marco saddles, KMC chains, SAPIM spokes, Enzo’s Embrocation, Polar, ProGold Lubricants, Thule, YPM, Amgraph Group, Maple Reinders, Medallion Construction, Feedback Sports, K3 Holders, and Keen shoes.
“We are excited about the new direction for the 2014 season and are extremely proud of all our past and future riders,” Schwartz said. “We feel the 2014 team represents our philanthropic desire to keep our communities healthy and promote an active lifestyle. Cycling also demonstrates teamwork, which incorporates skill and camaraderie similar to the business principles that are practiced everyday by our own SmartStop® Self Storage corporate team.”
