With love, laughter and plenty of jokes, one American-based cycling team said they have found the recipe for success by creating a family, rather than a team, atmosphere.
Many of the cyclists for the Holowesko Citadel racing team said no other group they’ve been on comes close to the brotherhood they currently feel.
“I’ve been on a few different teams before this,” said cyclist John Murphy. “You know, other teams are good, but this team has got something different that every other team is trying to do it, but they can’t do it. This is the only team that is doing it. That is why they win so much.”
“Trust me, with all the other teams I’ve been on, nothing is like this,” said cyclist TJ Eisenhart. “Nothing. All those guys they said the same. Like, we’ve never been on a team like this where it really is like a family. And even when I’m home, with my family, like, I miss these guys.”
According to the USA Cycling Board, the team is currently ranked second in the 2017 men’s cycling team standings. Murphy said he believes it’s because of the high energy and positivity that encircles the team.
Founded upon the ideas of having fun, working hard and growing together, Brian Doege, the team’s head DJ and masseuse, said many teams only compete to get their cyclists to the finish line, but he says cycling is more than just a gold medal to Holowesko Citadel.
“It’s great when you have a team that it doesn't matter who it is, anybody can win,” Doege said. “Not all the teams are like that.”
“Yeah, that’s what makes it more like a family vibe, too, is like, you don't care who’s gonna win,” Eisenhart said. “Like, as long as you actually want someone else to win as well.”
Thomas Craven, the team’s director, said that what makes his team different is their excitement to support each individual bike racer.
“There’s a certain amount of excitement of going to the events,” Craven said. “There’s a certain amount of disappointment if we don't succeed, but the thrill and the jubilation of winning a race is something that you can’t ever recreate in anything you do. And then this team, when you do that [win], you immediately look for your buddies, your team, your family, and you come running to them. And it’s those moments that you’re like, ‘Yes, that’s what we did. We did it again.’”
Cyclists Tyler Magner and Murphy have won two of the four stages during the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Other members of the team have placed within the top 25 in each leg of the seven-day race. The tour ends this Sunday at the state capitol in Salt Lake City.
