Strava: King of the KOM’s

by Eli

I will always keep a goal…
Cover image purloined from Ryan Noonan.
 
I asked the King of the KOM’s for a few words regarding his past, present and future. Here’s what he had to say:
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I grew up in New Jersey. I’ve been riding in the area since 2006 and would say that that is when I started to ride consistently. At the time, I had purchased a hard tail mountain bike after riding my brother’s bike for some time. Eventually, I began riding up to 40 local miles. A fellow rider in the area encouraged me on a ride which took us into the city and around the boroughs. We returned with a century. At the time, riding was that: exploring new areas in NJ/NY and building endurance. The heavier bike was a low-end department store mountain bike. I would spend my rides chasing down weekend warriors on 9w.
 
Thousands of miles later it was time to upgrade to a road bike. In 2009, some friends of mine showed interest in racing themselves so Mike Zak and I would drive to double up on races at Branchbrook in cat 4/5. Months later, we were riding to our races in Rockleigh then biking back home to Fair Lawn. It was during this time that Team Cosmic formed and was great to have the help and support of the bike shop.
   
Some time later in 2012 when my garmin was in need of a repair, I downloaded the strava app as a way to record data. After uploading my rides to see leaderboard rankings, it became a cool feature to go after top times of a segment. Being familiar with the roads, it made sense to go after some of these segments. Rankings were based on times posted from other riders. For me it was cool to see elite level riders atop the leader board. It was a really good motivator. During this time, I had already signed up for the GFNY. The idea of posting the best time on a particular segment benefited me cause it would be exactly the aim I had for event day. 
 
Now when I ride, I usually don’t go out for the sole intent of attaining a Kom. To me, strava has become a community of athletes in which we can share workouts and/or view progress. Currently, as a Cat 2, my view has altered from Pro level success due to the many implications of doping. To have riders first deny only to later admit otherwise has to rest solely within their own circumstances. I just think it is unfortunate. If they are proven to compete unfairly then maybe it’s best for them to move on. 
 
My goal now is to improve and to do that takes consistent hard work in which I am thankful to have help and support of those closest to me. Along the way, Ian O’Brien and the support of athletes and friends have helped my progress..
 
I will always keep a goal (though at the moment)…it may well be the bear mountain Kom currently held by cyclocross Pro Jason Sager. 
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The King of the KOM’s currently holds the KOM in 169 segments, with his most recent usurping just yesterday. Can you guess who he is?

21 Comments

Bernardo Tank

Champ Sys announced the ending of their pro conti team on the same day Pat McQuaid lost the election. That is likely because under Cookson major asian stage races, like Tour of Beijing and Hong Kong will shut down. Those races can’t raise enough money to support themselves as it is and teams don’t want to do them. There was an article about it the other day in one of the news publications.

Eli

From Rockleigh’s facebook page:

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dear friend and long time Rockleigh fixture, Lou Virgillo. Lou took his last bell lap on Tuesday 10/1/2013 at his home in New City, NY.

We will post information regarding services as we get them from the family.

sweet sassy

in the world does this mean?

Currently, as a Cat 2, my view has altered from Pro level success due to the many implications of doping. To have riders first deny only to later admit otherwise has to rest solely within their own circumstances. I just think it is unfortunate. If they are proven to compete unfairly then maybe it’s best for them to move on.

Nevermind, I don’t care, as I don’t care about any of the words on this page

Comments are closed.