Team Ajax Tavern
2012 Cycling and Triathlon season has begun! Below you will find information on our adventures as we race, train and explore the US and world beyond.
Team Ajax Tavern is proud to be a sponsor of the Aspen/Snowmass Women's Pro Challenge: August 20-23, 2012 - click here for more details.
5/4-5/6:
Race Results from the weekend:
JP and his race partner came in 2nd at 18 Hours of Fruita in the duo category.
Wade Newsom wrapped up 5 days of racing at the Gila with a 3rd place finish on the Gila Monster and a 5th place in the GC!
And Mike Montgomery had a fast Ironman 70.3 in St. Croix and came in 4th in his division.
Team Training Camp, Boulder: Thanks to those of you who were able to make it to the team weekend in Boulder. We had some great rides and a fun dinner. Highlights for me were seeing all of our kits cruising down the roads of Boulder.
5/2: Aspen Cycling Club: Spring Gulch Uphill Road Race: Race Results
4/25: Aspen Cycling Club: Difficult Time Trial: Race Results
10/8: Ironman WorldChampionship - Mike Montgomery: Race Results
Congratulations to Mike for qualifing and competing in another Ironman WorldChampioship!
9/24: XTERRA National Championship Race Report - JP Hutchens
Some days you have and some days you don’t. Unfortunately I didn’t have it for the National Championship. I had the goal of making the podium, and I wasn’t even close. I finished 11th in my Age group. There wasn’t one particular incident or mechanical that was the root of my poor performance, I just felt sluggish all day.
As usual I had a poor swim, but usually I can make it back to the leaders while on the bike. Quickly into the bike I realized this wasn’t going to happen. I was low on power and energy. I made up some time on the downhill but flatted near transition. Fortunately the tire held enough air to limp me into transition. The run didn’t go much better. I wasn’t able to get any speed or rhythm until 4 miles in, which is way too late.
I was disappointed, Nationals comes once a year, and its fun opportunity to test myself against the best in the country.
Next Year.
If you watch the video (link below) I’m in there a few times. Once on the Bike and once at the finish.
Video XTERRA National Championships
9/21: Aspen Cycling Club's Season End Results and Recap: Race Results
All, Congratulations on another fantastic year of local Aspen racing. As a team we had some amazing end of season results I’d like to share as Ajax Tavern took top spots in many categories:
Junior Men Overall & Mountain – 1st Gardner Nichols 2nd Hunter Callahan
Kids – 3rd place Ethan Burkley
Grand Masters Overall & Mountain – 1st Ed Cross 2nd place John Phillips
Senior Men A Overall & Mountain – 1st Max Taam
Senior Women A Overall – 2nd Lauren Waldron 3rd Tess Weaver
Vet Men A Overall – 3rd Lo Semple
Grand Master Road – 1st John Phillips, 2nd Ed Cross
Junior Men Road – 1st Hunter Callahan, 2nd Gardner Nichols
Senior Men A Road – 1st Max Taam, 2nd Greg Strokes
Senior Women A Road – 1st Lauren Waldron
Senior Women A Mountain – 2nd Tess Weaver
Vet Men A Mountain – 2nd Lo Semple
Congrats to all of you and especially those of you that cranked it out week after week during this long season!
9/9: Ironman 70.3 World Championship Results - Mike Montgomery: Full Results
Congratulations to Aspen's Mike Montgomery for finishing 7th in the 40-44 men's age group at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships! Next stop is Kona for the full Ironman World Championships for Mike.
9/7: Aspen Cycling Club's Maroon Bells Time Trial - Road Race: Race Results
9/6: Team Update from Director Sportif, Jan Koorn:
Just a few updates for all of you. Max Taam won the inaugural Power of 4 Mountain bike race. 11,000 feet of vertical in about 33 miles which took Max less than 4 hours to complete. Lo Semple came in a solid 15th overall. Nice work! Also in that race were Peter Santini and Rich Burkley.
This past weekend was the Steamboat Stage Race and Ajax Tavern had two racers representing. Hunter Callahan raced in the Junior 15 – 18 year old division. With a turn-out of 25 riders it was a solid field which included the National Champion from Ecuador. Hunter’s 4th place finish in the 6.5 mile TT would have been good enough to put him near the top 10 of the P 1/2 field! He was 6th in the Crit/Circuit race, 5th in the Road Race, 3rd in the short crit and 5th in the overall general classification! Awesome job!
Greg Strokes also raced in Steamboat. I believe his 2nd time racing in the Cat 3 division. He placed 11th in the TT, 20th in the long crit, 17th in the Road Race, 9th in the short crit and 12th in the overall general classification. Nice work Greg!
8/17: Aspen Cycling Club's Base Village Short Track - Mountain Bike Race: Race Results
8/10: Aspen Cycling Club's Emma Roubaix - Road Bike Race: Race Results
8/5: Team Update from Director Sportif, Jan Koorn:
Big congrats to Abby Mickey who earned her Cat 2 road license yesterday! She started the season at Cat 4 and has worked her way up with a series of solid results. Come watch her race the Aspen/Snowmass Pro Women’s Stage race August 22nd – 24th right here in the roaring fork valley. She’ll be racing along-side Jessica Phillips for Team Ajax Tavern and a stacked field with the best female cyclists in the world! Nice work Abby!!
8/3: Aspen Cycling Club's Blast the Mass - Mountain Bike Race: Race Results
8/3: Team Update from Director Sportif, Jan Koorn:
Starting it off we now have a Colorado State Champion on our team in Greg Strokes who took home top honors this past weekend in Salida winning the Road Race. He also won the TT and took a solid 3rd in the crit! Awesome work buddy!
JP Hutchens qualified for the Xterra World Championship with his 5th place performance at Xterra Beaver Creek.
Jason Anderson took 1st in both the Keystone XC and the Keystone short track in the Cat 1 field.
Abby Mickey got her first taste of top level women’s racing and mixed it up with Cat ½ ladies in the Salida Crit and finished in the main pack! Looking forward to seeing her get her upgrade!
Hunter Callahan had a solid performance in Salida as well with an awesome 6th place finish in the road race.
Ed Cross placed fourth in his division in Salida.
7/27: Aspen Cycling Club's Maroon Bells / Ashcroft Race - Race Results
Congratulations to another great night of racing for Team Ajax Tavern! In the Senior Men A category, Greg Strokes made it across the line with the main group with a sprint finish to place 5th overall – great time for a long race! Also a top finish for Lorenzo Semple taking 3rd overall in Vet Men A, JP Hutchens and Mike Gettinger were not too far behind the lead group with only a 4 minute gap. John Phillips and Ed Cross swept first and second in the Grand Masters while Lauren Waldron finished second in Senior Women A. Gardner Nichols also finished second in the Junior Men posting a fast time! And congrats to Peter Santini for finishing one of the longest ACC races. Nice work team!
7/20: Aspen Cycling Club's Government to Aspen Golf Course Race - Mountain Bike Race - Race Results
7/17: First Half Ironman Finish for Team Director, Justin Todd - Vineman 70.3
Ignore the time in the photo - he actually finish well under 7:44.
7/13: Aspen Cycling Club's Smuggler Hunter Creek Race - Mountain Bike Race - Race Results
7/6: Aspen Cycling Club's Woody Creek Criterium- Road Race - Race Results
6/29: Aspen Cycling Club's Reverse Cross Mountain - Mountain Bike Race - Race Results
Another big night for Team Ajax Tavern! JP Hutchens destroyed the Vet Men A field with a minute plus win over a strong field. Lo Semple rounded out the top 5 in that field of bad asses. Also a top the leader board was John Phillips in the Grand Masters with more than a 12 minute gap to his closest competitor! Ed Cross came in a solid 3rd in that field. On the women’s side – Abby and Lauren went 2-3 in the Senior Women A race both posting awesome times.
Also congrats to Max for his 2nd place finish in the Senior Men A race… he may be racing in Honey Stinger colors but we are still proud of him!
Jan Koorn, Director Sportif
6/26: Aspen Cycling Club Team Points Standing as of June 26th - it's a close battle with Basalt Bike & Ski
Click here to view standings 
6/25: Lap the Lake 50 and Wildflower Rush
Big congrats go out to two of our esteemed teammates on their results at Lap the Lake 50 over the weekend! Both Greg Strokes and Hunter Callahan placed second place overall in their respective races (Hunter raced the 1 lap course and Greg the 3 lap course). Hunter was in a 2 man break away right from the start and lost out by mere seconds to a guy 8 years his elder. Nice work both of you!
Also congrats to Lauren Waldron for her 2nd place finish in the Cat 2 women’s Wildflower Rush race in Crested Butte!
Jan Koorn, Director Sportif
6/22: Aspen Cycling Club's Basalt-Norrie Race - Longest Road Race of the Season - results listed here
Team Ajax Tavern had some stellar results from the longest cycling club race of the year – the Basalt-Norrie Race! Our Senior Women A dominated that field taking four out of the top five spots. Abby continues to show her strength and finished almost 3 minutes ahead of the field. Lauren took second in a sprint finish and Tess and Karen rounded out the top 5. Nice work!
In the Senior Men A race, Max Taam outsprinted front range Pro Chris Carr to take first, while Jason Anderson bracketed the lead group to take fifth!
JP came straight from the airport to take 5th in the Vet Men A field. And in the Grand Master division, John and Ed took 1st and 3rd respectively. And at the other end of the age categories, Hunter took first in the Junior Men. Also, congrats to Matt Hamilton in his first year of racing with the ACC on this 3rd place finish in the Sport Men!
All around awesome effort by everyone!
Jan Koorn, Director Sportif
6/17-6/19: Rocky Mountain Omnium: More Strong Results from Team Ajax Tavern
Race Results via this link 
6/17: Jessica Phillips with Eddie and Nicholas Lampert on a training ride to Maroon Bells
6/15: Aspen Cycling Club's Butterhack XC Circuit Race
XC circuit race, Team Ajax Tavern is on a roll! Results are outlined here.
6/8: Aspen Cycling Club's Snowmass Circuit Race
First circuit race of the season, Team Ajax Tavern posted some great results. Results are outlined here.
6/1: Aspen Cycling Club's Smuggler Time Trial
Known as one of the most challenging races of the season, Team Ajax Tavern posted some great results. Results are outlined here.
5/30: Memorial Day Weekend - Team Racing Recap
Ajax Tavern Cycling had a great weekend of results. Here is how some of your faired (let me know if I missed anyone):
Greg Strokes – 1st in the Ironhorse Omnium Cat 4! He was 1st in the Crit, 2nd in the TT and 4th in the Road Race. Nice work Greg! http://www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com/sites/default/files/Omnium_Worksheet_Final.pdf
On the front range Abby Mickey placed 4th in the Cat 4 women at the classic Morgul Bismark. Here’s her recap:
“4th in the women's cat 4. fun ride broke away first time up the wall attacked a few times and dropped a few girls from the breakaway group then sat on. 2 girls broke away and i chased with two other girls and beat one of them in the final climb up the wall to the finish” - Nice work!
https://register.skitosea.com/Results/ResultsHome.aspx
For the rest of us, we had a great group ride on Saturday. Keep an eye out for Hunter Callahan this season… if the road is pointed up, he’s going to be at the front.
Thanks for getting out there to represent Ajax Tavern and the rest of our sponsors!
Jan Koorn, Director Sportif
5/25: Aspen Cycling Club's Rio Grande Mountain Bike Time Trial
Team Ajax Tavern is looking strong throughout all categories of racing. This was weather make up race from eariler in the season. Results are outlined here.
5/22: Final Update from Jessica Phillips at the AMGEN Tour of California
"Sunday, May 22nd, Jessica's 25th (or something close) Birthday:
What a fun way to celebrate a birthday, watching the tour of california from a VIP tent right on the finish line. I can't tell you too much about the race, but in the NetApp VIP tent we enjoyed BBQ beef sliders, great wine, and a very fun, very generous bartender. HTC finally won a stage with Matt Goss sprinting to the win in Thousand Oaks. And Tejay finished the tour in 3rd GC and won the best young rider jersey!!
To celebrate the week's success we went to a very fun team dinner at some Italian restaurant in Augora HIlls. The riders and staff of HTC know how to cap off a great week, and it was nice to finally meet all of the riders and the staff that I have heard so much about. RadioShack was hosting a huge party in L.A. but Tejay and I decided to turn down the big event and head back to the hotel. We thought it was the "responsible" decision, but in the end, I think we had the most fun night. Tejay bought all the beer at the hotel bar and generously supplied the Leopard-Trek team, Bissel Team and Liquigas teams with plenty of drinks. It was so funny because we kept giving Andy Schleck beer and pizza, trying to fatten him up for the Tour de France! It was so fun to see Tejay enjoying himself and celebrating his great results. Next stop for Tejay is US Nationals and then Aspen!!!"
5/22: Aspen Cycling Weekend / Criterium
Following is a recap of the Criterium races from our Director Sportif - Jan Koorn:
"Thanks to all of you that were able to come out and race or support the team at yesterday’s crits. The team had a great turn out and some great results. The day started off with the Club races and Ajax Tavern had three racers in the first race of the day – Master’s John Phillips and Ed Cross woke their legs up early and gutted it out over thirty minutes. Junior Racer Gardner Nichols took 2nd place in his division with a very strong showing. Vet Men Mike Gettinger and Lo Semple finished 4th and 7th respectively while putting on a solid showing of crit tactics. Max Taam took the win in the Senior Men A race outsprinting Joel Mishke to the line. Teammate Greg Strokes toke third in his first ever crit showing the strength that has put him atop the points board for the Cycling Club series. Peter Santini actually put away the baggy shorts and 30lb mountain bike to try out his first ever crit and put in a good showing. In the afternoon USAC races, Mike Gettinger and Ed Cross finished 2nd and 3rd in their respective categories (both racing their 2nd race of the day!). In the Cat 4 race, Greg Strokes took his second 3rd of the day, while yours truly snuck into 4th. Mike Gettinger (in his 3rd race of the day finished 9th) and JP Hutchens finished a solid 10th after lighting up the field with a couple of attacks. In the Pro 1/2 race Max Taam finished 11th in a stacked field of fast racers, while heart attack survivor and coach extraordinaire Scott Kasin finish 28th in the field.
All in all a great day of racing! A big thank you to our sponsors:
Oakley for the best eyewear in the business. You can’t race if you can’t see! Thanks Greg and Oakley!
Honey Stinger for fueling the legs with tastiness. Order your next round of goodies through me when you are ready.
MyKatalyst for the pre-race coaching and training. Scott is also your guy for bike fits as well as connections to HED and SRM power meters
Orbea – we may not all be riding these bikes, but we should be.
The Little Nell & Aspen/Snowmass – the $$ behind this team.
And of course Ajax Tavern for the best post-race meal you’ll have anywhere – the Ajax Double!
Finally, big thanks to Justin Todd for his support for all of the racers throughout the day! None of this would be possible without his endless hours of work.
Awesome weekend everyone!"
5/20: AMGEN Tour of California - Jessica Phillips
Jessica rode a great TT in the AMEGN Tour of California - with a little Happy Birthday note from her mom along the way.
5/19: Congratulations to Tejay Van Garderen - AMGEN Tour of California
Team Ajax Tavern would like to congratulate Tejay Van Garderen on moving into first place in the Best Young Rider Category at the AMEGN Tour of California. Now on to the Time Trial tomorrow for both Jessica and Tejay.
5/19: Update#2 from Jessica Phillips at the AMGEN Tour of California
"Training with HTC, how professional. We met at 9:15 to get helmets fitted, and we were pedaling by 9:30. When you are making plans with Germans, you better be on time, no matter what. As outlined in the email, we started with about 15-20 min. easy spinning, and then we did some TTT work. Not at 100 %, but I will say I felt a little out of place rotating in the team time trial of HTC. Then we practiced the start of the TT, because this will be an important part of tomorrow's race. The TT starts up a really steep hill, so gearing will be important. The rest of the ride was just a spin around the TT course, with a few efforts up the climb.
This evening was an organized dinner for all 13 riders and their team managers. It was great to catch up with the riders and I made some very good connections for the Aspen Race. I spoke with cycling news and a reporter from ESPN. The streets of Solvang are already closed off and all the hotels are filled with cycling fans and tour groups. Tomorrow should be an exciting, and painful day!!"
5/18: Update from Jessica Phillips at the AMGEN Tour of California
"It was a big decision; go to Sierra Grade and watch Tejay finish, or drive down to Solvang and prepare for the TT. As much as I wanted to be there to support Tejay, we decided that we can actually see the race better on T.V., and it would be a smart idea to get settled into Solvang. So after a 4 hour drive of rain and wind, we arrived to Solvang, enjoying a balmy 56 degree afternoon. After watching Tejay gut it out, fight until the end, and put up a very admirable battle, I jumped on my bike and road the TT course. It is an awesome course, so much fun (o,k, when you are just riding easy). The downhill is very winding with some hairpin corners and I am wondering how much of the decent I will be able to stay in my TT bars. HTC is helping me out with TT wheels and helmet, so I dropped off my TT bike with the (german) mechanic. He told me that training was at 9:30 am, be there early, and I then received a very structured schedule for the 2 hr. training ride. Not exactly in my plan, but I am so grateful for their help, and it will probably be good for me."
5/18: Aspen Cycling Club Woody Creek Road Race
Due to adverse conditions the Woody Creek Road Race was challenged yesterday, so the team went out for a short training ride.
5/14: XTERRA Moab - 2nd Place in Age Group
Great start to the season for Team Ajax Tavern's, JP Hutchens! He finished 2nd place in the 35-39 age group and qualified for XTERRA Nationals.
5/4: Aspen Cycling Club Old Snowmass Time Trial - Another Win for Team Ajax Tavern
Congratulations to Greg Stokes for his second win of the season - two in a row! Max Taam finished third and the women's team had another strong race. Click here for full race results.
4/30: Ironman 70.3 St. Croix Age Group Win for Mike Montgomery
Congratulations to Mike Montgomery for his age group win at Ironman 70.3 St. Croix! With this win, Mike has qualified for another World Championship in Kona this October.
4/29: Tour of the Gila: Days 3, 4 & 5 - Jessica Phillips Moving up in GC
Jessica Phillips showed her strength and mental toughness by finishing 7th on Day 3 in the Time Trial. An unfortunate mechancial issue put out of the top ranking during the Criterium on Day 4. To close out the Tour of the Gila, Jessica just missed the podium with a 4th place finish. Congratulations to Jessica on a strong start to the season!
4/27: Tour of the Gila - Jessica Phillips Racing Strong
Team Ajax Tavern's, Jessica Phillips, is racing strong in the Tour of the Gila. Days one and two are in the books, now on to her specialty the Time Trial.
4/27: First Aspen Cycling Club Race of the Season - Difficult Time Trial
Team Ajax Tavern's, Greg Stokes, takes first place in the Difficult Time Trial. The team had a great showing on a very cold start to the season. Click here for full results from the race.
4/22: Team Camp in Boulder
Due to some unexpected snow following us from Aspen to Boulder, Team Ajax Tavern changed course and made our way the Velodrome in Boulder. An incredible experience - a must do for any cyclist. Jessica Phillips got in some great training from the upcoming Tour of the Gila this week. Next time you are Boulder stop by the Velodrome at Boulder Indoor Cycling: http://www.boulderindoorcycling.com/
4/10: Mead Roubaix - Mike Gettinger - 2nd Place Finish
Team Ajax Tavern's Mike Gettinger had a strong showing at the Mead Roubaix in Mead, Colorado on April 10, 2011. Second place finish is a great start to the season!
Team Bike 2011
We would like to thank Orbea for providing our team with incredible bikes to race on this season!
Jessica Phillips Returns to Team Ajax Tavern
We are very excited to have Jessica Phillips, 2002 Women's National Road Champion and 2009 Women's National Time Trail Champion, back riding with us full time in 2011. Her first major race will be the Tour of the Gila, April 27-May 1, 2011; followed by the National Championships in June. Later in the season, she will race in the first annual Aspen/Snowmass Women's Pro Stage Race, August 22-24, 2011. She is the co-founder of this new race that will showcase the talents of professional women cyclists in a three day stage race based in Aspen and Snowmass, Colorado.
