Thirty-eight year old Russell Stevenson is a Seattle native who wrapped up the 2014 cyclocross season with a nail-biting photo-finish win at the 2014 Masters 35-39 National Championships in Boulder. Although his most recent victory emphasized his tenacity as a competitor, I was more curious about his Seattle cycling roots, his progression on the bike, and his perspective on the growth of cyclocross.
Russell grew up in Greenlake and was on a bike almost as far back as he can remember. He pedaled a bmx at age 6, rode a mountain bike to grammar school, and he was even brave enough to hobble the hallways of Garfield High School in cycling cleats (coming from Greenlake, he was part of Seattle’s attempt to desegregate the public schools).
2014 Cyclocross Championship recap.
As a kid Russell thought of the bike as his buddy, and after school he headed for Ravenna Park looking for new lines and ways to get airborne. At age 15 he got got his feet wet on the road as an uncategorized racer at the weekly Seward Park Series. He says he didn’t take it very seriously at first, and contrary to the upgrade ambitions of most new racers he spent two years as a category 4. (Bike racers are categorized by their race performances with 4 or 5 at the “beginner” end of the spectrum and 1 being pro or “elite.” Most racers work to upgrade as quickly as possible to the next level.)
But, those early years were important because Russell established a network of interpersonal connections that eventually encouraged him to focus on becoming a serious competitor. Seward Series founder David Douglas (then affiliated with Pazzovelo) became a great friend, and Ron Schmeer and Steve Higgins were also important influences. It was the encouragement of Kenny Williams that was the biggest impetus for Russell to get serious about bicycle competition, and as a result of Kenny’s prodding he upgraded from cat 3 to 2 in one year (1999).
Russell talks through the 2014 35-39 Nationals in Boulder:
As Russell established himself as a road racer he connected with Pazzovelo teammate Jonny Sundt. As mere twenty-year-olds Dave Douglas gave them the reigns of the team and a sponsorship.
Post 2014 Masters Championship interview with George Thomas.
Russell first connected with the cyclocross scene in Seattle in the late 1990s. Given his childhood passion for pedaling around Ravenna Park, cyclocross made sense to him from the start. Russell’s first cyclocross bike was a bit of a kludge–a mountain bike equipped with drop bars. Since he was enjoying significant success on the road he didn’t take cross very seriously at first. And, although Russell had a “big engine” compared to many of the other cyclocross competitors, he lacked the bike handling skills necessary to be a serious contender.
At the 2000 Cascade Classic (road) stage race, with virtually no team support, Russell won the best amateur competition, the category 2 race and finished 23rd overall in the elite race. The following year (2001) Russell was 6th overall at the Tour of Willamette. These performances caught the eye of Kirk Willett which led to a 2002 pro contract with Prime Alliance. At that time the Prime Alliance squad included the likes of Chris Horner, Michael Creed, Svein Tuft, Jonas Carney, and Danny Pate. The connection he had with Steve Higgins continued during this period when Steve became a coach. At Prime Alliance Russell raced 80-90 days a year and was constantly traveling, which was a mixed blessing. He was “living the dream,” but the pay was low relative to how hard he was working. Prime Alliance did not renew his contract after the first year and he joined start-up pro team HealthNet in 2003. HealthNet based him in the Bay Area (Oakland) for most the spring and summer. By June of that year Russell was cracked and broken from hard circumstances, and he returned home.
Russell tried to “retire” from road racing in 2003 (age 29). He hung up the bike for a while eventually finding work as a sales rep in Seattle. In contrast to what he earned as a “pro” bike racer, he was earning more and loved it. He also started his own cycling team, Benaroya Research Institute Cycling Team (2004-2010), which quickly became a local powerhouse. He “crushed it” in 2004-2005.
As he reconnected with cyclocross in 2003, he took it more seriously this time around, and he started laying deeper roots in the cross discipline and the cross community. He won his first Seattle Cyclocross series in 2003, was undefeated in ‘04 and scored more victories in ’05. With the change in lifestyle he got his time back and reconnected with the friends who inspired him on the bike and with whom he felt support and camaraderie that was missing for him in the road-racing scene.
2003 was an important cyclocross milestone for Russell in that he developed a winning formula that optimized his strengths on the bike. Since then, and paralleling the rapid growth of cyclocross in the Pacific Northwest, Russell has won multiple WA state cyclocross championships and has multiple Seattle Cyclocross series wins.
He continued his work as a rep, grew in that role, and in 2006 moved to Portland as part of a new agency. He loved the work, but the lifestyle forced him to reduce his time on the bike. In 2008 he decided that life as a road warrior didn’t suit him, and he returned home to Seattle eager to race again on his own terms.
In 2008 Russell briefly went pro on the road again with Kenda Pro Cycling, but once the racing started he remembered how difficult it was and although that stint paved the way to winning a master’s national road championship in 2011, he realized he had lost his previous enthusiasm for road racing.
The Cyclocross Progression in the PNW
Russell claims that although he’s “only” been involved with cyclocross for 15 years, he modestly regards this as a relatively short-term perspective on the cycling discipline. What he has observed over those 15 years is dramatic growth due to the accessibility of events (for example, this year MFG Cyclocross hosted events in Seattle parks), and that cyclocross events are an opportunity for friends and families to rally and have a fun day together. He calls cyclocross an “open door” for people interested in dipping their toes in bicycle competition. In contrast to road racing, he says cyclocross participants can take it as seriously as they want: at any given event you’ll see a mixed bag of skills with riders just having fun at one end of the spectrum while others seriously regard it as a focused discipline. And of course, the manufacturers have followed the progression: the equipment is much better now than it was when Russell manufactured his first home-made cross bike.
What is Russell’s focus now?
“I just ride a bike. I have less interest in road racing, and I mostly mountain bike and do cyclocross.” In addition to cycling sports, Russell is an avid snowboarder, alpine skier, skate skier, and is planning to get formal avalanche training so he can more comfortably play in the backcountry.
