Max O’Neal is one of a select few standouts in the current junior racing scene; actually he’s so much of a standout he is now successfully racing with the category 3 men, some of whom are 3x + his age. In fact, at yesterday’s Washington State Criterium Championships in Bellingham he clinched the 2011 WSBA men’s category 3 best all around racer (BARR) competition, and expects to upgrade to the category 1/2 field soon.
Max is coached by David “Rocket” Richter (what is it with the missile theme?), who expects great things for Max:
“Max is a rare pupil who has the ability to compete at the highest level. As Lou Holtz put it, Max has all three key ingredients needed for success: “Ability–what you’re capable of doing. Motivation, which determines what you do. Attitude, which determines how well you do it.”
As you read through Max’s profile, you might also want to take a look at some video of him in action that has popped up over the past few years:
-At a 2009 Seward Park race in which Max appears @ 1:18; definitely the middle-school attitude going on at that point.
More recently, Max is really starting to show some maturity and aggression in his races.
-At the 2011 Tour of Walla Walla Stage 3 Men’s Cat 3 Criterium: Look for Max at the start and some slow motion of him during the race.
-And a post-race interview with him at the 2011 Ballard Twilight Criterium
Questions:
Age:
Currently 15 years old; “race age” = 16
School & Grade:
10th grade at Ballard High School
Place of Birth:
Seattle! I’ve lived here all my life. In fact, I’ve lived in the same house all my life.
Favorite subject(s) in school:
Does lunch count? Oh, it doesn’t? How about break? Oh… you mean a real class… Math!
What are your plans after high school?
Starting in September, I’ll be enrolling in the Running Start program at North Seattle Community College (NSCC) and working on earning credits toward both my High School graduation and my undergraduate degree. I’d like to pursue a degree and a career in Sports Medicine, but I’d also like to race professionally for a few years before “settling down.”
Are you involved in sports other than cycling? What do you like about them?
I used to play both rec and Premier soccer (for Emerald City, now Seattle United). Soccer is a great team sport. There is nothing sweeter than training hard with your team mates and forming an unbreakable bond that can accomplish great things. I played on a state championship recreational team, a city championship middle school team, and won several tournaments as a premier player. I got into cycling to stay fit for soccer. There were days when I’d finish a race and put my soccer kit on in the car on the way to a game. It became clear pretty quickly that I needed to pick one sport if I wanted to do well at it and meet my goals.
I ran XC running two seasons at Ballard High Sschool (BHS). My last season, I got some repetitive stress injuries from lots of hard surface running and I had to end my season before I was really ready to.
What bike(s) do you own:
• 2004 Giant TCR c2 w/ 7800 Dura-Ace “Mary Ann”
• 2009 Cervelo P3c w/ Sram Red “Ginger”
• 2006 Raleigh Rush Hour fixie with… no components “Tank”
Cake or Ice cream?
Both. Except during the winter when I’m trying to build up. When summer rolls around, the forks come out and I dive into cakes, ice cream, ice cream-filled cakes, cake-filled ice cream (is that even possible?)… so yes, I love both. My favorite cake is the Princess Torte from Hoffman’s (in Kirkland). My favorite ice cream is anything homemade. When you ride a lot, you burn enough calories that you can eat whatever you want.
How did you get the nickname “Missile?”
While I raced for the bikesale.com team, Eric Johnson took a picture of me in 2009 during a TT, and the caption was “the Max Missile.” I’m guessing he was making a play on the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish. We had the same bike sponsor and similar kits as Columbia Highroad. It just stuck. The funny thing is that I’m about as far from a pure sprinter as you will find.
How did you get into cycling?
My family is pretty active. During the spring and summer, I remember riding to Golden Gardens and to the Woodland Park Zoo from a very young age. It’s a fun way to get around. You see so much more when you are on your bike.
How did you get into racing?
My mom was born and raised in France, a culture that really loves cycling. The Tour de France is like their Super Bowl. My grandfather used to race when he was younger and he still rides daily. She saw numerous mountain stages up close and was able to feel the passion of the sport. I have watched stages of the TdF on TV almost every year. My parents saw Greg Lemond finish his 3rd win in Paris. In 2003, I watched Lance Armstrong’s epic battle for his 5th TdF championship. Watching Lance made me think “Well if he can do it, so can I.”
The next year, I raced in my first bike race, which was a ‘cross race at Magnuson Park. The whistle blew, and I was off. Halfway through the race, we came to a “lake” of deep mud that we had to cross. I couldn’t ride across, so I hopped off my bike ran though it, but ended up losing one of my shoes. I forgot about the missing shoe and finished and won the race. I then proceeded to complete another lap in search of my shoe and was able to retrieve it.
How did you get involved with HSP (Herriott Sports Performance)?
I started racing in the Cat 1/2/3 race at Seward last year. HSP partners David Richter and Todd Herriott frequently race there as well. They noticed my aggressive racing style (sometimes over-aggressive), and started talking to me after races. During the summer, I went to a Mad Fiber wheel demo ride at HSP and Coach Richter asked me if I wanted to join “the Hit Squad.” I was pretty happy with my existing team, but I knew I needed coaching in order to get to the next level. Getting involved with them gave me access to world-class coaching and training facilities right in my own backyard. Since then, they have given countless hours to my training and development, and I can’t thank all of those guys enough.
What is your training schedule like? How many miles/hours do you ride each week? Do you do anything in addition to cycling?
Generally I train 10 to 14 hours per week, but what I do during those hours depends on the season. I cover all aspects of racing: climbing, hard efforts, sprinting, breakaways, attacking, and then just plain old riding (also known as “base miles”). With HSP, I’ve been doing a lot more core work than ever. Running is great for some, but for me, the injuries from running on hard surfaces have outweighed the benefits.
How are you able to combine school and racing bikes?
It’s not easy. Anyone who races makes sacrifices. My training at HSP varies based on my homework load and exams. The biggest problem is balancing school work with actual races. Many stage races require both travel time and racing on week days. Though the Seattle Public Schools treat these trips as excused absences, I still have to get all of my teachers to sign off on anything I do. Cycling is not a school-sponsored sport, so it can be an uphill battle sometimes trying to get school accommodations for these things. At the Capital Stage Race this year my Dad packed the car and picked me up at school after my 4th period so that I could attend most of my classes and still race the opening stage in Olympia. My coach and my family have been really supportive in order to help make this possible. School has to be #1 right now which is why I skipped US road nationals this year because it conflicted directly with my high school final exams.
What are some of your racing highlights? What have been your most memorable races? Why?
My highlights this year have all been Cat 3 races:
• 2nd place, Waitsburg RR (part of major stage race) 4/15/2011
• 4th place GC, Tour of Walla Walla (regional event) 4/15-17/2011
• 2nd place GC, Wenatchee Omnium (crazy weather) 5/14-15/2011
• 1st place, Green Valley TT (only win racing in adult cat) 4/23/2011
• 2nd place, Queen Stage RR (90 miles, longest race of the year) 6/12/2011
• 1st place, 2011 WSBA Rider Rankings
• Tied for 1st place, 2011 Cat 3 BARR (comes down to the criterium Sunday July3)
My most memorable races are always in the crappiest weather conditions. One of them, for example, was IVRR (independence Valley Road Race) a couple of years ago, when it snowed. I remember there was a guy on the side of the road that yelled, “Ye have to be a pirate to race in this here weather.” I stayed with the pack, but I barely made it back to the car alive. My hands felt like ice blocks; I put my hands directly on the burning hot heater inside the car and they were so frozen, I couldn’t feel them.
Another one was the Cascade Classic last year. The heat was through the roof; temps were in the 90’s all day, nearing 100. I flatted in the first few miles on the first stage. I had a horrible wheel change and gave it all I had, but couldn’t reach the pack again. That was without a doubt the hardest day on a bike for me: 65 miles by myself on an unforgiving course in blazing heat with limited water. OUCH. Two days later, I recovered just in time for the last stage which was a challenging circuit race. I jumped off the front with 3 other guys on the second of 4 laps, thinking “I’m 36 mins back of the leaders… who’s going to reel me back in?” On the last lap, we were still off the front when the GC leaders got out from the peloton, caught us, and shot by our fatigued breakaway. I ended up staying out in front and took 5th in the stage and made up a grand total of 20 seconds in GC… but considering what happened on stage 1, it was very memorable.
My most memorable race happened this year: the Wenatchee Road Race. Most people associate that race with a deathly climb, ruthless heat, and guys just completely pulling out because it’s too hard. This year’s edition saw record rainfall for the area. We rolled out when it really started to pour down and we were warned before the start about multiple landslides on the climb. I’ll never forget the moment when I looked up at the climb from the bottom: the Wenatchee River rushing on the right, nearly flooding the road, the mountains on the left, with the peaks buried in mist and fog. We did 4 loops up the 5 mile climb. On the first one, I set a good tempo; something sustainable that I thought would cause some selection. By the time we got to the top, there were only 6 of us in the lead group. I had trouble on the descents because of my junior gear restrictions (which limit me to have a 45×12 big gear) and two guys escaped off the front. The next two laps were a sufferfest, where we just tried to make it up the climb together. Two more guys caught on to our group before the final climb, where the group blew up. 2 other guys made it with me to the top of the climb, where the feed zone was located. The fog was so dense that we could only see 20 meters in front of us. The scariest moment was when we came screaming down the descent and when we turned the corner, course marshalls and police officers were in the middle of the road, waving their arms and telling us to slow down. The course had flooded and we had to go through close to a foot of rushing water from the overflowed river. I thought I was going to get taken out by the flood, but we all made it. From then on it was just a game of chess of who was going to win it. As we tried to keep the gap between us and the dropped riders, we saw a white dot out in front of us. We caught that white dot with 3k to go and realized it was one of the two guys that broke away on the first lap! One of the guys attacked, and I jumped on his wheel and held on to take 3rd.
What’s your favorite Seattle-area ride?
The Rocket Ride! My coach Dave “Rocket” Richter leads a ride which will test anyone on two wheels. I would challenge anyone to come out and give it try. Be warned that only a handful of hardy pirates will finish this ride with the lead group.
Do you have any advice for other teens thinking about getting serious about cycling or racing?
IMO, the most important thing to do is spend time on your bike. It’s really important to find a group to ride with during the winter. This is where you get the base miles in your legs. It’s not fun riding in the rain alone. It’s better to ride with a group, learn drafting, group handling, and reduce the risk of getting hit by a car. For younger kids, check out one of the local junior teams and attend the WSBA Kemp Camp. For older juniors, adult teams are an option. All local teams have “meet the team” rides in the fall. Check the WSBA website for the schedule. Meet the team members, ask them how many team rides they do each week, and figure out which team will be the best fit for you.
When a teen starts getting really interested in cycling, they’ll eventually want to race. The Marymoor Velodrome has some cool programs for juniors and you can even rent a track bike for cheap. The Thursday Night World Championships at Seward and the Pacific Raceways series are great places to gain skills needed in a racing environment like riding in the pack, quickness, and sprinting. These are closed courses, so no chance of getting hit by a car. Check the WSBA calendar. Once you have acquired racing skills and you train for a bit, you will be ready to race on the weekend. As you keep racing, those skills you acquire at the weekly series and the team rides will become fine-tuned; that’s why you see the cat 4/5s leaving big gaps in the peleton and taking corners slowly while the cat 1/2s are inches away from the guy in front of them and taking corners at over 30 mph. The more riding you do, the better you’ll become physically and technically on the bike.
