doing so, we can rally to support each other in individual pursuits, through group participation and affiliation.
FEATURED ATHLETE
BUILDING A NEW KIND OF BIKE RACING TEAM Name: Joshua Saxe Age: 33 Family: Partner, Jessica Buckley; daughters Riley 3 ½ and Robin 2 Lives in: Montpelier Primary Sports: Road, cyclocross, gravel, and cross-county mountain biking Occupation: Principal agent of Jackalope Sports Group, Director of Jackalope Northeast Cycling
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bike racer in his own right, Joshua Saxe could have gone the traditional route when he and Jared Katz decided to pick up the mantle of the former 1K2GO bike racing team, which emphasized road racing and elite performance. Instead, they decided to focus on more than just speed when they formed Jackalope Northeast Cycling. Jackalope describes itself as a team of inclusion, acceptance, and community. Although they want to improve cyclists’ athletic performance, they believe that “being the best you” should be each rider’s goal. What got you into cycling? The biggest moment in cycling for me was well before racing. It was when I first started riding. I grew up with severe asthma. Aerobic pursuits through my childhood and teenage years were intimidating and scary. I knew what it was like to pass out from not being able to breathe. On a number of occasions, a flight of stairs quite literally knocked me on my back. When I was 18, I took the mountain bike I had gotten from Onion River Sports up the North Branch connector to Sparrow Farm on a whim. I had only ever ridden over to friends’ houses at this point and had no idea what I was in for other than a climb. It took me 45 minutes to get to Sparrow Farm, and once I was at the top, I distinctly remember being able to breathe (and smell manure). No rescue inhaler needed. Just a deep breath, and the next pedal stroke to keep riding home. That loop would be a 30-minute ride now, but it took me almost two hours that day. The next year I built a road bike with help from Montpelier Free Ride using recycled bin parts and a dirt-cheap steel frame I got on eBay. I used it to get to work faster. Steve Colangeli, who was my high school biology teacher at U32 and now owner of sponsor Paradiso
28 VTSPORTS.COM | JUNE 2022
A bike racer himself, Josh Saxe wanted a club that would get everyone riding better. Photo courtesy Josh Saxe
Farm Coffee, saw me riding to work and suggested I try racing. That was the summer of 2008, and it’s been a ride ever since. Pun intended. Tell us a bit about your racing career. I raced with the University of Vermont from 2010 to 2012 and again when I returned to finish my degree in 2016. It’s been very cool to watch that cycling program come back to the glory it had when I was entering the sport. I raced independently as a Cat 3 and then I had a breakout season in 2016 in which I was never lower in the results than third — assuming I kept things upright during the races. In 2016, I earned an overall podium at the Green Mountain Stage Race, and I ended that year obtaining my Cat 2 standing on the road. I got my Cat 1 last year. What have been your race highlights? One of my best memories is my Stage 2 win at the 2018 Green Mountain Stage Race in Randolph, which was also about two or three weeks before my first daughter Riley was born, coincidentally at Gifford in Randolph. While I’ve won races before, I had never won in front of my family. To win at home, in front of a home crowd is as cliched as it sounds, but also truly special. What were you doing when you left UVM? I wanted to experience life in the world. I travelled and worked for Green
Mountain Valley School as a ski racing technician. When I got back to UVM, I started doing contract work assisting sponsorship agreements between U.S. based athletes and teams with Eddy Merckx USA. How did you start the Jackalope Northeast Cycling team? In 2017 I joined the former 1K2GO cycling team and I took over operations in 2019. I thought the team needed to move its purpose away from high performance to trying to pull in riders who were challenged by high barriers for entry into the sport including cost of equipment, inability to find coaches or mentors, and difficulty getting to events. We made a decision to repurpose how we’d function by creating a more welcoming environment. We want to build a community where kids and adults can thrive and explore healthy habits through cycling. Riders don’t have to perform at the top end of the sport, but at the top level of themselves. When Bobby Bailey [the founder of 1K2GO] moved to Delaware, he wanted to run a program there under the 1K2GO name. My company, Jackalope Sports Group, had already been providing sponsorship for our team, so we changed the name to Jackalope Northeast Cycling. We are not the same operating entity as when we were 1K2GO. The goals, purpose, and methodology are all entirely different. Our aim is to be welcoming of all in a community-oriented manner and in
Tell us about the team members. Anyone can join Jackalope Northeast Cycling. Most riders have spoken with someone on the team ahead of time and are put in touch with someone who is helping to organize to see what the benefits of riding with a team are, and whether it fits with their goals and needs for the year. We’re looking for active and regular participation and anything from a minimum vague goal to very specific targets throughout the year. Where appropriate and warranted, we will link riders with coaching services to further their individual efforts. As one rider rises from within the group, the riders around them will rise to the challenge too. It’s pretty cool to see that happen. If joining the team isn’t for you, but you or someone you know believes in the mission to cultivate a safe place to participate in sport, we happily accept donations for a number of infrastructure projects or for the general use fund. Who are your team members? We have 33 cyclists. Five are U23 racers and four are in the “fringe division” which is how we refer to the performance racers. Cycling has a history of elitism, especially in competition. To reference elite performers is to perpetuate that rhetoric. While we have athletes who aim to perform at the top of their sport, we do not refer to them as elite, but as a fringe division of the team focused on high performance. The rest of the team ranges from 25 to 75 years of age. Most are from Chittenden County, but we have a few new riders from the Montpelier area and a few from New Jersey and Massachusetts who spend considerable time in Vermont. The idea is that we’re supporting individual goals throughout the year, be it getting new equipment, riding with new people, or just building community. Each year, the level of riding is elevated. And your top racers? One of our junior athletes, Griff Larson, was coached by Jake Hollenbach last year and we provided him with funds for travel and races. Griff has tackled gravel and mountain bike racing and has mostly raced in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. He works in the summer at Catamount Outdoor Family Center as a counselor for the summer programs, and races regularly on Wednesday evenings for Catamount’s XC series which Jackalope Sports Group sponsors. This year, we’ve gained two U23 riders from UVM, Tanner Putt and
