If you only did one race in 2009 you most likely raced with Charlie Hanlon. It seemed as though the 17 year old Phoenixville HS senior raced ever weekend as I looked over his results on his USAC web page. Not only did he race PA BAR and other local events, he participated at the national level on the road and cross. I had the pleasure of spending a few minutes on the phone with the likeable young man and we talked about the 2009 season and his goals for 2010. Here is the interview:

DM: You raced cross and junior road nationals in 2009 for the first time. Did one event seem more daunting than the other?

CH: Road nationals, as it is an entirely different mentality than cross. At cross nationals you race for 45 minutes then chill out. Road nationals were much more intense and the skill levels were very high. With cross there are varying skill levels and the gap between riders skills is larger with cross than the road.

DM: You won the U19 PA Cross Series title three years in a row. What are your cyclo cross plans for next year?

CH: I plan to use the 2010 cross season to keep my fitness level high. I have no specific racing plans but will race a bit less than 2009 as I will be in college next fall/winter.

DM: You won the PA State Cat 3 Criterium Championship at Yuasa in September. Describe that victory?

CH: The Yuasa race was my first criterium win and my first win at a senior event. It felt so great to cross the line in first place. I raced the course before and knew where to start my sprint. Everything fell into place. I relied on my experience but had some good luck as well. It was an amazing sense of euphoria as I crossed the line. The victory was a culmination of all my work during the road season.

DM: You will be 18 in 2010, your last year as a junior. Will you focus on junior or senior road events?

CH: I will race a little of both. I plan to do some local senior events and NRC races. I will race at junior road nationals and some bigger junior events such as Fitchburg.

DM: What are your favorite road and criterium courses?

CH: Lower Providence. LPC is a lot of fun and very fast. That race has not worked out in my favor in the past. Last year I got caught up in a crash in the Cat 3 race. The year before LPC was my first M3-4 race. It was very tough and I was so glad when I got to the finish as it was pouring rain at the end. I also love the Great Valley course as that is where I learned to race. It’s used for training races but there was a criterium race there last year but I was unable to race that event. The Phoenixville Criterium course is really good. [Charlie is the promoter]. As far as road races Robeson is a good course with a decent amount of climbing. The Ephrata RR is fun and is more of a sprinters road course. I’ve done well there.

DM: Will you be racing for Guys next year?

CH: Yes. They are very supportive of me as a rider and also as a promoter for the Phoenixville Criterium.

DM: What (briefly) has helped you the most to be successful racing your bike and if I were a junior new to the sport what would you tell me?

CH: Having a coach (Bob Biese) has really helped me. It may be expensive but it will really help your riding. One thing that helped me before I had a coach was to have a supportive group of riders around me such as Stephen Kincaid and Mike Miller. They really looked out for me. The training races at Great Valley have been very helpful. Mom and Dad have helped too!

DM: You’ll be graduating from Phoenixville HS in the spring. What are your future plans?

CH: I have been accepted at Kutztown University. It’s the only college I applied to. I wanted to stay in the Lehigh Valley area. It’s close to T-Town and they (KU) have a good road and track team. Ryan Smolko will help me out in the collegiate events and my coach Bob Biese lives in Kutztown. I plan to major in electronic media (music recording, internet, etc.) and KU specializes in that.

DM: Favorite pro rider and what one day classic would you love to race?

CH: At the UCI/Pro Tour level my favorite rider is Mark Cavendish. My favorite continental riders are Bobby Lea and Kyle Wamsley. I’ve had a chance to meet and ride with them. They are very supportive as has been former pro Stephen Kincaid. One race that I am obsessed with and would love to ride is Paris-Roubaix with the challenge of the cobbles. It’s like a cross race on the road. A lot of crashes, pain and suffering and not many hills. Sprinters do very well there.

Written by David Mitchell on 01/02/10