Elite Roster 2024

Ascent Elite Roster 2024

 

Natalia Stret

DOB: March 25th, 1996
Years on Ascent: 2
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: It's a toss up between winning a pack of peppers and not causing an accident when I joined the fast group on the Shootout ride in Tucson
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing: My laptop. 
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Welch's Fruit Snacks
Most Notable KOM: Tice Steep Section
Worst Cycling Advice You've Ever Been Given: "You don't need snacks"

Chloe DesRoche

 

DOB: January 1st, 1992
Years on Ascent: 1
Favourite Race: Valley of the Sun
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Homemade granola/energy balls
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Sleep
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: Queens University Cycling Team
Dream Race to Win: Tour of Colorado

Laura Cowal-Belet

DOB: February 10th, 1989
Years on Ascent: 2
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: SCCC Rockway
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement2nd place in mountain stage at GMSR E3
Best Mid-Ride Snack: GU Chews
Most Notable KOM: Decew
Dream Race to Win: Any of them

Lindsay Sferrazza

DOB: November 28th, 1987
Years on Ascent: 2
Favourite Race: GMSR
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Provincial TT Champ x3
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing: My dog
Most Notable KOM: Quarry
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Coffee

Ben Sweet

DOB: October 4th, 2004
Years on Ascent: 1
Favourite Race: Whatever has the hardest course and the worst conditions. 
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Surviving a 2 week training camp in the Spanish Mountains after only 4 months of training with a coach. 
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing: My XC Bike (its worth the most)
Most Notable KOM: The Line 7 Drop or Sir Sam Steele Memorial Climb (Anything that my Coach or Friends had before)
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Talking absolute nonsense at the start line

Sam Shein

DOB: May 10th, 2004
Years on Ascent: 1
Favourite Race: P2A
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: 2022 North Carolina with the Hustle Juniors. 
Dream Race to Win: Realistically, the Tour de France, but definitely the Midweek Crit. 
Rank Them- RR, Crit, TT, Gravel, CX: Tie between road race, gravel, and cx. Then TT, and last, crit.
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Eating a container of ice-cream the night before. 

Theron Inglis

DOB: March 23rd, 2004
Years on Ascent: 1
Favourite Race: GMSR
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Racing in Europe and not getting absolutely destroyed by the euros. 
What's a Tip You'd Give a Beginner on Leg Shaving: Don't rush. 
Dream Race to Win: Paris Roubaix 
Worst Cycling Advice You've Ever Been Given: You won't ever win if you sprint from the front."

Nick Menegon

DOB: December 6th, 2001
Years on Ascent: 1
Favourite Race: Charlevoix
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Whatever is the cheapest, or beefsticks, or fuzzy peaches by the handful. 
Most Notable KOM: Whichever Jeremy is most salty about. 
Result in Your First Cycling Race: It was a track race - I think I got lapped 3 times and came dead last. Dylan Bibic won (of course)
Worst Cycling Advice You've Been Given: You can never be TOO lean (yes you can)

Jude Szabo

DOB: August 1st, 2001
Years on Ascent: 1
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: Bloomfield Bicycle Company Wednesday nighter in 2017. It was my longest ride to date (78km) and one of my fastest (26kph). I remember doing a long pull over 30kph on the way back to the shop and feeling very accomplished, I was hooked after that.
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing: Passport (Canadian before US, sorry Dad). 
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Uncrustables (sponsor me plz). 
Dream Race to Win: UCI TT Championships. 
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Eggos for breakfast. 

Connor Willson

DOB: February 14th, 1996
Years on Ascent: 2
Favourite Race: Anything dirty. 
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Convincing Ascent to bring me on last year. 
Most Notable KOM: Sideroad 12 DH. For some reason Strava does not recognize my blistering time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Not often I go fast down hill, so whoever flagged me, I hope you see this.
Rank Them- RR, crit, TT, gravel, cyclocross: Gravel, road race, cyclocross, TT, ____
Worst Cycling Advice You've Ever Been Given: Follow Jeremy Rae's wheel.

Matt Sherar

DOB: April 14th, 1995
Years on Ascent: 4
Favourite Race: RR at Charlevoix. 
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Went all of 2022 without a flat tire
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Peanut M&M's. 
Most Notable KOM: I had Bayview Rd Climb, until 'Philip Morris' and 'Hot Dog' took it
Result in Your First Cycling Race: I won the men's 'D' road race at the a collegiate race weekend in Philly (ECCC). 

Jeremy Rae

DOB: May 19th, 1991
Years on Ascent: 5
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: St. Catharines Cycling Club. Ben Perry showed up. I got dropped early and often. 
Most Notable KOM: I can't divulge this information for fear that Derek Gee will poach that too.
Dream Race to Win: Midweek Crit. Steve McKee understands. 
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual: Listening to Mike's nervous rambling.
Result In Your First Cycling Race: Small race outside of Buffalo. Missed the clip-in on the start line and fell over, race got re-started. Was ridiculed by the race director. The field then let me ride away from them because they thought I was a hazard. 

Zola Mehlomakulu

DOB: March 13th, 1987
Years on Ascent: 3
Favourite Race: Tour de Via Italia
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Finishing nationals 2022. 
Dream Race to Win: Stage 21 (Champs-Élysées) - Tour de France. 
Rank Them- RR, crit, TT, gravel, cyclocross: Criterium, road race, time-trial, gravel, cyclecross. 
Worst Cycling Advice You've Ever Been Given: "Don't worry about following that, it's for sure going to come back."... it did not in fact come back. 

Ian Manning

DOB: September 23rd, 1986. 
Years on Ascent: 6
Favourite Race: Rochester Twilight. 
First Club Ride You Ever Went On: Newmarket Eagles 99-00?
Most Notable KOM: Fat man sprint, obviously. 
Dream Race to Win: It's been a long time so to be honest I'd take anything.
Worst Cycling Advice You've Ever Been GivenMore along the lines of funniest. "If you want to be fat, you eat cow. If you want to be strong, you eat bull. But if you want to be fast, you eat cheetah!"

Mike Little

DOB: April 23rd, 2005. 
Years on Ascent: 8
Favourite Race: Midweek worlds. 
What's a tip you'd give a beginner on leg shaving: You'll get over the shame. 
Best Mid-Ride Snack: Beef chili. 
Dream Race to Win: Ossington Crit
Most Notable KOM: I don't have it anymore. (Editors note: Mike has a KOM for 1 lap around the "Durand" circuit which may only be superseded in importance by the Midweek 1 Lap KOM.)

Warren Tilbrook

 

DOB: June 6th, 1983. 
Years on Ascent: Rookie (Editor's note: 0.5 years, actually)
Favourite Race: GMSR
First Club Ride: St. Catharines CC, the old Sunday route through Canborough. 
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Finding the bike again. 
Dream Race to Win: Rainbow road against my son. 
Most Notable KOM: Fort Henry, which I share with two others...

Scott Elliott

DOB: April 9th, 1983
Years on Ascent: Rookie
Favourite Race: Midweek Crit
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing: Gotta be honest... work laptop
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Master A Provincial Crit champ. 
Dream Race to Win: Hell of the North (Domestic or Euro version)
Most Notable KOM: Nice try... not putting this on everyone's hitlist.

Jeremy Gworek

DOB: July 8, 1984
Years on Ascent: Rookie
First Club Ride: Group ride south of Buffalo. It was near freezing temperatures and I showed up with zero cold weather cycling gear.
Your House Catches on Fire And You Can Save One Thing:
The road bike is the only correct answer.
Tip You'd Give a Beginner on Leg Shaving:
Take is slowwww. Also, conditioner > shaving cream.
Most Important Pre-Race Ritual:
Blasting "Survival of the Fittest" by Mobb Deep in my Kia Soul en route to a race.
Most Notable KOM:
Ohio Street Crit at Resurgence aka the dual of the Jeremy's.

Max Bradwin

DOB: June 13th, 2005 
Years on Ascent: Rookie
Favourite Race: Via Italia
First Club Ride: Speed River Cycling- Hammerfest. 
Your house catches on fire, what do you save: Let it burn- take the insurance money.
Most important pre-race ritual: Pre-race porta potty.
Worst cycling advice you've ever been given: Comfort > Aero. 

Taylor Kotwa

DOB: April 9th, 1993
Years on Ascent: Rookie 
Favourite Race: Gastown GP
Your House Catches Fire and You Can Save One Thing: Espresso machine (I probably would perish in the fire trying to pack it up).  
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Cat 5 to 1 in 14 months. 
Tip You'd Give on Leg Shaving: Shaving across the grain is more aero. 
Dream Race to Win: Athens Twilight Crit

Craig Luinstra

DOB: June 8th, 1998.
Years on Ascent: Rookie
Favourite Race: Tour de Bloom. 
Worst Cycling Advice You've Received: You don't need to eat while biking. 
Your Greatest Cycling Achievement: Biking no hands 3.5km home from Walmart through downtown Guelph.  
Dream Race to Win: Unbound.
Most Notable KOM: Spanish Banks Descent... If you can't go up fast, then send it down.