John Novitsky and Dawn Neisser call Woodside home. One other home they share, the USA Cycling 50-54 National Time Trial Rankings.
Both Novitsky and Neisser are national ranked in time trials for their age group, with Novitsky currently holding the No. 1 men’s ranking. Neisser is 28th for women.
Both Novitsky and Neisser raced in the USA Cycling 2008 Masters Road Time Trial Championships on June 30 in Louisville, Kentucky, with each of them reaching the podium.
Novitsky placed first for the Men’s 50-54 group, while Neisser took home the bronze medal in the women’s race. Novitsky completed the almost 39 km race with a time of 51:59.9, and Neisser finished in 1:01:18.4.
Novitsky will next be moving on to international racing, representing the United States at the Union Cycliste Internationale Road World Championships on Aug. 27. Because of his No. 1 ranking, Novitsky receives the honor of wearing the stars and stripes cycling jersey given to the top-ranked cyclist of each age group in the United States.
Other top cyclists will wear their country’s jersey as well.
Novitsky has already received his stars and stripes jersey in the mail with the team’s sponsors printed on it.
“It looks awesome,” he said.
As for Neisser, she, too, will represent the United States when she competes in the Senior Olympic Games to take place in 2009.
Novitsky said he did not try out for the Senior Olympic team.
Novitsky is an avid trainer, cycling six times each week, both during the cycling season and in the off-season. He said he bikes about 25 hours each week during the off-season, and reduces that to 16 hours of training when also competing.
Novitsky actually got into competitive cycling only as the result of an injury. A competitive runner, Novitsky “messed up” his knee when he was 45. He said that he really liked racing and his doctor agreed that he could bike without further injuring his knee.
Novitsky then hired a cycling coach, and now, just five years later, he is a national champion.
