After growing up immersed in typical American sports – hockey, soccer, tennis, you name it, I did it – I entered the world into cycling thanks to my older brother, Robbie. Collegiate cycling is where cycling really sprang to life for me; I raced for, captained, and was president of the Middlebury College cycling team based in Middlebury, VT. It was often a complex balancing act to tackle schoolwork, hours training on the bike daily, and the weekend commute to races throughout New England, but it paid off in spades senior year when I was selected to the U-23 national team.

That experience was invaluable. The team, comprised of the best dozen or so American cyclists, is based in Belgium and really is a thrown-in-the-deep-end approach to the sport. It’s sink and swim and you can see just how well someone will survive professional cycling by experiencing that team. Thankfully I survived that, and upon graduation from Middlebury the following year, I signed my first professional contract to race in America. I raced three seasons professionally in the States, and thanks to a rapid rise to success there, I was soon offered a spot on the Cervelo TestTeam.

Now based in northeastern Spain, I’m in my second year racing professionally in Europe. I race the biggest events in the world – the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Romandie, Paris-Nice, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Amstel Gold, the Tour of California – and am embracing every minute of it.