Fundraiser nets cash for jr. development

Dec 9, 2011 by editor

PORTLAND — The local cycling community raised nearly $1,700 for junior racing Thursday night during a fundraiser that featured a question-and-answer session with Jacob Rathe of the Garmin-Cervelo professional cycling team.

Attendees donated at least $5 each at the door of the Bike n Hike on Grand Avenue in southeast Portland to take part in a raffle while mingling with Rathe and some the coaches who guided him from his junior years to his current spot on one of the world’s top teams.

Before Rathe fielded a few questions, his former coach from the Beaverton Bicycle Club, Phil Sanders, addressed the crowd and reminded other young aspiring riders that the first — and maybe most important — step in achieving the level of success to which Rathe has climbed is simply “showing up.”

Butch Martin, who started coaching Rathe four years ago in his CMG junior racing program and will continue as his personal coach next season, said the 20-year-old from Portland has worked very hard to reach the World Tour level with Garmin-Cervelo, and Martin expects big things from his young protege.

“Jacob is a champion,” Martin told the crowd. “In any race there are maybe 10-15 guys there who can win. Jacob is one of those guys. I’m expecting him to get some big results in races with people you all know of.”

Rathe said his first season in the pro peleton will start at the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Oman in the Middle East. Then in March he’ll head for the “cold, rainy windswept, cobbled flats” of Belgium to start the Spring Classic campaign.