NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

Bec Werner is part of a fleet of young female New Zealanders and Aussies who are forgoing Europe making California their “winter” home. Bec came over from a suburb of Adelaide, where she worked at a local bike shop, to ride with the young Webcor “Bridge” team.  From the day she stepped off the plan she has been tearing up the local racing scene, as well as putting in some great performances at Redlands and San Dimas, before taking the lead in the NCNCA Premier Points series. After winning Copperopolis we caught up with her to get some background on how she ended up in NorCal…

 

Describe your first 24 hours in the US – I heard it was both death defying and life altering!

My trip here and first 24 hours were pretty crazy! The plane I was on had an engine fire before we even got off the tarmac in Australia, which lead to delays and missed connections the whole way, and arriving in San Fran 27 hours later. I had a few hours sleep the we drove to Merco at 4 the next morning. I had no idea how I’d be feeling, and thankfully with the legs feeling ok I, accidentally, quite literally – accidentally, rolled off the front on a short, slow climb and was forced to try and close the gap to Ina Teutenberg, or be left dangling in the middle. I knew who she was, so after catching up to her and swapping turns for the next lap, I was buzzing and pinching myself, and  rode the rest of the race on adrenaline.  I’m sure I was slowing her down, but she said she was glad to have some company, and was kind and patient. It was pretty surreal and a very cool intro to racing here.

What made you pack up and come over to NorCal?

I needed a change of scenery, and to step out and and try something different, have a bit of an adventure. I had been thinking of what I could do for a while, and Ange (McClure) who rode with the Webcor Bridge Team last year, and comes from Adelaide as well, helped get me in contact with the team over here. I really had no idea what I was getting into and what the racing and everything would be like, but I’m stoked to be over here and extremely grateful for everyones help.

How does NorCal (Menlo Park) compare to your home town?

Apart from the fact that every second car’s a Beamer?! Well they both are great places for riding, but we’ve got a bit more flat, which definitely comes in handy at times. The climate is a fair bit cooler here as well.

How did you get started?

As a kid I pretty much had a go at any sport I could, but mainly played netball, squash, and most recently soccer. I actually kind of got into cycling through soccer. I was in a junior squad at the sports institute and after doing some fitness testing for that was approached by the National Talent Identification and Development program to have a crack at cycling.

What is your favorite race over here so far?

I had an awesome time down south racing San Dimas and Redlands. They both had sweet courses, with a heaps good atmosphere and big quality fields. It was racing like I’ve never experienced before and I loved it. The vote for favourite race so far though has to go to Copperopolis. With a reputation as the Roubaix of California, some beautiful weather, an exciting and varied course, and maybe the fact that I somehow managed to sneak across the line first, it’s hard to pass up.

Copperopolis was a big win for you how did it go down?

It was tough tactically as well as physically, and I think I ‘played the game’ better than I ever have before. I managed to come out on top when I was put on the ropes by other teams that had numbers. On the last lap I was forced to lead the chase up the climb to catch a lone escapee. When we caught her there was only one rider with me, which happened to be her teammate, and I thought I was gonna get screwed for sure. Keeping the pace high we dropped one of them and the two of us rode the last 10k to the line together, where I came out on top in the uphill kick to the line. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty happy with that one.

Have you got any other US or European races you want to try out?

It’s not something I’ve really thought heaps about to be honest. I came here pretty green and unsure of how things would go, so wasn’t thinking too far ahead. I’m trying to get a ride at Nature Valley and a few more of the bigger races here, but as long as I’m racing somewhere I’m pretty happy. I reckon racing a Euro Classic would be pretty cool though. Have to put it on the bucket list!

Being from Austria it must be such ad advantage when you decide to hit those races in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and France….

This is actually my first time overseas… that is if you don’t count Tasmania!

Ooooohhhhhh right… Australia – thats different, i always get them confused. All right… now for the culturally sensitive part of the interview.  If you were a cute Aussie animal which one would it be koala, platypus, crocodile eating shark?

Hmmm… well I know Jono’s already claimed the Koala. This is a tough one. I’ll go with the short and stumpy wombat! haha

Wombat is a good choice – i had to go look it up.  Did you know wombats have large brains? It is also the acronym for Women’s Mountain Bike and Tea Society.  You need to get a wombat tattoo or something.

haha. I didn’t know any of that… but I’ll go with it! I may have to look into joining the society I think.

Let me see if you know this one then.  Was South Australia settled by criminals?

Surprisingly not! The only Aussie state not to be [settled by criminals] I’m pretty sure. Although apparently the Woodside cops don’t know that.

WRONG!  FACT: All of Australia was settled by criminals! You know how i know it was all settled by criminals?  Aussies all play their crazy looking version of rugby cleverly nammed “Aussie Rules Football!”

Being an Aussie Rules fan defintely runs in the blood, so you can imagine I copped a fair bit of flack when I first started soccer!!  I follow the Adelaide Crows, who are definitely the best of the two teams based in Adelaide… and that’s a completely un-biased view!

Your so biased its ridiculous! That said… I’m sure we can turn NorCal into Crows fans.  Try this one…Who has a funnier accent NZ, US, or Canadian?

Well there are some pretty funny American accents, and I can’t really tell the difference between you guys and the Canadians (please don’t hate me!), but this one has to go to the Kiwis for sure. I mean we’ve gotta let them win something…

WRONG!  FACT: It’s Canadians, but since New Zealand is like your own version of Canada… I will let you have that one.

 

 

 

 

 

Logan Loader is one of those young riders that is knocking at the door of the big show.  His current rate of improvement should take him to the Tour of California in a few years where he can challenge the big guns for stage wins on his home turf .  Loader is all about creating an exciting race and  after stints on teams like Mountain Khakis and Kenda p/b Gear Grinder he already carries himself like a seasoned pro at 21.  Follow his exploits on his blog at loganloader.blogspot.com

You had a great start with several local wins early in the season – how did you feel at the bigger NRC races you have participated in this spring?

I think overall the whole season has been mix of up and downs.  If you look at Redlands and Gila,  I’ve had a bit of bad luck that I feel isn’t really preventable, wether its flatting at the worst spot in a race, having a bit of illness, or flat out not feeling good. Then you look back at races like Callville where I won the hardest stage, with alot of hard climbing, or getting 2nd at Merco stage 4 from a field sprint, and even a few of the time trials this year….  the fitness is obviously there.  It’s a bit frustrating but overall I think the season has been good.

You were slotted to go with a national U25 team – but there were some changes to the plan.  That’s a stressful situation – what happened and what team did you end up with?

I’m riding with Ride Clean p/b patent it.   At the start of the season I was set to ride with a big team that ended up folding, so I found myself in need of a ride. At Valley of the Sun I was given what I thought was a great offer for the rest of the season with an amazing group of people at Ride Clean. Little did i know it would just get better and better as the year went on. To this day I couldn’t ask for a better experience than i’ve been having this season.

Ride Clean is Jame Carney’s team.  He has been around as long as Moses!  What kind of advice do you get from a racing legend like Carney?

To be honest I havent raced with him yet. He is doing more of a crit/track schedule where im focussing a bit more on stage races. I look forward to seeing him at some races later this season though for sure

Jame Carney is a proponent of the Euro Pro hair style – is that a team requirement? It looks like you got some new color going on your lid….

Hecks yeah! gotta look good at the rollerrink on Friday nights. I’m pretty much there every week

You are now a veteran of the Euro-French racing scene.  Did you like racing in the land of kings and castles?

I love racing over there, my favorite was probably Circuit de Morbihan, or Moncontour.  My most memorable time was my first month or so in France.  I was with a team on our way to a big race and my team director forgot to bring the race food. It was a national race, so all the riders went into a gas station for their own race food. I got some cookies and didn’t think much of it. Well, during the race I got some pretty bad stomach cramps and aches. To make a long story short the cookies were laxatives. I think its funny now but I ended up dropping out of a national race, from the break, because of it.

Having a strong support group is key to making it as a young cyclist. Who do you lean on as you build your career?

To be honest if I said everyone sname that has helped me it would be a book in its own. I have to say i have the coolest support group ever. My coach (Chris Burnham) has been awesome and I can’t tell you the improvements we have made, im also working with Freddie Rodriguez alot lately

Give me some background on how you got into cycling (past athletic history)

Until I got hurt in 2005 surfing was my whole life. I started to ride to help rehab some injuries which led to a team and racing. After my first race, Pine Flat RR, cycling was my priority. and he has been very helpful as well. Ive had help also from Matt Moore, Donna Woods, and all the great staff at Ride Clean. Thank you so much to everyone I didnt mention, you know who you are!

What is your favorite NorCal race?

Probably Snelling or Cats Hill, both awesome races.

What races are you targeting this summer?

Quite a few – nationals because I’d really like to go to worlds, and overall I think I’ll be stage hunting at all the races I do.

You do really well on camera, you could replace Phil Ligget! Did you get media training some where?

No, just watch alot of interviews on B.E.T.

 

Read more about Logan Loader at loganloader.blogspot.com

 

Jono Coulter (pronounced “john-o”) has been a fixture on the NorCal scene for several years now.  He has paved the way for a fleet of Aussies and New Zealanders to spend their winter, our summer, in Northern California.  Jono has been working on the pro and international circuit the last few years for teams like USA Cycling, Bissell, and Fly V Australia.  He’s rejuvenated the Vanderkitten program and is setting a new standard of professionalism for strong regional teams.  We caught up with Jono to get some insight into how he views the sport and peloton.

I often get Austria and Australia confused – Since you speak English so well, and do not sound like Julie Andrews Austrian tell me where exactly in Australia do you come from?

Brisbane, Australia  Warm, flooded, nice brewshops and outdoor culture

How did you end up in Norcal?

I watched the Jamie Paolinetti Video, “PRO”, probably 450 times too many and decided i want to ride on Webcor like Chris Horner and go to Philly.  The lad [Horner] bas balls.

Australia is a sport obsessed country – how did you end up in cycling?

Cycling has always been a part of my life. I won my first BMX race in the Under 5 category in 1983 in Dickson, Canberra around the same time Nicole Kidman played Judy in BMX Bandits  feature=related I remember doing a fist pump as i crossed the line as i had seen it in the film. Its probably one of the last times i ever won a race.  As an Aussie i played Cricket, Rugby, Aussie Rules and Tennis, i always rode. i went from BMX, to Triathlon, to Duathlon, all at Junior National or International level to Cycling. I think i peaked at 22 years old. Thats now a decade ago.

You do not brag much but you spent a lot of time racing in Europe during your “International” days.  Tell me about your European racing experiences?

One day i was listening to some mates (the Hanson Brothers) in the University of Queensland cycling club talking about their summer of racing in Holland as they described the drama and intrigue and gutter chewing mudslap that is euro racing. That was August of 2001, and I was hooked. I Finished my PostGrad at Uni that November, sent my lab results and a few National Road Series results to a contact in Italy, and by Feb of 2002 i was in Villongo, Lombardia racing with G.S.Bagnatica U23. I basically didnt speak english for 8 months.

Was it a big cultural and physical adjustment to make?

The best things were the hardness, the chaos that is Italy, the 180 rider fields of wired 21 year old kids all smash slapping each other across the road, guys flying in the air in crashes, but mostly being fine and days where you felt completely invincible. For me my best days i would feel invincible, make the final split of 15 and finish 15th. Like, you’re good enough to go with the best guys. But then the best guys have another level. Incredible things would happen, like two Ukranian guys would attack at the start of a 150km stage, and the other 160 riders would be single file for 145kms, riding average speeds that would make the world 4km Team pursuit look ordinary, and you would never see these guys off the front.

To top it all off you are in Italy, which has a lawless feel to it, like if  Las Vegas got bred with the Tour de France and a velodrome

A funny thing i did in 2002 was a 3 day Track meet in Dalmine that was fixed. Because i was the Aussie local i got to race against guys that had just come off the Giro, Baffi from Mapei, Strazzer from Phonak who had just won the points jersey, and a bunch of other lads from Panaria and the like. So i’m doing this fixed track meet and they wanted the foreigner to put in a late attack that would upset the Pros, but i was to be caught at the line. I was going good for a kid but it must have looked funny to all the folks in the stand when i hit out with a lap to go and a line up of Pros pretending to be strung out hurting and catching me. True enough they catch me at the line and Strazzer does a massive salut like he has won worlds and we all get a couple hundred euros and some salami and my director is ecstatic and nearly crying. But im like- this is all fixed, this isn’t real. Like my director knows 100% that the result is not true and here we are carrying on like pork chops that this kid is on the podium with guys from the Giro.   My director was funny like that.

Carrying on like pork chops sounds funny.  Italian food… thumbs up or down?

We would get weighed once or twice a week at like 11pm at night. So we had between 6-12 guys in a 2 bedroom apartment in Villongo. Our curfew was always 10pm, so most nights you would go to bed witha  torch so you could read, but of course there was a chance the Team Doc and the Director would come around an hour after you went to bed, flick the lights on and this whole procession of riders would be weighed, measured, congratulated or scolded for their weight. Of course the Italians caught onto this and would ask the team doctor to inform them when the weigh in nights would be. So they always knew, and would skip dinner. But the foreigners (Alex Efimkin, from Russia who just won the Tour of Turkey and me), we never knew, so we would have dinner, and of course be a little heavier, get scolded, have our rations reduced (yes rations- 23 pieces of Pasta per day- which i would divide into 11 pieces for lunch and 12 for dinner, as well as one bread roll per day and one ball of mozzarella. Unlimited salad). Then the director would leave and the Italians would be up till 1am making dinner in the dark after being hungry all day but with the internal satisfaction that they “won” the weigh in. Then, when we would kick their asses in training and racing, then they would say we were doped.

 

That’s right about when the tide started to turn on doping, but it was still prevalent.  Did it impact you at all?

Those accusations [from the Italian riders] got us raided a few times by the caribineiri. They took heaps of my stuff, anything pharmaceutical looking that wasn’t written in Italian or did not have a prescription. I remember once i was the only guy home and this guy holding a machine gun has my Colgate Toothpaste from Australia shoved in my face shouting “Dove Ricetta medical!?!?!?!” which is like where is the prescription. What do you do?

You have made a transition from rider to staff (on Pro Teams) – can you give us a description how that transition went?

Linda Jackson from Team TIBCO gave me my first opportunities in US Pro Cycling with Tibco at Montreal World Cup in 2007 and 2008. I started as a soigneur  with her program doing a limited schedule, basically the World Cup, Philly, Nature Valley, Redlands. Then in 2009 and 2010 my responsibilities with Bissell and v Australia were full time.

Last year i was Technical Assistant, for Fly V-Australia, which is a term for saying being part of the glue to hold a squad together in 41 states in the USA over 270 days, with only 4 days at home. That encompasses a lot of roles, primary one being truck driver, but at the other end of the spectrum i got to direct my first two races with V-Australia also.  My track record Directing V Australia is 100% wins- it was not hard to win with the best team in the USA. I have been super fortunate to work under the best Directors in the business including Linda Jackson, Glen Mitchell, Henk Vogels, Ed Beamon, Jim Miller and Manuel Fanini. I have taken lots of information on board over the last 4 years that i am trying to apply to my little squad of hitter kittys.

Vanderkitten is the next project you have taken on.  You are getting tons of visibility and the outfit looks very pro.  What philosophy drives the program?

A lot of the image and branding and vibe that Dave Verrecchia has created around Vanderkitten is distinct from the traditional model of cycling. As much as we love the history and passion behind 100 years of the sport, we feel that if it is to survive and thrive, we need a fresh outlook and to break free a little bit  from the stifling atmosphere of what your generic roadie cyclist tends to be. Especially in women’s cycling, where corporate sponsors are very hard to come by (Thank you Webcor, Aarons, TIBCO, HTC, Colavita!!) We need a model that people from outside of cycling can identify with our athletes as modern day female champs.

For Dave, a Vanderkitten is your everyday Jane doing extraordinary things. Just as much as you can go on the Vanderkitten FB group page and see women Motorcycle riders uploading vids of them stacking at 150mph in a GP race (NOW THATS A VANDERKITTEN!) we want to have casual observers of cycling or people who are watching random youtube vids say- “hey this Vanderkitten chicks cycling thing is cool”.

 

With an approach like that how do you build a team and how do you engage fans?

From our team standpoint, there is no doubt that we have an audacious, engaging group of athletes. I mean, who doesnt want to love pixie sprinter Starla Teddergrren, Fairy Princess Jenn X, Aussie Kid Jazzy, throwdown like Anna Lang, Dance Techno wizzkid Maura, Swiss Miss Vanessa, or the adorable Emily Collins? These women have a great outlook, they are feisty and fast, they are great role models to kids, and they are top bike racers.

Putting that story together and making sure that Vanderkitten is doing good things in the community, for kids, for women, and for everyone- thats the story that we are creating. At Redlands this year we were in the paper everyday. Half the pics were from the race, and half were the girls doing things in and around the community.  If an outside industry sponsor sees that story and wants to identify with it, then thats the partnership we are looking for. We are not a transient group.  Vanderkitten Athletics has been around since 2007, and we aim to build and grow upon our global fan base and keep delivering for our sponsors.

What is your career ambition in cycling?

Develop women’s cycling into a high profile, financially viable, and financially attractive viable sport for athletes, race promoters, advertisers and staff. I want to be part of the movement that makes racing exciting for viewers- both fans of cycling and your fan off the street that sees one live race a year and says “Man that is cool”. The entertainment value, the drama and the quality of athlete is already there.

I would love to be a part of the building of the sport in the USA and globally. Right now Nicola Cramner, Linda Jackson, Lisa Hunt and Rachel Heal do a great job of running superb professional outfits… and don’t forget Jim Miller and Bob Stapleton also, of course. There are a few people on their heels like Susannah Gordon, Dave Verrecchia, and myself who are really putting our energy behind women’s Pro Cycling.  Race promoters that offer equal prizemoney and other incentives- like Ryan Dawkins from Project Sport, David LaPorte from Nature ValleyGP are a great role model for what the sport can become. I think its important we create a united front.  While i am talking about Pro Cycling, one of it would exist, without the countless people working on behalf for women athletes every day like Lorri lee Lown, Laurel Green.. the list goes on.

 

As a director what race or races do you like the most?

Boise Twilight is my favorite race to compete in the world.  Also love the Noosa GP and the energy that the Australian Road Champs in Bunninyong has. As a staff member i have really enjoyed the Giro della Toscana and of course the old Montreal World Cup. I am in love with Italian Cycling, no doubt, and i would love to fast track the Vanderkitten-Focus program to be able to experience racing there.  But really, my focus for this year is a good race for the gals at Philly.

Who has a funnier accent NZ, US, or Canadian?

US sound like a bunch of

If you were a cute Aussie animal which one would it be (Koala, Joey, palatypus, etc)

Koala. Lots of inebriated sleeping time- so far from me in real life…

 

It was nice in Menlo Park and apparently some roads in Copperopolis were repaved.  A good day all around.

Menlo Park Grand Prix

Despite an active race driven by Touchstone and Vanderkitten veteran pro Liza Rachetto played it smart and unleashed a big sprint for the win.  Race video has the women’s sprint and a quick interview with Liza.

Rand unleashed “Big Pink” and despite a stacked field (with the likes of Logan Loader, Wholberg, and other crit specialists like McCook) – “Big Pink”  must have brought some luck to the Webcor squad.  After being active in several early breaks Webcor took the win putting Brian Bucholz across the line first.  What could be more awesome than Rand now being called Big Pink.  All. The. Time.

Copperopolis

Word is the streets of Copperopolis are paved with gold, or at least some of them have been repaved. Webcor’s Bec Werner proved she’s the real deal and took the win in her first NorCal Robaix.  BJM played spoiler in the men’s race and proved Levi ain’t the only pro that can put the hurt on in the central valley.

Every so often a race captures my imagination. I picked Justin Rossi, a DI swimmer in college currently employed as a Firefighter/Engineer in the Tahoe Douglas Fire District,  to do well at the San Dimas E2 race I didn’t really knowing what he was capable of but he has had a few good runs at Madera and Merco so i figured he was worth watching.   I thought he would win the TT but he came in 11th  15 seconds off the pace. 15 seconds can be a lot of time at San Dimas, a parcours not known for big GC shake ups due to a rolling, hard road race, that is selective but does not encourage many breaks.  Rossi’s TT put him almost out of contention, but Rossi and his team mate Dustin Hahn approached each day with an abandon that makes champions, and exciting races. The other thing is he looks like Jason Statham, who was also a swimmer! How weird is that.

You had a great TT at Merco (8th) and Madera(1st), were you disappointed by your TT at San Dimas (11th)?

Ya, I was a little bummed. I had a rough time at both Ben Hur and Glendora Mountain TT’s and am still learning on how to pace the hill climbs. I way overcooked the front half of both and imploded.

It was still a good performance considering it was a hill climb – what was your team’s plan going into the Road Race.

My teammate and training partner, Dustin Hahn, and I were the only Marc Pro – Strava riders in the Cat 2′s so we didn’t have the advantage of a large team. Neither of us had raced the course before, so we relied on other teammate’s advice that had raced SDSR previously. We were told that breaks almost never stay away. The original plan was to sit in and ride conservative until the last KOM and throw down for the solo finish. We were sitting in 11th and 12th and had nothing to lose. The second lap I was off the front in a 3 man break. Once we were reeled in, Dustin and Mike Gil (Metromint) ripped off the front into the days break. So much for our game plan…

This is when it get’s exciting. Teammate up the road, a hungry pack of E2′s who will eat their young to get upgrade points, and on only you left in the field to try and keep the dogs at bay…what next?

It was kind of a crazy finish. I had a teammate up the road with a 2:00 gap on the field, so I didn’t want to drag the field up to him. On the 6th of 8 laps Josh Yeaton (GS Ciao Organic Horizon) crushed it up the KOM climb and I followed. I looked back at the beginning of the false flat and we had a gap. I went to the front and dug hard until the decent. Josh took his turn on the decent followed by the hardest pull I’ve ever taken through the start finish line. We continued to bury ourselves for the entire 7th lap when we caught Dustin and Mike on the KOM. We had the pro field about 30 seconds up the road at this point, who we caught by the feed zone of the final lap. I told the ref that I wasn’t going to sit and risk being caught. He said we had the left side of the road and to go for it. I drilled it up the feed zone climb, hearing encouragement from teammates in the pro field. Unfortunately Dustin and Mike weren’t able to hold on, as they had been alone all day.

Oh man – The decoy move! Now it’s just you and Josh Yeaton trying to maintain your gap. Only one thing left to do…

Unable to stay in front of the 150 rider pro field the ref told us we had to sit and wait until the pros got up the road. He said not to worry that we had a big gap on our field. Once getting the green light to race again, Josh and I pushed over the final KOM and towards the finish, which I was able to out kick him in the sprint. As we cruised back to the finish line to confirm our finish, Dustin rolled through solo in 3rd. Sitting 1st and 3rd overall, the yellow and green jersey’s and a large time gap on the field…. We were stoked on our days work.

That was the move of the race. So going into the crit you had a 4 second lead over second place – it was your race to loose – a tenuous lead given all the time bonuses – were you and your team nervous at all?

Not really, luckily I only had to worry about Josh getting time back, so for the most part I just marked him. I sprinted for a few primes and actually stole the green jersey off Dustin’s back. Sorry buddy…as long as it stays in the team name.

You ended up 5th in the crit, a great performance given several hard days of racing, and of course you won the GC – is this your biggest race yet?

For sure, it felt great to step on that podium. I was pretty happy about my finish at Merco as well, seeing how the competition was pretty legit. Last year I had some success moving through the categories. I would always tell my wife, “Babe, this is the Cat 4′s now, these guys are fast….Babe, this is the Cat 3′s, it’s not going to be so easy.” Now I’m at the level were these guys are fast and power alone will not win you races.

Tell me about your athletic background before cycling?

I grew up a swimmer and was racing in summer league before I was 4. I swam for the University of North Carolina for four years. I assume that is where my lungs and ability to suffer come from. What’s funny is I was known for upper body strength and I always had a weak kick. I swam distance events 400 Individual Medley, 1500, 500, 200 freestyle. I lived in the gym trying to become a sprinter, but I never had the fast twitch. VO2 and Threshold power for me. I spent most my 20′s bodybuilding and was about 220 LBS when I started riding bikes…probably not the best thing for cycling. I was told many times “You are too big to race bikes.” Now in my second season of racing I am 50 pounds lighter than when i started riding 3 years ago. Most people from the gym think I’m sick (and not in a good way).

What are you goals for the rest of the year?

I need to spend more time on my TT bike. I’m a climber stuck in a time trialer’s body. Marc Pro – Strava has some big races circled on our calendar. I am going to rest and try to focus on the next section of my season which includes Sea Otter, some classics, Mt Hood and District TT. We are a newly formed team and have buco talent and freakish power. I want to do the best job I can representing my team and its sponsors because they are both awesome.