Bike racing is hard. Cyclocross might be one of the hardest ways to race a bike in under an hour.
To succeed in cyclocross, fitness alone isn’t enough. Riders need countless hours of skills practice and the ability to adapt when a course changes from frozen ruts to sloppy mud. They learn how to dress for biting cold or freezing rain. They know their equipment at a level most people would consider obsessive, like insisting the front tire needs 22.5 PSI and the rear 23.
That attention to detail is what made Steve so successful in cyclocross.
Steve never viewed the equipment demands as a burden. Two bikes in the pit, multiple wheelsets, spare shoes in case a BOA dial failed or a shoe disappeared into a mud bog were all part of the fun to him. He saw those details as a challenge and something he genuinely loved. Steve was always talking tires, equipment, and lines, pre-riding courses to find the fastest way through every section and dialing tire pressure down to the exact PSI needed. I suspect he trusted his highly calibrated thumbs more than any digital gauge.
When the Steve Tilford Foundation Development Team prepares for cyclocross, we look to Steve for inspiration. Our mentors are Steve’s friends and former teammates, and the lessons he shared with them are now being passed down to the next generation.
I wish you could have been with us at the team tent during Nationals. The level of care and dedication was something special. On the management side, Dallas McCarter and Matt Gilhousen worked tirelessly to ensure every rider had what they needed, from housing and equipment to the confidence that their schedule and race day logistics were organized and smooth. On the mentorship side, Joseph Schmalz, Garrick Valverde, Shadd Smith, Bill Stolte, and Hannah Tell shared their experience to help these riders prepare the right way.
A clear example of where this mentorship came into play was a lengthy discussion the night before the junior races on Sunday. Temperatures were expected to drop into the low teens, which meant we needed to adjust warm-up strategies accordingly. Together, the mentors and junior athletes sat down to plan the timing of their warm-ups and pre-pin numbers on race jerseys they would change into afterward, ensuring they didn’t hit the start line in a wet or cold jersey.
It’s this attention to detail, built through experience, that makes a meaningful difference in the success of this program.
This development program isn’t just about chasing results. It’s about helping young riders grow into capable humans who understand what it takes to set high expectations, pursue meaningful goals, and follow through. Success isn’t luck. It’s consistency, perseverance, and a strong community lifting each other up.
That said, if it were all about results, the STF crew had a pretty incredible week.
Cyclocross Nationals Results
Masters Men 55–59
- Shadd Smith — 4th
- Bill Stolte — 15th
