Team TIBCO reported 14 Specialized bicycles and more than a dozen carbon racing wheels stolen from an enclosed trailer after thieves cut the lock late Tuesday or early Wednesday morning. The bikes are valued at between $5,000 and $8,000 each, with wheel sets going for upward of $2,000 each.

The team is in Idaho’s capital city for the Exergy Tour, a five-day stage race with 16 teams featuring dozens of riders from around the world.

California-based TIBCO is trying to get its top rider, Megan Guarnier, to the London Olympics for the road race and had been counting on a top performance in Idaho before USA Cycling officials name their selections on June 15.

“The hard part about this, Megan Guarnier trying to make the Olympic team, she needs her best equipment to contend in this race and accumulate enough UCI points,” said Jeff Sobul, TIBCO’s San Francisco-based spokesman. “We’re doing everything we can to get the bikes back, or get them replaced.”

The Exergy Tour begins with a two-mile prologue on Thursday, followed by four stages throughout southwestern Idaho concluding on Memorial Day. James Carkulis, chief executive officer of the energy developer that’s sponsoring the event, said race organizers were working feverishly to find bikes for the women.

“We know these athletes are strong willed and determined and we shall find a way for them to compete,” Carkulis said.

By early Wednesday afternoon, members of Boise’s cycling community had chipped in some $2,200 as a reward for getting the bikes back.

Of the 14 Specialized-brand bicycles stolen, six were carbon fiber time trial bikes fitted individually to each rider.

Another eight road bikes were stolen, as were at least 19 expensive racing wheels from Reynolds.

The bikes are all marked distinctively with TIBCO team logos.

The trailer was parked outside a Holiday Inn hotel near an exit to Interstate 84, a freeway that heads east toward Wyoming and west toward Oregon, potentially providing a quick getaway for thieves.

Sobul said anybody attempting to fence the bicycles would have trouble, because Specialized works with each of the team’s athletes to fit them to their precise specifications.

“It’s pretty mind-boggling, to think that somebody can raid a bike team’s trailer and be able to sell the stuff,” he said. “It’s pretty specific equipment.”

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

Last night several thousand dollars worth of bikes and pro cycling equipment was stolen from the Team TIBCO trailer in a Boise hotel parking lot. The team is in Idaho to compete in the Exergy Tour ladies pro cycling race. Below are the statements from Boise Mayor David Bieter, Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson, Exergy Development Group CEO James Carkulis, and Team TIBCO regarding this event.

STATEMENT FROM BOISE MAYOR DAVE BIETER

“I was angry and deeply disappointed when I learned of the theft of the bikes and equipment from Team Tibco last night. This is not the kind of community we live in and not the kind of welcome we want to extend to visitors for this wonderful Exergy Tour event. These are specialized racing bikes branded with the team’s logo; they’re of absolutely no use to anyone except the riders to whom they belong. I’m asking any members of the public who might have information regarding this crime to help us in securing the return of this equipment so that everyone can enjoy this great competition.”

STATEMENT FROM BOISE POLICE CHIEF MIKE MASTERSON

“Crimes like this, which target a public event, don’t just hurt the victims; they hurt the entire community. Fortunately this kind of theft is rare in Boise, but that makes this particular incident all the more upsetting. Our detectives are working hard to track down the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice, and Crime Stoppers has pledged a reward of $1,000 for the return of the Team Tibco equipment, and the Mayor’s Office is in for another $1,000. As always, members of the public are the best partners of law enforcement in solving crimes like this, so I echo the Mayor’s plea and ask citizens to call 343-COPS (343-2677) if they have any information that might be helpful.”

STATEMENT FROM EXERGY DEVELOPMENT GROUP CEO, JAMES CARKULIS

“The Boise Police Department and the Office of the Mayor are working feverishly to apprehend these thieves and recover the equipment. Exergy is doing everything possible to make sure the teams will be on track to race tomorrow evening at the Prologue. This places a pallor over the event well before the start of such a positive experience for these athletes and for the sport. We know these athletes are strong willed and determined and we shall find a way for them to compete.”

STATEMENT FROM TIBCO – TO THE TOP

“Last night the Team TIBCO trailer van was broken into at a race hotel parking lot in Boise, Idaho. 14 bikes have been stolen, including six Specialized Time Trial Shivs and eight Specialized Amira bikes. These bikes were top end race bikes, built with top of the line SRAM components. The time trial bikes specifically are very unique and should be easily identifiable. Our Reynolds wheels were stolen as well, including our time trial Element Discs and very special RZR 46s and 92s. These wheels are also very unique and are not easily available.

“This is a huge blow to the team. On the performance side, our riders now have to compete in the most important stage race in the country without their Specialized/SRAM /Reynolds time trial equipment. The financial side is equally crippling. Women’s cycling teams do not have big budgets. This loss has a huge impact on the team’s financial health.

“We were really looking forward to the resurrection of stage racing in Idaho with Exergy Tour. The team’s founder fondly remembers Idaho from the legendary Ore-Ida/Hewlett Packard Stage Race days. This is not the Idaho that she remembers. We are hopeful that the community can help us recover these bikes quickly so that our athletes can perform to the best of their ability in this important UCI race leading up to the Olympics.

“We thank George’s Cycles in Boise Idaho, who has offered a $500 reward for information leading to the safe return of our equipment, and we will match that amount. We also thank Exergy for contributing another $1,000 to the reward, bringing the total to $2,000. Please help us recover our equipment.”

Story by Betsy
The Spokesman-Review

The Inimitable Dave Towle presents some of the racers in the Exergy Tour
The big announcement at the beginning came from Boise’s Mayor David H. Bieter: police were able to recover all the bicycle’s stolen from Team TIBCO To the Top. The welcome news was a relief to those with a vested interest in this event leading forward women’s competitive cycling. It will also remove a distraction to the TIBCO racers. “We got back all the bikes which is a huge step in the right direction,” commented Megan Guarnier, TIBCO racer and member of the Olympic Long Team, “and it’ll be a big relief to the girls to get their bikes back.”

Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling, and Heather Hall, representing Exergy, made mention of the $100,000 purse in describing the importance of the Exergy Tour. Olympic gold medalist from 1984, Connie Carpenter was on hand to add her historical perspective in recalling the eight $1 bills she would receive for winning races. It was a excellent indication of the progress made and how far it will go with this event.

A more telling perspective, however, came from the initial origins for the event. “It goes back to last summer when the CEO of Exergy, James Carkulis, was at the Aspen Women’s Race.” described Hall, “The women raced for three days [but] the next day in the paper there was [no] mention of the Women’s Race. It lit a little bit of a fire because, as a father of three daughters, and someone who believes in the sport so strongly, he [Carkulis] saw an opportunity [for] change.” Carkulis created the vision of the Exergy Tour as a way to “elevate the level of the sport for women and create an opportunity for them to be on center stage because they deserve it.” continued Hall, “These ladies race just as hard as the men, they’re just as committed to their training and racing.”

Hall went on to say the Exergy Tour “is really to raise the bar for the sport. To allow the women to experience what the men do in professional cycling. I feel that, in our inaugural year, we’re excited to set the stage.”

An International Event with racers from across the World
One racer competing is Megan Guarnier, from Mountain View, CA. “This is a big step for North American Cycling. Bringing a 2.1 to the US is huge, it’s bringing the other European teams over here. I’d love to see in the future more of these UCI races over on US soil. The United States has a lot to offer.” Guarnier went on to say the team will review her role day-by-day. “We have such a strong team here that we can play a lot of cards. We need to have our team meetings about the courses for the rest of the week. I haven’t had a huge chance to recon them myself so, hopefully, our director has some good ideas about how we’re going to go about racing this.”

Story by imager
Norcal Cycling News

How does it feel to have international racing returning to Idaho?

The era of the old Ore-Ida stage race,( then PowerBar and Hewlett-Packard) marked some terrific stage racing in the U.S. I am hopeful that this new Exergy stage race will turn into the same kind of race, and fill the void left when this race ended.

As a woman who has seen so much change in women’s cycling over the years, how would you rate the health of women’s cycling in the US and beyond?

I have mixed feelings on this. Having Exergy start is fantastic, and certainly a sign of the health of women’s cycling. We need these races, but we also need attention from the media and the race organizers. I was trying to watch a women’s race on the internet recently, and was really disappointed when, after the coverage of the woman’s race, they left the camera on the podium waiting forever for the men’s podium while they could have been filming the women’s race. Women are such great ambassadors for the sport, sponsors should be taking advantage of this.

Will Megan Guarnier’s selection to the 2012 US Olympic team be a tick off of the bucket list of the TIBCO mission?

We have been over to Europe twice already this year in an attempt to help both the U.S, and our riders specifically, score precious UCI points. Our European campaign was a huge success, and it is really fulfilling to have been able to acomplish our mission of helping our promising riders become top intenrational competitiors. Hopefully Megan does get selected, and that will be a huge reward for all of the effort we have put into women’s cycling over the past 7 years, and this year especially. I don’t see it as a tick-off though, I see it as the start of many success stories to come.

What’s the next 5 years of TIBCO’s future?

TIBCO and SVB have been fantastic partners, and they are really excited how we have progressed, both on the competive level and on the marketing front. They are in this for the long haul and we are already talking about the 2016 Olympics. North America will be important to us, and we will likely have a core group of races that we do in Europe. What those races look like will change year-to-year.

Story by Hellyer May 24, 2012
Norcal Cycling News

“This was a perfect way to end the mess that we dealt with yesterday,” said Team TIBCO European directeur sportif Angela van Smoorenburg. “The Team is ready to move forward, race hard, and defend the yellow jersey.”

Canadian riders swept the podium today, finishing 1-2-3 in the 3.1-kilometre opening prologue. National team rider Gillian Carleton took second place, while Clara Hughes placed third.

“It was such a strong field today. I am very proud to wear the first ever yellow jersey at the Exergy Tour,” said Whitten.

“The Canadian cycling program made huge improvements over the past several years,” Whitten added. “It’s pretty unusual for us to have great crowds. It’s exciting. The first comment I got from one of my teammates coming back was that the crowds were amazing, and it pushes you to give everything you have in there. We have a really strong team here and we are excited for the days to come.”

Tomorrow, the riders will head to the hills for Stage One’s rolling road race.

The Team would like to convey their most sincere gratitude to the Boise Police for their rapid action to recover the stolen bikes. We would also like to thank the Exergy Tour organization and the greater Boise cycling community for spreading the word, contributing reward money for tips and keeping their eyes open and reporting the locations of the bikes around the Boise State campus. We would specifically like to thank James Carkulis, CEO of Exergy Development Group of Idaho, for his commitment to ensuring the Team TIBCO women had equipment to race on this week, and his commitment to women’s professional cycling in supporting this race.

“Without everyone’s help, Team TIBCO might have missed an incredible opportunity to participate in the inaugural Exergy Tour,” said Team Founder and Manager Linda Jackson. “This is an incredibly important race to the Team and to the sport. It was a potentially devastating situation for the Team, and for the Olympic ambitions of Megan Guarnier. Everyone’s support and generosity is truly appreciated. Thank you for supporting Team TIBCO and women’s racing in America.”

While the upset came on the eve of the Exergy Tour, the Team has regrouped and is focused on moving forward as they prepare for the week’s racing.

“The team in Boise is tough and this won’t stop them from racing their bikes as best they can,” said Team TIBCO captain Meredith Miller. “If nothing else, this will give them even more firepower to prove themselves and their strength.”

Over the next five days, the Team will race against the top teams in the sport as they wind through southwestern Idaho covering 195.5 miles with 10,300 feet of climbing.

The Team sends a full squad of eight riders to the Exergy Tour, including Olympic long team members Megan Guarnier and Amanda Miller to contest the general classification overall standings. Additional GC rider Lindsay Myers will be after the young rider’s jersey. Three-time track world champion Tara Whitten is a race favorite for the prologue and time trial events. Teammates Jennifer Wheeler, Lauren Hall, Kendall Ryan and Jennifer Purcell will work to organize breakaways and support the Team’s GC rider. The Team will take a proactive role in this race as they aim to set up and get into breakaways and deliver their GC rider to the podium.

“I’m very excited about the inaugural Exergy Tour,” said Team TIBCO Olympic long team member Megan Guarnier. “The race will feature the world’s fastest female athletes in the height of our season.”

“With the Exergy Tour’s diverse profile of stages and depth of field, Team TIBCO/To the Top will be targeting this stage race as an important international stage race with the benefit of racing in North America,” Guarnier added.

The race kicks off Thursday evening with a time trial prologue in Boise at 6:30 p.m. Friday’s 76-mile road race will be followed by a 10.4-mile individual time trial on Saturday. The Queen’s Stage is reserved for Sunday, where the ladies will challenge an agonizing alpine stage whose climbs touch the clouds at 6000 feet of elevation. The final stage will take the riders around a rolling 46-mile loop on Monday. As the only UCI 2.1-ranked race for women in North America, the Exergy Tour is one of the last opportunities for Olympic hopefuls to earn points to qualify for the London Games.

“The Exergy Ladies Tour is going to be such a competitive event with Olympic points up for grabs,” said Team TIBCO young rider Lindsay Myers. “I know the dedication and belief in women’s cycling that the organizers are putting into this race will pay off and lead to more world-class events in the U.S. for women.”

The Tour is sure to spark interest in women’s cycling across America.

“For five days, the show will be all ours when the best women in the world will take to the roads of Idaho to showcase women’s cycling, to put on display the determination, passion and talent that is women’s cycling,” said Meredith Miller. “I hope the Exergy Tour sets the tone for other organizers to build their events in partnership with women’s cycling, as its own brand, not as an afterthought.”

For more information, visit: http://www.exergytour.com/

The trailer was parked in the parking lot of the Exergy Tour race hotel parking lot in Boise, Idaho. Thieves stole 6 Specialized Shiv Time Trial bikes and 8 Specialized Amira road bikes.

“These bikes are top-of-the-line race bikes, built with top-of-the-line SRAM Red components,” said Team Founder and Director Linda Jackson. “The time trial bikes specifically are very unique and should be easily identifiable. In addition, all these bikes were painstakingly built and fitted to each rider with the help of Specialized. Having this custom equipment back for the U.S. National Championships next month is also critical for every team member.“

The thieves also made off with a number of Reynolds wheelsets, including Element Disc time trial wheels and special RZR 46s and 92s. “These wheels are also very unique and are not readily available,” Jackson added.

“The theft is a huge blow to the team. On the performance side, our riders now have to compete in the most important stage race in the country without their Specialized and Reynolds time trial equipment and their custom-built road bikes,” Jackson said.“

“George’s Cycles in Boise Idaho has generously offered a $500 reward for information leading to the safe return of the bikes, we thank them for that,” Jackson added. “We will match them and make the reward $1,000.” Exergy has also added a $1,000 reward for information.

Boise Police are urging anyone who has information to call Crime Stoppers at 343-2677 or go the website www.343cops.com.

Team TIBCO boasts a tradition of decorated Canadian riders, including Team Founder and Director Linda Jackson. This weekend, the Team will send off Canadian National Champion Veronique Fortin, and 3-time Track World Champion and Canadian Tara Whitten to challenge the Gatineau races. For Fortin, whose hometown is not far from Gatineau, the race will provide her with an opportunity to show her peers what women’s racing is all about.

“This is like a fusion of my two worlds,” said the full-time anesthesiologist and pro racer. “People from work will come out to watch the race, so it’s a great way to promote women’s cycling.”

“I’m also excited to have my teammates here so they can discover what Quebec is all about,” Fortin added.

Saturday’s individual time trial will take the riders through two laps of a technical 9.8-kilometer circuit for a total of 19.6 kilometers. Team TIBCO will be represented by Megan Guarnier and Whitten at the time trial.

Whitten will be a strong contender. She has a National Time Trial Championship under her belt, in addition to winning the 2010 Commonwealth Games TT. Guarnier comes to Gatineau in hot pursuit of UCI points toward her bid for Olympic selection. The Olympic long team member is capable of a strong performance; her first place finish at the Redlands Classic time trial earlier this season propelled her to overall victory at the NRC stage race.

On Monday, the Team will send a six-person squad to go head to head with top international riders as they contest the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race. The course will take riders around a 10.1-kilometer rolling route for 13 laps, totalling 134 kilometers. Guarnier, Whitten and Fortin will be joined by Team TIBCO teammates Kendall Ryan, Lauren Hall and Jennifer Purcell.

For more information, visit: http://www.grandprixcyclistegatineau.com/?lang=en.

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http://www.teamtibco.com/05142012/cycle.html

Attend the Gala

There are still a few tickets available for the Gala at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton tonight. Held in conjunction with the end of Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California, the Gala once again features the legendary Voices of the Tour de France: Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll, with a silent and live auction, followed by dinner. Pro-cyclists and Olympians will also join us as we celebrate the upcoming Summer Games.

This event will raise funds for the development of top international and Olympic female athletes, including current Olympic long-team members Amanda Miller and Megan Guarnier of Team TIBCO/To the Top. Get tickets here:

http://www.teamtibco.com/05142012/cycle.html

Team TIBCO Junior Skylar Schneider, younger sister to Samantha, has also been posting some impressive results. The 13-year-old is proving to have some speed in her legs, taking the category 3/4 win at yesterday’s Loop de Loop crit.