2011 Winners Rostrum

Chazal Pink Jersey Winner: Kelli Bayliss

RIDER PROFILE
Name: Kelli Bayliss
Age: 38
Occupation: Mum
Reason behind passion for road biking?: I bought my first road bike when I was 19 to compete in triathlons. Having won my age group in my first race I soon became hooked! I worked my way quickly through the distances and discovered a love of training and racing longer distances. I did my first ironman at 23 and was lucky enough to compete in the Hawaiian ironman that same year.

When I moved to UK in 2000 I stopped competing and discovered the joy that cycling in Europe brings. Over the next 5 years most of my travel was done on the bike, most memorably around Ireland, throughout The Alps, across the Pyrenees, Corsica and through many areas of Italy.

I stopped cycling altogether in 2006 to start our family. 5 years and 3 gorgeous children later I was very excited to return to cycling earlier this year.

The 2011 Alpine Challenge is a major highlight of my sporting life. The physical challenge and adrenaline of the race sections, the superb scenery, the incredible event support but mostly the camaraderie combined to provide the best cycling experience I have ever had. I feel a huge sense of personal achievement, have fantastic memories and have made great new friends.

The Alpine Challenge has reignited my love of cycling. I am still on a huge high and cannot wait to come back next year.
Kelli Bayliss - (Chazal Pink Jersey Winner, Alpine Challenge 2011)

Chazal Red Jersey Winner: Jered Gruber

RIDER PROFILE
Name: Jered Gruber
Age: 28
Occupation: Journalist/Photographer
Reason behind passion for road biking?: I played golf for many years before taking up cycling. I didn't find myself taking an interesting in bike riding until the summer before I started university, 2001. While getting destroyed by a friend and my uncle on a mountain bike in the Austrian Alps, I fell in love. On that day, I got a glimpse of what I would grow to love about riding a bike - the movement, the wonderful feeling of a circular step, the views, the suffering, the desire to always go faster, the thoughts that never stop racing in my head, the basic joy that is being outside.

I've since ridden many, many miles and spent a lot of time on my bike, but those first feelings on that ride where I was so far behind are still very much the same - and I've never tired of them, if anything, I'm a slave to them

The Alpine Challenge was everything that I love about bike riding. The organization was perfect, the routes were incomparable, and each stage was just right - not too hard, not too easy. They were demanding without leaving me empty each evening.

It was the people involved in the event - both on the organizing side and the participants, that made it an absolutely unforgettable experience though. Over the last week since the conclusion of the event, I find myself waking up every morning, hoping that somehow the clock ticked backward over night, and I'm waking up in Annecy about to start another stage with the friends we made there. Thanks for everything. Can't wait for next year.
Jered Gruber - (Chazal Red Jersey Winner, Alpine Challenge 2011)