Alexey Vermeulen

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Career Highlights

• 2011 juniors 17-18 road race national champion
• 2012 Juniors World Championships, 51st place
• 2011 Juniors World Championships, 56th place (first for U.S.)
• 2014 Course de la Paix, sixth place
• 2014 Val d'Aosta, 17th place
• 2014 Tour de Alsace, 20th place
• 2014 Giro del Belvedere, 15th place
• 2013 Val d'Aosta, 23rd place
• 2012 Regio Tour, fifth place
• 2012 Tour de l'Abitibi, second place
• 2011 Regio Tour, 10th place
• 2011 Tour de l'Abitibi, fifth place

Alexey Vermeulen grits his teeth on a climb during a USA Cycling development race in Europe. (photo by Casey B. Gibson)

Hobbies and interests: "Nordic skiing, ice hockey, violin, sailing (Laser Class), mountain biking, trail running and slalom water skiing."

Favorite Race: "Tour de l'Avenir-- The experience was unparalleled by any other U23 race in which I have ever competed. The competition was high, which made the race hard and fun every day! Val d'Aosta in Italy is a close second!"

Favorite Place to Train: "Calpe, Spain, is one of my favorite places to train, but it is hard for me to pick just one! Calpe is a small town on the coast of the Mediterranean Ocean, which backs up to the great mountains with beautiful, warm weather!"

Motivation: "I am motivated by a lot of different aspects of my life, but when I am really suffering on the bike, I think about my Opa (grandfather) who passed away in 2009 from testicular cancer. He got me into racing and is always my motivation and inspiration when training or racing gets hard."

Best advice you received from a coach when you were starting out: "Listen to your body. This is something that I still think about today as it is so important when you are training and racing."

Hero/role model: "My role model is my dad, without a doubt, 100 percent. When I first read this question, I was not quite sure who I was going to put down for this, but as I started to think about it, everything led back to my dad. He has been there by my side, researching the little details, helping me get to races and cheering me on through the good and the bad."

What is your best cycling memory: "My favorite cycling memory dates back to the 2011 Tour de l'Abitibi in Quebec, Canada. This is dubbed the junior Tour de France as it is the first time many juniors will race seven days in a row. In 2011, going into the seventh and final stage, I was sixth overall and second in the young riders jersey. I was racing on a small team out of Cincinnati called Team Turner against a proven U.S. Juniors National Team, which had the young riders jersey. As we entered the final circuits on the last stage, the early breakaway was caught, and I took the opportunity to attack! I went away with one other rider, and we raced against the peloton for the final 20(ish) kilometers as I battled for the time to take the young riders jersey. USA chased on the front of the peloton with all of their team, but in the end, I was beaten to the line for second place and did not get the jersey. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and believe in yourself."

How did you first become involved in cycling: "I got involved in cycling through my grandfather who raced in the Netherlands. I started racing triathlons with my mom and brothers and soon decided to give bike racing a try. After my first race, I was hooked and my passion has grown ever since."

Cycling goals: "Lofty goals are the special goals. As a short-term goal, I want to win Val d'Aosta. It is one of my favorite races and one of the most beautiful, and having raced it for the past two years, I know what it takes to win! Thinking more long term, I dream of winning the Tour de France; the work and mental focus that goes into winning the Tour is amazing to me, and I hope to someday stand on the top step in Paris. After my career, I would like to go to medical school so that I can become a sports doctor. I think this will be a great way to have fun working and help people get to and stay at the top of their sport!"