The inner voice is a battle. At its best that voice is driven, confident, empowered and audacious, it drives me towards my goals and down a committed path. At its worst it causes me to question if I’m good enough, or whether what I’m doing is actually worth it. That voice can go entirely against things that I am absolutely sure I am capable of, and even who I am as an athlete or a person. It asks me why I am doing this. I’ve learned that while things don’t always make sense, I need to remain committed and see it through. Sometimes it means continuing on with blind faith.
Read MoreThis Vuelta is the last Grand Tour in which we will see the distinctive red and black of the BMC Racing Team. Over 11 years the American team, backed by Swiss billionaire Andy Rihs, helped change the sport, paying big salaries, winning the Tour de France with Cadel Evans, and becoming masters of the art of team time trialling. Rihs died this year and BMC will be taken over by CCC — but it will be a very different team.
Read MoreBrent Bookwalter is joining a new team, usually not that big of a deal in cycling, but it is considering the Rockford native's past. The former Olympian and four-time Tour de France rider has left BMC Racing Team after 11 years and will join Mitchelton-SCOTT.
Read MoreAfter spending his entire career with the BMC Racing Team, Brent Bookwalter is set to move to Mitchelton-Scott next season. The 34-year-old is the first American to sign for the men's team since their inception in 2012.
Read MoreBrent Bookwalter is best known as a stalwart athlete for the UCI WorldTour team BMC Racing, as he has stayed with BMC since his start in pro cycling in 2008. Few athletes have had the organizational continuity that Bookwalter has enjoyed during his pro career. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s stayed complacent during his time; anything but. His experience in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Tour de France, and a myriad of World Championships prove his mettle as an athlete at the highest level.
Read MoreIt wasn’t until after months of recovery, during his first pro ride in Utah in 2008 and his first year with BMC Racing Team, that Bookwalter felt truly back on track.
Read More“I always enjoy and appreciate when the Tour of Utah has a prologue or a non-uphill time trial,” said American Brent Bookwalter of BMC Racing Team, who tallied a stage win in 2017 and a Utah Sports Commission Sprint classification jersey in 2015. “By adding in a prologue, it balances out the race a bit and forces the climbers to be in their best form in the race against the clock.”
Read MoreBMC Racing's Brent Bookwalter is a rare creature among pro cyclists, having spent his entire WorldTour career on the same team. Of the 34-year-old American's 13 professional seasons, dating back to 2005 on the US domestic circuit, the past 11 have been with BMC.
Read MoreOne of the favorites to win the Amgen Tour of California individual time trial today is grateful to make it to the starting line in Morgan Hill.
After all, Brent Bookwalter’s cycling career came close to ending at the beginning.
Read MoreTejay van Garderen is motivated for the Tour of California and happy to be back racing in his home country. But the BMC Racing rider explained at the pre-race press conference that he is sharing the role of team leader with fellow American Brent Bookwalter.
Read MoreHe was still in shock from the compound fracture to his left tibia, but Brent Bookwalter can remember the emergency surgery he received in Belgium that day.
Well, he thinks it was Belgium; some aspects of the events remain hazy. Physicians gave him a nerve block for his lower half, allowing him to remain awake for the operation.
Read MoreThis sport is so good at testing us every day. There are so many variables to go through. Staying healthy, staying on a team, staying motivated. It’s very testing. The biggest challenge I’ve had to go through really set the tone for my career. It happened even before I got started.
Read MoreThe race also marks the return of Brent Bookwalter and Kilian Frankiny, both of whom were injured late last season. Bookwalter suffered a head injury in a crash at the Tour of Britain and had to renounce his place in the USA team for Worlds. It was his first experience with a concussion, he said, and his recovery took a bit longer than expected.
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