Introduction<\/p>\n
Every cyclist\u2019s story starts somewhere\u2014some on a borrowed bike, some on a local trail, and some on a quiet cul-de-sac in Colorado Springs. For Dave, that childhood joy of two wheels grew into a lifelong passion spanning racing, coaching, and inspiring riders around the world.<\/p>\n
The Beginning<\/p>\n
\u201cMy love affair with the bicycle began as a five-year-old when I unwrapped my first bike on Christmas morning,\u201d recalls Dave. \u201cI learned to ride right in front of my parents\u2019 house and I was hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soon, neighborhood greenways became racetracks, and paper routes became training grounds. \u201cI must\u2019ve built up a base before I even knew what that was,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n
Discovering the Track<\/p>\n
In 1985, while watching his dad\u2019s softball game at Memorial Park, Dave wandered up a hill and found the Colorado Springs Velodrome. \u201cIt was this massive cement oval\u2014it completely captured my imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following year, his parents gifted him tickets to the 1986 World Cycling Championships, held right there in his hometown. \u201cI watched Michael Huebner, Lutz Hesslich, Harvey Nitz, Steve Hegg, and Nelson Vails race in person. On the road side, I saw Moreno Argentin win at the Air Force Academy in freezing conditions. I was all in from that point on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sense of speed, discipline, and teamwork\u2014it drew me in completely. I knew then I wanted to be part of this sport for life.\u201d
\u2014 Dave<\/p>\n
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Chasing Olympic Dreams<\/p>\n
A decade later, in 1996, Dave achieved one of his lifelong dreams\u2014lining up at the U.S. Olympic Track Cycling Trials in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. \u201cIt was a time when an underdog could truly earn their way onto the Olympic team,\u201d he says. \u201cOur team placed fifth in the Team Pursuit, and standing on that podium was a dream realized.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Coaching and Global Perspective<\/p>\n
After his own racing career, Dave turned to coaching, becoming a USA Cycling\u2013licensed coach more than two decades ago. He\u2019s since helped athletes across track, road, and mountain disciplines through national development camps and ID programs.<\/p>\n
In 2012, his coaching journey took him all the way to Rwanda, where he lived and worked with the national team ahead of the Tour of Rwanda. \u201cWorking with Jock Boyer and Kimberly Coats was incredible. As a teenager, Jock was one of my heroes\u2014so to collaborate with him years later was surreal.\u201d That year, Dave also served as the DS for Quebecor\/Garneau, Louis Garneau\u2019s Canadian team.<\/p>\n
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\u201cCycling has this incredible ability to connect people across borders, backgrounds, and languages. It\u2019s a universal language of challenge and joy.\u201d
\u2014 Dave<\/p>\n
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Giving Back Through the Bike<\/p>\n
Today, Dave continues to live in Colorado Springs, coaching through Durata Training, while also working as a massage therapist and audiobook narrator. Though racing has taken a back seat, his love for helping others thrive on the bike has only deepened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to instill in my athletes that the challenges they face on the bike\u2014and the growth that comes from them\u2014can translate to every part of life. Seeing that transformation is the ultimate reward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Photo Caption<\/p>\n
Dave in Rwanda ahead of the Tour of Rwanda in 2012. Photo courtesy of Dave McIntosh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Introduction Every cyclist\u2019s story starts somewhere\u2014some on a borrowed bike, some on a local trail, and some on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[1163,417,1167,1169,1165,49,48,1172,1173,1171,1175,1179,635,1174,1166,1180,1048,1181,1168,1178,1182,1170,1164,582,1176,82,1177,1184,1183],"class_list":["post-275154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bicycle","tag-bike","tag-bike-event","tag-bike-mechanic","tag-bike-race","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-coach","tag-coaches","tag-commissaire","tag-criterium","tag-cross-country","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-coach","tag-cycling-event","tag-downhill","tag-events","tag-gravity","tag-mechanic","tag-mountain-bike","tag-national-championship","tag-official","tag-race","tag-racing","tag-road-race","tag-sports","tag-time-trial","tag-us-cycling","tag-usac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}