MetLife Cycling Team » The Team

Andy Munas

Brad — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:01:49 +0000

Bio coming soon.

Trent Ashburn

ag — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:32:09 +0000

DOB: 4/29/1978
Height: 5′ 10 ”
Weight: 155lbs.
Strengths: Moderately hilly road races
Hometown: Lakewood, CO
College/Major: Brown University / Computer Science & Finance
Current Residence: Boston, MA
Occupation: Founder, WireOver.com
Other interests: Film, Food, Travel

Peter Bell

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:10:40 +0000

Peter found another level of his racing ability last season pushing to the front of the pack and taking a few regional wins. When asked to explain how he made the move and how the team helped, Pete gets contemplative, “We all need something in life to create balance, we all need some sort of catharsis. In my life that catharsis is cycling. Beyond that, being a part of an organization of like minded people focused at once on both individual and team goals is one of the more rewarding experiences one can have.” Pete’s abilities will reward the team this year. An all-around rider, look for Peter to step into a leadership role with his razor sharp attacks and overall abilities.

DOB: 9/26/1985
Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 150 lbs
Hometown: Greenfield, MA
College/major: Middlebury College / Economics
Current residence: Cambridge, MA
Occupation: Employee Benefit Sales, MetLife
Other interests: Eating and Sleeping

Nick Bennette

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:09:48 +0000

Nick stretched the limits of his previous riding last season finishing in the top twenty in multiple NRC events. The “Lion of Princeton” is looking to build on his previous success with an eye towards the USA crits series. Friendly yet enviously fast to the line, Nick is a sprinting machine who can also surprise the peloton’s most feathery climbers.

DOB: 8/6/1982
Height:5′ 11.5 ”
Weight: 180lbs.
Strengths: Sprinting, hard (but not too hilly!) road races
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
College/Major: Boston University / Chemistry
Current Residence: Metuchen, NJ
Occupation: Chemistry Graduate Student, Princeton University
Other interests: Alpine Skiing, working on bikes, Colonial American history, French, cooking, having a beard

Chris Coutu

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:07:47 +0000

Most people wonder how Chris manages it. He has a wife, two young sons, and a full-time job. And yet, weekend after weekend, he shows up to race, ready to go, eager to ride his bike. A two-sport NCAA athlete in his college years at Bowdoin where he played hockey and lacrosse, he shines when it comes to “taking one for the team.” He is particularly skilled at rolling time trial courses.

DOB: 5/19/1971
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 162 lbs
Strengths: Leadouts, TT
Hometown: Hingham, MA
College/major: Bowdoin College ‘93 Dean’s List, Double Major Gov’t/ History & Minor Economics
Current Residence: Upton, MA
Occupation: Employee Benefit Sales, MetLife
Other interests: Family time with my wife, Jenny, and two boys, Connor and Jack, ice hockey, and golf.

Ryan Fleming

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:06:06 +0000

Ryan Fleming begins his fifth year with the team after a successful 2009 campaign that included a win at the Saco Bay Criterium and numerous top five finishes throughout New England. Ryan has an uncanny ability to be in the right place as a race unfolds. He plans to use this focus to help MetLife become the most dominant amateur team in the Northeast. “This team knows how to have fun.” Ryan describes.

DOB: 4/9/1981
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 152 lbs
Strengths:Breakaways, Challenging One-Day Races, Technical
Criteriums, Cyclocross
Hometown: Keene, NH
College/major: University of NH, B.S. Chemical Engineering
Current Residence: Exeter, NH
Occupation: Loss Control Safety Specialist
Other Interests: XC Skiing, Hiking, Playing Piano, Eating Good Food, Microbrews, Spending time with Melissa

Andrew Gardner

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:05:10 +0000

Andrew returns to MetLife in 2011 after two seasons on the team. Although he’s had a relatively short bike racing career, his life has been organized by sport. Andrew is the head coach of the Middlebury College Nordic Ski Team where he spends October through March skiing daily, building training plans for athletes, or traversing the rutted back roads of New England XC ski country in a veggie oil-powered Dodge Ram turbodiesel. Andrew is a gifted climber. He has to be. He lives about halfway up Middlebury Gap, a Vermont climb that eases cyclists from the flats to a gentle 15% incline in about 300 feet and in keeping with the green improvements to MetLife Cycling, he commutes over this climb daily. He shares administrative duties with Peter and Nick on the MetLife team.

DOB: 1/1/78
Height: 5′ 9 ”
Weight: 143 lbs.
Strengths: Climbing.
Hometown: Ironwood, Michigan
College/major: Bates College / Literature – Philosophy
Current Residence: Ripton, VT
Occupation: Head Nordic Ski Coach / Sustainability Consultant, Middlebury College
Other interests: Complicated Klister Combinations, Beat Writers, Coffee, Wine, Pop Culture, Media, Woodstoves, T-shirts, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline.

Gabe Lloyd

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:04:07 +0000

Another new recruit to the Metlife ranks, Gabe is known throughout New England as a cyclocross staple, a strongman on the road and the owner of Echappe Equipment, a cycling wheel rental company, as well as an aspirant artist. (He co-created a project that headlined a NYC gallery show that won the prestigious “Top 10 Shows of the Year” by NY Times art critic Roberta Smith.) The team got its first real introduction to Gabe’s art in the Fitchburg Stage Race, where he proved to be a particularly formidable opponent crafting a fourth place overall finish. Asked about his new team, he’s quick to highlight the strengths, “This team has a lot of talent. Hands down it has the most potential of any Northeast elite amateur team.” This year Gabe will help us read that potential.

Age: 28
Height: 5′8″
Weight: 143lbs
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
College/Major:
Rhode Island School of Design/Sculpture
Columbia University/Masters of Architecture
Current Residence:
Trexlertown, PA
Occupation:
Owner, Echappe Equipment
Graphic and Website Designer, Double L Studios
Other interests:
Playing guitar, urban design theory, beer, girls, muscle cars.

Landen Wark-Acebo

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:02:27 +0000

bio coming soon.

Austin Roach

Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:02:01 +0000

When Austin Roach says something, it’s best to listen closely because though he isn’t chatty, what he shares is usually dead on. (“Chicks dig guys with snoopy on their jerseys.”) The same goes for his riding. The unassuming rider snagged a third place finish in the growing Tour of the Battenkill classic. Versatile and smart in a group, Austin excels at time trials and lead outs and will get ample opportunities to demonstrate his talents this season. Keep an eye on this lanky up and comer.

Height: 6′3″
Weight: 185
Hometown: Bloomfield, IN
College/Major: Physics and Nuclear Engineering at MIT as an undergrad,
Plasma Physics at Princeton as a grad student
Current Residence: Princeton, NJ
Occupation: Graduate student
Other interests: Music, acting, cooking, photography