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| A Life of Cycling |
| My name is Jaime Gandara and in 1995 I started riding a road bike. I first rode with my mother(Elisa Gandara) and father(Jaime Gandara Sr.) and a couple of their friends and my uncle Carlos. This was the beginning of a very expensive and time consuming addiction. My parents raced before I did, and they soon took me to a group ride with a local team. My first race was the Juarez Inaugural which is held on the first weekend of March. This race is a local event that has a little bit of history. It is one of the oldest events in the region and it has seen some big riders from the area before they were BIG. Just to name a few of those riders:Bart Bowen, Kent Bostick, John Frey, and Clay Mosely are some of the riders that have particpated in this event. In 1997 I entered this race in the Beginner category, and won! It was my first race and I had no idea what I was doing, all I knew was that I had to draft and chase people. I did that enough times, got to the sprint, and won. This day changed my life. Since my first race cycling has become my lifestyle. Cycling is what I want to do it will be a part of the rest of my life. I Love this sport!! I have traveled, I have learned how to become a man and I have met great people. When I suffer at a race I feel complete. Whether it is suffering on a climb, motoring in a TT, or sprinting for the line with 100 guys, racing is what I want to do. My coach Rick Crawford provides me the encouragement and the know-how that I need to do what I want to do. The confidence that I have in Rick to lead me in the right direction gives me the ease of mind neccesary to focus completely on my racing. 2003 was the start of what I see as my upward trajectory. That year I placed 5th in the Espoir national Championship TT at College Station. I had placed at a National Championship before and when I did it again I loved the feeling. I wanted more. 2004 began with the usual racing in Phoenix and Tucson and the Juarez (Mexico) season Inaugural. I started the season well and felt ready to go race in Europe. I went to Belgium in March and stayed until July. My racing experience in Europe was awesome. I did all kinds of races ranging from the Kermesse to the UCI 1.6-1.2 races. Learning how to race again was key to my first year in Europe. It is a different world out there and now I had a first-hand look at racing in Belgium. One thing that had to happen quick was learning how to use my head to race and not just my legs. Racing in Europe I had to learn that you are not always going to do well in races by yourself. I believe that it is neccesary to have a team in which every rider contributes to the support system. Even the rider that is the “MAN” needs torealize that he needs to help is riders support him. He may not be sticking his face in the wind all day, but when he give you a water bottle, mentions your name to the press, or ultimately crosses the finish line first, that win feels just as good to the team as it did to him! |
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| Contact Me! |
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| Carreer Highlights! |
| 1998 National Chamionships TT Jr.15-16 -3rd; Tucson Bicycle Classic 1st G.C. 98 & 99 2003 Espoir National TT Championships 5th; Feria Expo Juarez- 1st; 2004 Kermesse Knocke-Heist 6th; 2005 Mclane Pacific RR 9th; Lierde UCI 1.12 19th; Kermesse, 1st place stage 1 Tucson Bicycle Classic G.C.4th place 2006 Organ Mountain Challenge- TT- 1st; RR- 3rd; GC- 1st place Rica Burguer Road Race- Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico; 1st place GS Tenzing Crit. Ft. Worth, TX; 2nd place Albuquerque Downtown Crit.- 1st place Prison Loop RR Sant Fe, N.M. 1st place 2007 1st Stage 5 Tour of Ohio 5th Waukeshaw Crit (Superweek) 3rd Hotter N" Hell RR |
| 2007 1st Estancia RR Estancia, New Mexico Ft. Davis Hammerfest Stage Race 19th overall Tour of the Gila Stage Race TT- 68th Stage 1-61st Stage 3- 73rd Stage 4- 9th Stage 5- 66th Overall- 54th Indio Grand Prix- 27th Tour of Ohio Stage 5- 1st WCSN USA CRITS finals Las Vegas- 32nd 100k classic- 37th 2006 Valley of the Sun Stage Race- TT- 20th RR- 15th Crit- 10th GC- 18th Carrera Beneficio Christian Fuentes Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico- 1st Gila Anaesthesia- TT- 5th; RR-1st; GC- 3rd Ft. Davis Hammerfest- TT- 4th; HC- 20th; RR- 4th; GC- 6th Tour of the Gila- Stage 1- 48th; Stage 2- 68th; Stage 3- 29th; Stage 4- 17th; Stage 5- 71st; GC- 63rd Organ Mountain Challenge- TT- 1st; RR- 3rd; GC- 1st Rica Burguer Road Race- Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico; 1st Gary Glickman Memorial Crit- Ft. Worth, TX; 8th GS Tenzing Crit. Ft. Worth, TX; 2nd Albuquerque Downtown Crit.- 1st Prison Loop RR Santa Fe, N.M.- 1st 2005 Valley of the Sun Stage Race- TT- 30th RR- 15th Crit- 11th GC- 19th Vuleta Sonora Arizona Stage 1- 19th Stage 2- 9th Stage 3- 4th Stage 4- 8th Stage 5- 12th Stage 6- 3rd GC- 9th Mclane Pacific Crit- 16th Mclane Pacific Road Race- 9th Hammerfest Stage Race- Stage TT 1- 3rd Stage 2- 17th Stage 3- 4th Overall- 7th Tour of the Gila- G.C.- 51st Stage 1- 38th Stage 2- 57th Stage 3- 12th Stage 4- 15th Stage 5- 55th Zerkegem- 9th Lichtervelde- 8th Memorial Van Cooningsloo UCI 1.2- 36th Vlams Brabant UCI 2.12- 47th Border City Circuit race Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico 1st Tucson Bicycle ClassicG.C. 4th Stage 1- 1st Stage 2- 8th Stage 3- 4th 2004 Valley of the Sun TT- 29th RR- 23rd Crit- crashed out Tucson Bicycle Classic- TT-27th RR- 38th RR2- 10th Muelebeke Belgium- 19th Challenge Hesbaye- 49th Kermis Knocke Heist- 6th Kermis Oedelem 15th Kermis Bredene- 18th 2003 Juarez Season Inaugural 3rd Elite Hungry Dog Crit- 3rd Pro 1,2 Tour of Suburban Cloudcroft Pro 123 Overall 4th, stage 1- 3rd, stage 2- 5th Feria Expo Juarez- 1st National U-23 RR- 43rd National U-23 TT- 5th 2001 Juarez Season Inaugural- 2nd This was my first season out of juniors and my first season in Europe. I spent 8 months living and racing in the Basque country. So far it is the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. I had a total of 76 race days. It was a good moment for me. I learned here that I really wanted to be a cyclist. 2000 Juarez Season Inaugural 2nd -Elite Chihuahua Inaugural 1st Elite Valley of the Sun Stage race Jr. 17-18- Overall 1st, stage 1- 1st, stage 2- 2nd, stage 3- 2nd Tour of L'Abitibi- 30th Overall New Mexico TT championships 1st JR17-18 USCF Southern Regional camp-1st 1999 Juarez Inagural 2nd place Elite Chihuahua state TT championships Jr17-18 1st Valley of the Sun stage race- overall 2nd, stage 1- 10th, stage 2- 1st, stage 3- 2nd Tucson Classic Stage race- Overall 1st, stage 1- 1st, stage 2- 1st, stage 3- 1st USCF Southern Regional camp- 1st Tour of L'Abitibi overall 43rd- stage 4- 5th Vuelta Baja California Fancisco Labastida- Overall 7th and 1st in KOM,, Stage 1- 12th, stage 2-3rd, stage 3-4th, stage 4- 6th, 1998 =National Junior TT championships- 3rd place Texas State RR Championships 1st USCF Southern regional selection camp 3rd place Tucson Classic Stage race- 1st place overall JR15-16 stage 1-1st, stage 2- 2nd, stage 3- 1st 1997 Hotter N'Hell Hundred cat. 5 RR 100 mi. 1st place |
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| wepage desinged and created by Jaime Gandara Jr. |
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