VOTING IS OPEN
- You must hold an “active” USAC road rider, official, or race director license residing in the state of Florida as per your USAC license to participate in this process. Riders must hold a road license which covers the disciplines of road, cyclocross, and track, the disciplines that the FBRA represents for USA Cycling in Florida.
- Your vote must be submitted from the email address that is registered with your account at USA Cycling to certify your vote.
- You may vote once for up to three (3) Nominees
- Please email your “VOTE” for the listed Nominees directly to with the subject labeled FBRA VOTE. You must include your name, e-mail address, and USAC license number on your email vote. To certify your vote it must be sent from your e-mail address as listed in your USA Cycling account.
- Voting ends at 11:59pm on December 1, 2016
- Voting Results – Results will be provided by Dec 2. Those elected will be informed and the results posted in an email to the membership and on the FBRA website.
The 3 newly elected members will serve for two years and join Vincent Cook, Tish Kelly, Ryan Saylor and Jim Wright who will be remaining for the second year of their two year term.
Nominees who accepted their nomination are Darren Dowling, Ryan Woodall, Kaleigh Thornton, Kyle Markel, Carl Sundquist, Josh Thornton.
Darren Dowling
I am seeking re-election for the FBRA. Over the last 2 years I have served as the treasurer looking over the accounting and assisting in budgeting process. While working with a tight budget I was able to start the Junior Scholarship Grant, this was for juniors that were not part of a larger team. We, as a board, were also still able to keep the Junior team grant in place which also has seen the success of riders coming out of this program such as Zoe Mullins, Brian Sciba and Justin Pfaff etc, it proves we really need to keep up the momentum we have in place.
I am also president of Sarasota Cycling Club, a club I’m proud to say competes in several categories across the board which has happened in a very short period. This is due in part to a great group of guys on our board and a well thought out structure for grassroots growth, like what we have been working on at the FBRA. If we can work on growing more of the competitive grassroots base we will also see not only an increase of racer participation but also add more events to the race calendar, something I think we can all agree we would like to see.
Grass roots growth is what we need more of here in Florida, I want to keep the movement going and help plan a strategy for more clubs to emerge. Year after year we see “teams” come and go, and for some reason people don’t understand what it makes for a sustainable local model. I plan to create a boilerplate for those interested in starting a Cycling Club.
I also can’t emphasize enough the importance of our race clean program and fair competition, Florida started this movement and I want to continue to see it grow and improve our sport year after year.
I hope I have done enough over my time on the FBRA to earn your vote again to keep on working to grow this wonderful sport.
Best,
Darren Dowling
Kyle Markel
My name is Kyle Markel, owner operator of Kyle’s Bike Shop I’ve been in the bicycle industry since my first job at the local bike shop back in 1993. I had gotten started racing about 5 years ago and then started my own race team in 2012 for my friends and wife as well as to help promote the bike shop. Our team grew pretty quickly from a small group of guys to over 50 men and women. We are always looking to recruit good riders to join our entry-level categories. I feel like we need more new people coming into the sport. Our race program pushes good sportsmanship and clean healthy training. Our women’s team is very active in the community and are always promoting women cycling in racing. Our team now has expanded from road racing to include mountain bike racing, cyclocross racing, even multi-sport events. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m a very honest person and will always be straight up with you with everything I say or do. Let’s work together I’m trying to make this 2017 race season the best ever!
Carl Sundquist
The Florida Bicycle Racing Association Board of Directors is nicely represented by road and cyclocross representatives. But Florida bike racing has an underutilized $5 million dollar asset that is missing a knowledgeable voice to the board: the Brian Piccolo Velodrome in Broward County. Tampa wants a velodrome. Jacksonville is trying to resurrect a velodrome. I’m confident there are other communities in the state who have at least given consideration to building a velodrome. The interest in track racing exists.
My name is Carl Sundquist and I am asking for your vote to become part of the FBRA board of directors and represent track racing and riding for Florida’s FBRA members.
I first became involved in cycling 38 years ago, working in a bicycle store and participating in club rides in Indiana while in high school. That paved the way for me to get a racing license in 1982 and I have been involved in bike racing ever since then. Most of my background is as a competitive rider. I was on the US National Team for 12 years, competed in two Olympics, and earned a silver medal in the 1994 world championships. During that time, I spent every summer at the training center in Colorado Springs, where USAC was headquartered. I learned how things worked in the administration. I have a good relationship with the Technical Director Chuck Hodge as well as Executive Director Derek Bouchard-Hall.
I also have good relationships with velodrome directors around the country. For the past two years, I have put in about 1200-1500 volunteer hours for the Brian Piccolo velodrome to help it develop into a velodrome for the state, not just South Florida. This past year saw tremendous growth in ridership from Orlando, Tampa, and beyond. We are in the process of putting together a 10 year plan to bring back national and perhaps international events to Florida’s velodrome. I want the velodrome to not only draw riders from out of state, but most importantly to develop Florida racers for both grassroots and national racing. To that end, our race program offers two levels of junior racing at every one of our bi-weekly races. I am committed to helping the velodrome provide better service to all of Florida’s racers. I am ready and willing to represent and build track racing for Florida’s racers and appreciate your vote. Florida is one of only 19 states fortunate to have a velodrome. We need maximize our opportunity to use this special facility. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Ryan Woodall
I tried my first mountain bike race at the age of 13 and by the time I crossed the finish line, I was hooked. Since then, I have won hundreds of bicycle races, on the road, XC and CX, across this great country. I have been in the USADA Registered Testing Pool since 2013 and have 12 clean tests to my name. Having done some promotional consulting in the past, I recently partnered with a local race promoter and have co-promoted 3 races in the last 2 years.
I have a deep passion for cycling and I feel my love for the sport is evident to anyone who witnesses me on a bicycle. I do not claim to be the most educated or most qualified, however I can promise you my intentions here are pure. I still feel the same joy when I ride that I felt as a child. I want to share that feeling with everyone.
How I want to help:
1) I would like to see a more unified calendar across all the genres in Florida cycling. Overlap will be inevitable, but I would discourage multiple events in the same region on the same weekend.
2) I would like to see continued efforts to discourage PED use and educate racers on the rules regarding TUE’s and banned substances.
3) I started as a junior racer and never left the sport. I want to cultivate an atmosphere that junior racers never want to grow out of.
4) With cyclo-cross as a current focus, I would work with promoters to develop a comprehensive schedule and calendar that is easy to follow with more streamlined promotion. All of this done with the intentions of growing the sport and introducing new faces to cyclo-cross.
Kaleigh Thornton
Hello, my name is Kaleigh Thornton and I am running for the FBRA Board to help make a difference for the cycling community in the state of Florida. I am the wife of a former professional cyclist and mother of 2 boys who compete. I have traveled to many places within the US to provide cycling support for my family. I would love to see more family friendly cycling events in this state for everyone to attend. I have started my goal to make cycling events better in the state by co-owning a promotions company and putting on a 6 weekend racing series for three years. I also received my USA Cycling official’s license to help make the events safe and fair for all the participants. I have received my helmet fitting certification from the FDOT. Within the last 2 years I have provided events within my community to give free helmets and bicycle lights and offer bicycle safety talks to children. I would love the opportunity to be on the FBRA Board to bring my experience and passion to Florida Cycling.
Josh Thornton
Josh Thornton has been racing bikes for 28 years and has raced professionally for 10 years. He began at the age of 10 with BMX racing, and then really excelled with road racing in high school. Josh’s success with road racing led him to the Olympic Training Center and becoming a member of the U.S. National Team at the age of 17. Under the coaching and guidance of Roy Knickman, Josh won a Junior World Cup and a National Championship when he was 18. This led him to 4 years of racing in Europe representing the U.S. National Team. Josh’s cycling career turned professional in 2006 when he began racing for the Toyota-United Team. There he worked with Toyota-United’s legendary director Frankie Andreau. In 2007 Josh took on a team leader role on Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada’s Team. Josh’s cycling career exemplifies excellence and personal development. He has always worked hard to ensure that he is developing mind, spirit, and body for a balanced life. Josh has found that having a balanced life has helped him be a mentor to not only other cyclists but also his 2 sons.
His passion for cycling has led him into the direction of coaching cyclists of all skill levels, and promoting races. Josh’s experience in Europe has enabled him to race at the elite level and has given him exposure to different cultures and a respect for others talents in the sport. Josh believes that the coaching and guidance in cycling is not what it used to be and needs to focus on bike riding/handling/tactics. He wants to take his knowledge, experience and hands on coaching style to all cyclists. Josh would like to take his experience and passion to the FBRA Board to make a positive difference within the cycling community in Florida. Josh believes that honor, integrity, and core principles are the foundation of a great life and career.
Being on the U.S. National team taught Josh about giving back to his community and doing charity work. Josh is also a strong supporter of bicycle safety and awareness. Teaching young children proper helmet fitting and general bike safety is an important and rewarding aspect in giving back to the community. Josh has worked with his city and county on the trail system and to make the area safer for cyclists.
I am running for the FBRA Board to make a difference in the growth of cycling in Florida. As a retired professional cyclist, and someone that has been in the sport of cycling for over 25 years, I have been on the racing/racers side of the spectrum for a long time. I am now a promoter and I truly understand what is needed to make a safe, fun and well run event. I am the father of two boys who race and I want to see the sport grow for juniors and all racers. I would like to change how FBRA directs their finances and make sure we are supporting the future of the sport. I have been heavily involved in my local community to support safer roads, trails and utilizing the parks system for cyclocross. I have worked with the mayor of Dade City and Chamber of Commerce to promote family related cycling activities and events. I became a certified helmet fitter and through an FDOT program have fitted 50+ children with free cycling helmets. I would love the opportunity to be on the board to continue to raise bicycle safety awareness and grow the sport within our beautiful state.
Thank you,
Josh Thornton
