Press Articles :

Oct 21: Click here for an article in the CottageCountryNow about Caroline

Jan 6 2010: an article in Dutch:

CAROLINE, GEFELICITEERD MET JE TWEEDE

WERELDTITEL ULTRA MARATHON CYCLING!

-door Theo Luykenaar-

 

De in 1998 geemigreerde Nederlands-Canadese Caroline van den Bulk is in 2009 voor de tweede keer op rij wereldkampioene geworden in de zware sport van lange afstand fietsen, door wereldwijd aan fietsraces georganiseerd door de Ultra Marathon Cycling Association deel te nemen en natuurlijk te winnen! Hierbij vind u Brent Cooper's artikel in de Huntsville Forester over Caroline's buitengewone prestaties.

Deze 42-jarige atlete zal haar wereldtitel in 2010 weer verdedigen en is haar races al aan het plannen. Een 600 km race in Texas, een 1200 km race in Slovenie, dezelfde afstand in Tjechie en een 800 km race in New York staan al op haar programma. U kan informatie over Caroline en haar trainer op haar website vinden: www.carolinevandenbulk.ca . In 2009 won Caroline niet alleen de World Cup in haar categorie maar won zij ook de Ultracycle Cup en in de 24-Uurs Cup. Wilt u meer over deze sport weten bezoek dan de website van de Ultra Marathon Cycle Association: www.ultracycling.com .

Jammergenoeg is deze zware, maar ook vrij onbekende, fietssport niet erkend als een Olympische Sport en vallen deze ultracyclingfietsers, net zoals de vrouwelijke schansspringers, buiten de financieele steun voor Canadese atleten op wereldniveau van de overheid en moeten zij voor hun eigen kosten opdraaien of sponsors vinden. Voor de sport zelf heeft Caroline sponsors gevonden in racefietsfabrikant ‘Trek' voor haar racefietsen, ‘Biemme' uit Italie voor haar kleding, ‘Diadora', ook uit Italie voor haar schoenen en ‘Ensure' voor vloeibaar voedsel gedurende een race. Haar zus en zwager die een camping in Frankrijk hebben, verzorgen haar website. Maar Caroline en Fred van den Bulk betalen zelf voor de trainer, vliegreizen, accommodatie, huurauto's, benzine en dan moet er ook nog gegeten worden! Deze sport is niet goed te beoefenen zonder een zeer goede trainer zoals Andrew Urban, de trainer van Caroline en een bekwaamde fietsenmaker, haar man Fred, met wie zij samen de succesvolle fietsenzaak ‘Muskoka Bicycle Pro Shop' in Huntsville heeft. Gelukkig zijn er plaatselijke vrijwilligers die Caroline helpen in haar races met het besturen van de volgauto's, maar een goede sponsor zou Caroline graag vinden.

Caroline's laatste race in 2009 was de ‘Race Around Ireland' een ongelooflijke zware, 2180 km lange race over zes dagen in september. Deze race is zo afmattend dat zij de enige vrouw was in de Open categorie, wat haar wel de wereldtitel verzekerde. Maar daarmee was Caroline's jaar nog niet afgelopen. Net als elk jaar gingen Fred en Caroline voor een maand vakantie naar Zuid Amerika, waar dit sportieve echtpaar een auto huurden in Chili en door de Andes, kamperend, naar Argentinie reden. Bergbeklimmen deden ze samen, maar voor een 1500 km , volgde Fred de fietsende Caroline in de auto. Ja…trainen voor 2010!

U kan Fred en Caroline dit jaar in Toronto weer ontmoeten bij het ‘Go Green, Go Dutch, Go Bike' fietsevenement, georganiseerd door het Consulaat op zondag 30 mei, en…als consul generaal Johan Kramer's plannen voor een ‘Fiets Elfstedentocht' tussen Toronto en Niagara-on-the-Lake in juni doorgaan zullen Fred en Caroline daar ook aan deelnemen.

 

Oct15: Click here for an article in the Huntsville Forrester about Caroline

May 21: Click here for an article in the Huntsville Forrester about Caroline in Slovenia

March 26: Click here for an article in the Huntsville Forrester about Caroline

March 18: Here an article of the Sebring-race and two two pictures.

January 30 : an article in The Forrester about the annual Muskoka loppet. Here my name isn't Vanderbulk but Vanderholt !!???? Click here for the article! and click here for a photograph of me in the Forrester

Jan 7 : from http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/article/125999 :

EASY DOES IT, CHAMP: Caroline van den Bulk (left) checks out her bicycle with trainer Andrew Urban

before heading out on a race she completed in Texas last year.

Adventure racer wins world title ( January 7, 2009 - by Brent Cooper )

 

Caroline van den Bulk is making room in her trophy case for what is undoubtedly the biggest award of her racing career.

The Huntsville athlete accumulated enough points to win the 2008 Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) World Cup championship for the women's open division.

“I still have room in my gym where all my trophies are,” she joked.

Van den Bulk accrued 79.06 points and 5.4 difficulty points in three races recognized by the UMCA last year. Heidi Jensen from Denmark was second in the points standings with 45.52 points and 3.48 difficulty points.

She is the first Canadian to ever capture the title, having earned her point totals in races in Texas, Brazil and during the 2008 Race Across America (RAAM).

“When I found out I had won, my first thought was, ‘We did it,' meaning me and my trainer Andrew Urban. I knew that I had a shot, but I did not know what other races the other competitors were doing.”

According to information provided by the UMCA, there were three divisions of ultracycling races in 2008: the European Cup, the Americas Cup and the World Cup. The World Cup is a series of premier races drawn from the European and Americas Cup races.

Ultra racers compete in a series of double centuries, 12- and 24-hour races, 500-mile races and multi-day ultra races to determine the best ultra riders of the season. A rider earns performance points based on the difficulty points of an event's times and the rider's average speed.

The difficulty points are based on the length of and amount of climbing in an event.

Van den Bulk said she was very happy with her race results this past season, pointing out she set three course records.

“I am very happy with winning the world cup and being a world champ,” she said. “I won the honour and a plaque, but there won't be a ceremony because the Ultra Cycle Association is based in the United States with members from all over the world. My name and a separate article will be published in the Ultra Cycle Magazine. I hope that this title win will bring me more sponsors.”

She had an opportunity to win another trophy, the Ultraracing Cup, which goes to the racer who accumulates the most points for races competed in the Americas, European and world circuits. However, her RAAM results were not submitted in time for consideration for the Ultracycling Cup.

She credits her world title win to her family and supporters, especially Urban's training regime.

“This was possible with the huge involvement and effort of Andrew. Every day he is designing a personal program for me that involved, body, mind, spirit, nutrition and relaxation.”

Her next race is in Florida on the Feb. 14 to 15 weekend.

 

Dec 3 : from http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/article/123743 :

QUITE A CHALLENGE: Adventure racer Caroline van den Bulk navigates one of the many hills she faced during a recent race in Brazil.

Racer comes in second at Brazilian event (3 dec)

Many of us would enjoy a trip to somewhere hot and exotic this time of year to relax.

One Huntsville athlete did just that, but not to unwind… more to wind herself up by putting her body through a grueling competition.

Adventure racer Caroline van den Bulk competed in a 24-hour race in Fortaleza, Brazil called the Defasio 24, held earlier last month. Fighting off high temperatures, gusting winds and mechanical problems with her bike, van den Bulk came in second among the four female competitors in the race.

“I wanted to see if my training with (personal trainer) Andrew Urban could bring me another good race result after winning the Texas race in September,” she said as her reason for competing. “In the end there were four men who finished ahead of me as I did 520 km in 24 hours.”

Van den Bulk said that the extreme heat did make for some difficult challenges.

“It was a very hard race. The sun was shining constantly and it was not warm, it was hot, 38C in the shade. At night it was a very nice 25C with full moon. The wind was blowing non-stop at 30-35 km. I did break my record of drinking water, over 15 litres. I never did that before.”

She said the course was not flat and featured a very steep 200-metre climb in the first kilometre.

“After 12 hrs I did 21 laps. In the 23rd lap my gear cable broke. It could not be fixed and I borrowed a cheaper shifter from the local mechanics. That worked well for three laps. Then the cable stretched and I had gears skipping for the rest of the race.”

Van den Bulk said the race was very well organized and there were a number of pro riders in the team category.

 

October 21: from www.closetcanuck.com :

Canadians are top ultra cyclers

I'd never heard of ultra cycling, but it's a sport. In fact, there's an organization called the UltraMarathon Cycling Association , whose mission is to assist distance riders in pushing their limits, including:

->Riding a century every month in the Year-Rounder Challenge
->Completing a series of 200, 300, 400 & 600K brevets
->Finishing a 1200K randonnée such as Paris-Brest-Paris
->Competing in 12- or 24-hour race or a qualifier for the Race Across America
->Racing as a solo or relay team rider in the Race Across America

Recently, Canadians were in the UMCA news, dominating the Texas Time Trials (the Tejas 500) in Cleburne, Texas September 25,27, 2008. Relative unknown Dallas Norris, who drove from Canada to Texas, set a new course record. He finished first overall, with a time of 27:18:0. Caroline van den Bulk of Huntsville, Ontrio shattered the women's record with her time of 32:05:00. She placed first in the women's category and fifth overall.

October 9: from the Huntsville Forrester (about the Texas race) :

THE VICTOR:Caroline van den Bulk (centre) is presented her award for winning the women's title at the Texas Time Trials last month. She is presented with the award by race officials Pam Wright (left) and Kalleen Withford.

Adventure racer wins women's title at Texas endurance competition October 8, 2008 - by Brent Cooper

If anyone thought that this summer's Race Across America (RAAM) had taken too much of an emotional and physical toll on Huntsville adventure racer Caroline van den Bulk, they should think again.

She has rebounded well from her gruelling experience at the cross-country race to take first place at the Texas Time Trials, a RAAM qualifier that was held in the Lone Star State in late September.

The Huntsville cyclist broke the women's record for the 800-km race by posting a time of 32:05, nearly two hours ahead of her nearest competition and nine hours better than the previous mark.

Van den Bulk was among riders from Britain, Mexico, Canada and, of course, the United States competing in the event. Although she has already qualified for the 2009 RAAM event, she said she wanted to test her mettle by entering the Texas race for the first time.

“I wanted to see if I was fully recovered from the Race Across America and I wanted to see if my hard training was giving a positive effect on my race results. (Trainer) Andrew Urban did put me on a hard training schedule. Lots of training was timed. I biked many kilometres and did lots of intervals and longer endurance sprints,” she said.

Even though the Texas race was an endurance event, it was not as long as 4,800-km RAAM and van den Bulk said there were some differences in training for the two competitions.

“I could not afford to sleep and that is why Andrew decided to keep me awake during the night before the race, until 5 a.m. Then I slept from then until 3 p.m. and was fully rested for the race. Another thing what was different was the speed. This race needs to be ridden in much higher speed than if we were riding in RAAM.”

Unlike her female counterparts, van den Bulk's training allowed her to complete the course without sleep. She said she didn't wish to stop because if she had, she wouldn't have wanted to go back out on her bike.

She added that despite all her racing experience, she had never been in a competition like the one in Texas.

“I never did an 800-km race before. All the other races I have entered were shorter or much longer, like RAAM. Also this race had two nights. Because the race started at 6 p.m., which is rare, you go immediately in the darkness. Then after just over 24 hours you go in another night. This is hard, because darkness makes your eyes more tired.  Also it was not one big loop as you might expect, but 25 loops of 32-km each.”

When it was all over, not only did van den Bulk set a new women's record, she placed fifth overall among the male competitors. She was understandably happy with her results.

“I was so happy that I survived without sleep and that I did very well, including beating the course record and placing ahead of lots of men.”

October 5: An article from the Canadian magazine Pedal:

Canadians Win Solo Tejas 500 and Qualify for RAAM (by Jean Ann McKirdy)

October 3, 2008 (Cleburn, Texas) - On September 25-27 Canadians Dallas Morris (H&R Block) and Caroline van den Bulk dominated The Texas Time Trials, an ultra marathon cycling event in Cleburn, Texas. In doing so, they also both qualified for the Race Across America (RAAM). The race took place on a 32km/20-mile loop, where they completed the 800km/500-mile ride solo.

Dallas Morris completed the Tejas 500 in a record time of 27:18, well below the 36-hour time limit and beat the old record of 29:59. It was a relatively close race, with Lary Ide, the previous record holder, finished 24 minutes behind Morris. Paul Carpenter placed third.

Dallas went into this event relatively unknown in the realm of competitive ultracycling. He showed up alone and unsupported. “I never went there with any intention to win, only to participate and represent my team, and country in a sportsmanlike manner,” said Dallas. Now with a course record and qualification for RAAM, he would like to try his hand at a couple more Rando events “to really get the feel of what I'd be up against," before doing RAAM.

In the women's category Caroline van den Bulk of Ontario, crushed the old course record of 41:32, finishing in only 32:05. This amazing ride would have also put her in 5th place in the men's category. Shellene Foster was second and Sharon Stevens was third.

Van den Bulk is a previous RAAM competitor, but fell just short of the cut-off time for an official finish in 2008. She opted to continue to complete the race, and as such was the only female to finish the entire RAAM distance this year.

As for whether or not these two crazy Canucks will be heading south of the border to compete in the 2009 RAAM is yet to be determined. The start of the event is scheduled for June 17, 2009, but qualifiers have a three-year window in which they may compete. They will have some time to think about and prepare for it, and hopefully we can cheer them on in the future.

October 1 : An article from www. ultrcycling.com :

Canadians Dominate Texas Time Trials
Take First place Male and Female Solo Tejas 500 Victories !!
September 25-27, 2008

By Dan Driscoll

With near perfect weather, including low winds, mild temperatures, and a lack of rain, racers enjoyed another year of racing the 20-mile hilly race route of The Texas Time Trials. The Tejas 500 solo completion was dominated by the Canadians. The previous male solo record of 29:59 for 500 miles, is now 27:18 thanks to Dallas Morris, a relative unknown in the Ultra world. Morris entered at the last minute and drove to Texas from Canada, to earn his trophy, and set a new course record. The female winner Caroline van den Bulk, shattered the women's record of 41:32 by almost 10 hours, with a new bench mark of 32:05, seeding her ahead of most of the males. As is typical 33% of the riders attempting the 500 miles went home without a finishing trophy.

The men's solo race saw great performances from previous TTTT contestants like second place finisher Larry Ide, only 24 minutes behind Dallas Morris, third place finisher Paul Carpenter and fourth place Wayne Dunlap. The women's field was the largest ever with six female contestants. Local riders Shellene Foster, Sharon Stevens (last year's winner) and Vickie Tyer all qualified for RAAM.

More Tejas 500 records were set by teams and a tandem. "Team AT&T" set a four-male team record of 21:13. "Team Dr. Fart" set a four-person mixed team record of 27:38.

Local "Team Reclining Flyers" set a four-male recumbent course record of 23:56 and local "Team Mixed Bag of Nuts" set a four-person mixed team recumbent record of 27:42. Our local mixed tandem team, Pat and Charlie Jenkins, were the first tandem to have what it takes to tackle this very hilly route, and in doing so set a course record of 35:46.

The Texas 24-Hour Time Trials was originally slated to be a RAAM Qualifier, until we figured out that no one was able to get the required 425 miles to qualify in 24 hours on this course. This year's male solo was won by Larry Nelson with 345 miles, with James Hack finishing just two miles behind and Todd Martin earning third. Women's first place was won by Ann Wooldridge with 300 miles; she was here all the way from England for her third time. Second place female solo goes to Pauline Lundgren. First place two-male team went to Team Apex Predators.

The 12-Hour North American Championship male solo race was a nail biter to the end. Bryan McKenney and Patrick Nolan battled right down to the last pro-rated lap, with Richard Whittenberg earning third place. Lindsey Shafer won the women's race. Bryan Gibbon won the recumbent race. "The Manley Budge Cycling Club" won the two-person mixed race.

The 6-Hour Shoot-Out male solo was won by Greg Phillips. First place female was Rebecca Bradley. Toby Wooldridge, across the pond with Ann, took fourth.

Not exactly an ultra event, but new for this year and a heck of a lot of fun was the 20-mile sprint, yes just one lap. The solo male winner was Scott Simmons, with Todd Delany earning second. The female race was won by Becky Kaye, with second place going to our own Pam Wright, third to Cheri Brown and forth place earned by Kaleen Whitford. The great thing about this race was that many of the local volunteers got to compete in the race that they worked so hard to support all weekend, Pam and Kaleen were two of the tireless volunteers that worked for two days without sleep before competing.

All in all another great year for ultra racing in Texas. Thanks to all that raced, sponsored, volunteered, and/or officiated. Thanks to RAAM officials Lanie Smith and Kaleen Whitford who camped out to make sure we did a great job.

Complete results, photos, racers' comments, splits and course records, check it out at: Texas Time Trials website

 

September 28: An article from Star-Telegram.com :

Endurance cyclists fight sleep at 500-mile time trials

By RICKY TREON Special to the Star-Telegram

CLEBURNE — Talk about pulling an all-nighter.

For competitive 500-mile riders at the Texas Time Trials, the goal is to sleep as little as possible during the 48 hours or less they are on their bicycle. Vickie Tyer came into the event expecting to go sleepless because she wanted to finish the 500-mile ride in 38 hours.

"My theory was to go straight through without stopping to sleep," said Tyer, 54, who lives in Grandview and works at Fort Worth's John Peter Smith hospital . "I had it figured out that that's where I'd be if I didn't sleep."

But after a scary incident involving an 18-wheeler Friday, she rethought her strategy.

"Last night, around midnight or so, I got scared of the trucks on the road out here," she said. "The trucks are just zooming by you. I had a truck come by me and he made my teeth shake, and I decided it's not worth dying out here. So I decided I was going to get off the bike."

Tyer, one of a record six women to attempt 500 miles at the trials, pulled over at the RV she had parked near the start-finish line at New Hope Baptist Church and fell asleep for about four hours. She finished in 41 hours, 53 seconds and was the fourth-place women's 500-mile rider.

The woman who finished in third place, Sharon Stevens, did so in part because she was able to take just one 15-minute nap. Stevens, from Dallas, said she woke up on her own and feeling fresh.

"I just laid down and said, I've got to wake up soon," Stevens, 40, said. "I had no idea if it had been five minutes or an hour. I was surprised it was just 15 minutes, but that's all I needed." She finished in 36:26 but unlike Tyer, who attempted her longest-ever ride, Stevens had competed in rides as long as 1,000 kilometers. But those races were spread over several days with scheduled sleep times, so the trials were still difficult for her. "After the 1,000k, I decided this was the next challenge," said Stevens who, along with Tyer, qualified for this year's Race Across America. Neither said they would actually compete, but qualifying was still an honor.

Caroline van den Bulk has ridden in two RAAMs, and was already qualified for another when she won the women's 500-mile division in 32:05. She did not sleep at all during the ride because doing so might have kept her from finishing.

"There's no time for stopping," van den Bulk said. "If I stop longer than five minutes, then I won't want to go back out there."

Women's 500-mile finishers :

Name	Time
1. x-Caroline van den Bulk	32:05
2. Shellene Foster	33:51
3. Sharon Stevens	36:26
4. Vickie Tyer	41:53

Note: x-Women's record. This was most-ever finishes in the division