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Gallery: Whole Athlete-Specialized team wraps up stellar 2013 season

By Cycling News

published 16 October 2013

Courtney, Newcomb and Batten among team's winners

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Haley Batten, Kate Courtney, Lucas Newcomb and Sean Bennett(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Zach Valdez, Casey Williams, Jacob Albrecht on the Fontana Pro XCT U23 podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Zach Valdez racing at Bonelli Park(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Team camp day 2 photo shoot(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Sean Lucas on the Sea Otter podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Sean Bennett at MTB Worlds in South Africa(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Sean Bennett at US MTB Nationals(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Lucas Newcomb and Sean Bennett on the cross country nationals podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Lucas Newcomb at US MTB Nationals(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Lucas Newcomb on the US MTB Nationals podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney racing at MTB Worlds in South Africa(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney wins a short track race(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney wins at the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney on the Mont-Saint-Anne podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney and Lucas Newcomb(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney and Haley Batten on the short track podium(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Kate Courtney took second at a BMC Cup race(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Haley Batten and Kate Courtney (Whole Athlete-Specialized)(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Haley Batten in action(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Cypress Gorry and Jacob Albrecht at the U23 US MTB Nationals(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Cole Avery(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Cole Avery at Big Bear(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Casey Williams at Mont-Sainte-Anne(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Casey Williams at the Mellow Johnny's Pro XCT(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

Casey Williams at the Bonelli Park Pro XCT(Image credit: Whole Athlete - Specialized Cycling Team)

This year proved to be the Whole Athlete-Specialized Team's most successful season to date thanks to the team's riders such as Kate Courtney, Lucas Newcomb and Haley Batten.

Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team wraps up best season yet

Gallery: Whole Athlete/Specialized Team holds winter training camp

Courtney opened the season with the junior women's Pan American title, then earned her second World Cup win at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, making her the number-one UCI rider going into the world championships. Her sixth-place finish there foreshadows amazing things likely to come.

Teammate Newcomb ascended the World Cup podium in Mont-Sainte-Anne as well, with an impressive second place. And 15-year-old Batten won the Sankt Vith Grand Prix in Belgium, her first-ever European race.

Stateside, Batten, Courtney and Newcomb took home a total of four US Junior National titles. Fourteen-year-old Cole Avery earned six wins this season, including the Sea Otter Classic. And Casey Williams brought in two cross country victories in only his first year as a U23 rider. In the Pro XCT series, Whole Athlete/Specialized juniors earned a total of 10 cross country wins.

In its short, five-year history, the team has averaged 65 wins per year and qualified a total of 12 American riders to the world championships. In 2012, the team achieved what no other US development program has as Courtney became the first-ever American junior woman to win a World Cup.

Yet victories and podiums are only part of the team's success. The team's primary goal continues to be the mastery of a three-point philosophy of dedication, integrity, and fun in both sport and life. With a focus on the process rather than the outcome, the riders having been thriving within Whole Athlete's holistic approach.