Cyclists team up in sport, life Salem (Massachusetts) now home for dynamic duo
By Christopher L. Gasper, Boston Globe, BEVERLY, MA -- Doting on each other at the Atomic Cafe in Beverly, Lyne Bessette and Tim Johnson appear to be just another young married couple, who finish each other's food and sentences.n reality, they are two top-level professional cyclists and cyclocross stars, a union of two of the best off-road riders in North America. Cyclocross is a discipline of cycling that calls for riders to navigate twisting, obstacle-filled circuits of asphalt and grass. The obstacles require riders to dismount their bikes and run up steep terrain or hurdle roadblocks.
Johnson, a Middleton native, was the first American to earn a medal at the World Cyclocross Championships, bringing home a bronze in the under-23 category in 1999. He is a four-time US national cyclocross champion. Bessette, a two-time Canadian Olympic cyclist as a road racer, picked up cyclocross after meeting Johnson four years ago and was a natural. Bessette was named Cyclocross Woman of the Year in North America in 2001 and recently won the six-event US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.
''They have an awful lot of fun with each other," said Johnson's mother, Claudia. ''I think because they do the same thing they understand each other a lot better, perhaps."
Johnson and Bessette moved to Salem in September to be closer to Johnson's family and spend the cyclocross season together -- on and off their bikes. They formed a two-person team.
''We built this team just for us so we could race together and we could travel around the country and do these races as our own team, just the two of us," said Johnson, who finished second in the men's US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. ''And, if I need to share a hotel room with my teammate, it's not so bad."
The two met in 2001, when Johnson joined the Saturn Cycling Team, which at the time was the top road racing outfit in the United States. Bessette was already a member of the team. While training together in Buellton, Calif., they realized that they liked each other as much as cycling.
''It was kind of funny because I had just sworn off girls at that point to focus on cycling," said Johnson.
Bessette said, ''I didn't even know him, but I saw his picture on Velonews because he had just won cyclocross nationals and I was like, 'Oh, he's going to be my teammate. I like that.' "
Johnson, 28, and Bessette, 30, were married in July 2004, a little more than a month before Bessette competed in her second Olympics.
However, what should have been one of the happiest years of their lives was one of the most difficult. The two cyclists spent much of 2004 apart. Bessette was training for the Olympics and Johnson had gotten the big break he'd been dreaming of -- a chance to ride on the European road racing circuit.
Johnson signed a two-year contract with the Girona, Spain-based Saunier Duval Cycling Team in late 2003. But Europe was not what he expected. Being away from Bessette, feeling in over his head as a rider, and illness took a toll on the normally sanguine Johnson.
''He was trying to hide it so I wouldn't be affected," said Bessette. ''I was going through a really important year for me. But I could tell he wasn't the Tim that I knew, that I knew when he's happy."
After the season, Johnson got out of his contract and signed on with a small American road racing team. At the same time, he planned a return to his roots.
''That [European experience] explains a lot of the reason we moved back here," said Johnson, who began his career at age 14 riding mountain bikes in Lynn Woods. ''The person I am here is the person that I like and the person that Lyne likes and the person that my family likes. But over there I was somebody that I didn't like. Tim the 'cross rider is the guy who is aggressive and confident. And the person I was midseason 2004, I didn't care about anything. I was scared and I was riding like crap."
Both Johnson and Bessette have performed well this cyclocross season. Starting with the Michelob Ultra Gran Prix of Gloucester on Oct. 29, the couple had a three-week run in which they each won a race. The run ended last Sunday, when they both finished third at the Clark Natwick Grand Prix in San Francisco.
Yet, there is no argument over who the best cyclist in the family is. That honor goes to Bessette, who was on the verge of winning a medal in the 2004 Olympics as a road racer before an accident knocked her out of the race. In January, Bessette, who won 13 straight cyclocross races this season, will try to become the first North American woman to reach the podium at the World Cyclocross Championships.
Bessette, who did not begin competitive cycling until age 21, is a hero in her native Quebec, where cycling enjoys the same popularity it receives in Europe.
''She is world-class in all events," said Steve Pucci, Johnson's mentor and the race director of the Cycling Club of Beverly (CCB). ''She just happens to be doing 'cross this time of year, but she's also world-class on the road. She is like the New York Yankees and [Tim] is the Florida Marlins or Triple A."
Bessette just recently signed on to ride overseas with the T-Mobile team for the road racing season, while Johnson will ride for the US-based Health Net Pro Cycling Team. Both are confident that the arrangement will work out better this time.
Bessette said that the toughest part for the couple is separating their careers from their marriage. Bessette said that she plans to retire after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as she wants one more shot at a medal, before starting a family. Johnson is the type who will ''be out riding his 'cross bike 20 years from now, when he has three kids," Pucci said.
Johnson's mother, Claudia, said that her son's marriage to Bessette is built on more than bicycle riding. ''I think that the life they're building together, cycling is one element of it," she said.
It may only be one element of their relationship, but it was the most important one in forming their bond. ''Cycling brought us together, that's for sure," said Bessette. ''If it wasn't for cycling we wouldn't be together."
Johnson, a Middleton native, was the first American to earn a medal at the World Cyclocross Championships, bringing home a bronze in the under-23 category in 1999. He is a four-time US national cyclocross champion. Bessette, a two-time Canadian Olympic cyclist as a road racer, picked up cyclocross after meeting Johnson four years ago and was a natural. Bessette was named Cyclocross Woman of the Year in North America in 2001 and recently won the six-event US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.
''They have an awful lot of fun with each other," said Johnson's mother, Claudia. ''I think because they do the same thing they understand each other a lot better, perhaps."
Johnson and Bessette moved to Salem in September to be closer to Johnson's family and spend the cyclocross season together -- on and off their bikes. They formed a two-person team.
''We built this team just for us so we could race together and we could travel around the country and do these races as our own team, just the two of us," said Johnson, who finished second in the men's US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. ''And, if I need to share a hotel room with my teammate, it's not so bad."
The two met in 2001, when Johnson joined the Saturn Cycling Team, which at the time was the top road racing outfit in the United States. Bessette was already a member of the team. While training together in Buellton, Calif., they realized that they liked each other as much as cycling.
''It was kind of funny because I had just sworn off girls at that point to focus on cycling," said Johnson.
Bessette said, ''I didn't even know him, but I saw his picture on Velonews because he had just won cyclocross nationals and I was like, 'Oh, he's going to be my teammate. I like that.' "
Johnson, 28, and Bessette, 30, were married in July 2004, a little more than a month before Bessette competed in her second Olympics.
However, what should have been one of the happiest years of their lives was one of the most difficult. The two cyclists spent much of 2004 apart. Bessette was training for the Olympics and Johnson had gotten the big break he'd been dreaming of -- a chance to ride on the European road racing circuit.
Johnson signed a two-year contract with the Girona, Spain-based Saunier Duval Cycling Team in late 2003. But Europe was not what he expected. Being away from Bessette, feeling in over his head as a rider, and illness took a toll on the normally sanguine Johnson.
''He was trying to hide it so I wouldn't be affected," said Bessette. ''I was going through a really important year for me. But I could tell he wasn't the Tim that I knew, that I knew when he's happy."
After the season, Johnson got out of his contract and signed on with a small American road racing team. At the same time, he planned a return to his roots.
''That [European experience] explains a lot of the reason we moved back here," said Johnson, who began his career at age 14 riding mountain bikes in Lynn Woods. ''The person I am here is the person that I like and the person that Lyne likes and the person that my family likes. But over there I was somebody that I didn't like. Tim the 'cross rider is the guy who is aggressive and confident. And the person I was midseason 2004, I didn't care about anything. I was scared and I was riding like crap."
Both Johnson and Bessette have performed well this cyclocross season. Starting with the Michelob Ultra Gran Prix of Gloucester on Oct. 29, the couple had a three-week run in which they each won a race. The run ended last Sunday, when they both finished third at the Clark Natwick Grand Prix in San Francisco.
Yet, there is no argument over who the best cyclist in the family is. That honor goes to Bessette, who was on the verge of winning a medal in the 2004 Olympics as a road racer before an accident knocked her out of the race. In January, Bessette, who won 13 straight cyclocross races this season, will try to become the first North American woman to reach the podium at the World Cyclocross Championships.
Bessette, who did not begin competitive cycling until age 21, is a hero in her native Quebec, where cycling enjoys the same popularity it receives in Europe.
''She is world-class in all events," said Steve Pucci, Johnson's mentor and the race director of the Cycling Club of Beverly (CCB). ''She just happens to be doing 'cross this time of year, but she's also world-class on the road. She is like the New York Yankees and [Tim] is the Florida Marlins or Triple A."
Bessette just recently signed on to ride overseas with the T-Mobile team for the road racing season, while Johnson will ride for the US-based Health Net Pro Cycling Team. Both are confident that the arrangement will work out better this time.
Bessette said that the toughest part for the couple is separating their careers from their marriage. Bessette said that she plans to retire after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as she wants one more shot at a medal, before starting a family. Johnson is the type who will ''be out riding his 'cross bike 20 years from now, when he has three kids," Pucci said.
Johnson's mother, Claudia, said that her son's marriage to Bessette is built on more than bicycle riding. ''I think that the life they're building together, cycling is one element of it," she said.
It may only be one element of their relationship, but it was the most important one in forming their bond. ''Cycling brought us together, that's for sure," said Bessette. ''If it wasn't for cycling we wouldn't be together."
posted by Ryan Amirault at Tuesday, November 29, 2005
