The Jelly Belly Cycling Team shined this year at the 2008 Jayco-Herald Sun Tour in Australia. The 57th Annual race was seven days long – including the prologue – and lead riders through more than 575km of Victoria’s rolling hills, forests and prairies.
At the beginning of the Tour in Traralgon, Jelly Belly claimed a team of seven. But after three days in the saddle, only four riders remained: Nick Reistad, Nic Sanderson, Brad Huff and Bernard Van Ulden. However, as their results show, these four riders worked as a team and proved that small numbers don’t matter when the raw talent exists.
Two of those four riders, Nic Sanderson and Brad Buff, ended the final stage in the top ten after giving equally excellent performances earlier in the week.
Being late in the year, this race pushed the riders to find their inner beast.
“I noticed that I dug a hole in my level of energy much faster than normal,” Huff admitted. “But I was able to handle the constant pace thanks to a good solid season.”
Huff knows that personal results often say more about actual performance than statistics.
“I am happy that I have had one of my best seasons since I turned professional in 2006,” Huff said. “Although my results did not show it, I rose far above my expectations this season.”
Bernard Van Ulden can no longer keep his climbing abilities a secret after winning the KOM jersey on Stage One of the Tour.
“I’ve definitely learned something about myself and what kind of training I respond best to,” Van Ulden said. “As a result, for the first time in my life I stayed with the leaders all the way to the top of an enormous hill. That first time experience was really something special.
“Riders have been telling me for years that if I could just figure out that whole climbing thing then I could really do some damage. Well, hopefully I finally have.”
One of the Jelly Belly Team sponsors, the team’s outfitter Champion System, also sponsored the Sun Tour this year. Along with another team sponsor, GT, which provides the teams colorful bikes, more Jelly Belly fans were made at the race expo. These sponsors helped spread the joy that is Jelly Belly by handing out samples and team post cards.
To stay updated on the Team’s progress when it travels to China in November, be sure to come back and visit its Web site at www.jellybellycycling.com.

Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team

Australia’s 2008 Jayco-Herald Sun Tour came to an end Saturday in Melbourne. The final stage, which ended on Lygon Street, covered 33 laps around a 1.9 km circuit in Melbourne’s Little Italy and came at the same time as the Melbourne Cycling Festival.
After a week of intense pedaling, what was pared down to a four-man team ended up finishing in an excellent position.
Injuries, health problems and time cuts forced three of the original seven riders to drop after the second stage. This meant getting good results in the last four stages were up to four men: Bernard Van Ulden, Brad Huff, Nic Sanderson and Nick Reistad. Fortunately, Jelly Belly knows what a team is better than anyone, and they proved good results were possible regardless of the number of riders they had.
Two of the four remaining riders finished in the top ten; with Aussie Nic Sanderson in tenth place and Missouri-native Brad Huff in eighth place. And anyone who knows anything about cycling knows that a rider is only as good as his team, which shows that the Jelly Belly riders take their job seriously and care about each other.
This heart is no doubt the reason team director Danny Van Haute said earlier in the Tour, that Jelly Belly has fans all over the world. When fans see Jelly Belly, they know they are rooting for the best.

Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team

After a grueling individual time trial in the wine-region of the Yarra Valley, Jelly Belly rider Bernard Van Ulden finished in the top three, which allowed him to gain time in the overall standings as he has done all week.
“Bernard got third today,” said team director Danny Van Haute, “which means he is only six seconds down from CSC Tour de France rider Stuart O’Grady.”
However having a top three finished is not the only thing the team strives for. They want to be the best team out there, and Van Haute knows the men are capable.
“Going into the last stage we are still looking for a win,” he said. “And I know we can do it.”
Tomorrow’s stage covers 33 laps around a 1.9km circuit in Melbourne’s Little Italy. The stage is fast and flat and arrives in the city during the Melbourne Cycling Festival.
Good news has arrived for the team, however, as the Sun Tour is about to end.
“Matty Rice, who was sick at the beginning of the stage race,” Van Haute said, “is now recovering well and will be ready for the team’s next race in two and a half weeks in China.”

Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team

Stage four may have been ‘the moment of truth’ for some riders today, but to Jelly Belly rider Bernard Van Ulden it was a piece of cake. Today’s stage began in Alexandra and traversed 115 km to a 16 km uphill finish at Mt. Buller.
After wearing the recognizable polka-dotted KOM jersey in Stage Two of the Sun Tour, Van Ulden has been gaining time each day and is now in an excellent position in the overall standings. He is only 1 minute 30 seconds behind race leader Chris Jongeward from Australian team Panasonic.
“Bernard was climbing like a mountain goat today,” said a very pleased Team Director Danny Van Haute. “He is climbing the best I’ve ever seen him.”
Based on his time, Van Ulden is in 17th place with only two stages to go. Tomorrow’s 16 km individual time trial will be mostly rollers in the Yarra Valley wine region.
“(Bernard) will have his work cut out for him tomorrow in the time trial,” Van Haute said. “And for Saturday we are shooting for a stage win.”
The sixth and final stage of the Sun Tour will be a fast and flat 2 km circuit in Melbourne’s Little Italy where riders will make 30 laps before the final sprint.
Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team

Stage Three was touted by race organizers as a day right out of the Tour de France because it included the first long climb of the Tour. Riders began in Warragul and traveled 137 km through farmland and forests to Marysville.
According to Jelly Belly rider Nick Reistad, the day was as long as it was exciting.
“Lots of attacks went off, with (Brad) Huff in many of them,” he said.
But the ones Huff was in weren’t able to overpower the group and eventually two riders slipped away. But the team still had to protect Bernard Van Ulden.
“The rest of the crew watched out for Bernie as we lead into the climb,” Reistad said. “Unfortunately, Bernie wasn’t able to take any points in the KOM competition, but he made it over the climb in the front group.”
Reistad added that the team felt as if they were in familiar territory today, except for the critters, of course.
“The last climb looked similar to climbs in Northern California, with the large gum and eucalyptus trees providing some shade for us,” he said. “There were a bunch of wombats running around all day, and apparently they can seriously dent a car if you hit one. Speaking of which, one of the team’s soigneur’s hit a koala.”
Some are calling the fourth stage of the tour ‘the moment of truth,’ with a tough 16 km climb up to Mt. Buller and the finish.
“Tomorrow we are ready to be on the attack before the climb up to Mt. Buller,” Reistad said. “That will lead us into the time trial and the final stage.”
By Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Cycling Team

After riding 120 km from Inverloch to Warragul, Bernard Van Ulden of the Jelly Belly Team lost the KOM jersey by a mere two points. And that’s not all the team lost.
At the end of Stage Two of Australia’s 2008 Sun Tour, the Jelly Belly Team has only four out of seven riders left. Time cuts and health problems have forced three members of the team to call it quits with four stages to go.
But Team Director Danny Van Haute said it’s not all bad. One of the best things about cycling is the energy from the fans, and Jelly Belly fans can be found all over the world.
“It’s really amazing actually,” Van Haute said. “We drive official Lexus vehicles all decked out in Jelly Belly beans in the states. But over here we have a car from the race promoter with maybe eight stickers on it, yet we still constantly hear, ‘Go Jelly Belly!’ We have fans everywhere, even in Australia.”
Two other Jelly Belly Team sponsors, GT and Champion Systems, are helping to spread the Jelly Belly word at the race expo. At their company booths they are handing out the coveted team post cards and samples of Jelly Belly beans to fans of all ages.
Stage Three from Warragul to Marysville will cover more than 135 km of forests and farmlands. This stage includes the first long climb out of the tour and a long technical descent into Marysville.
By Molly Saunders