ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
If our Diablo S is the best bike you have never heard of, then Norm Alvis has got to be one of the very best bike racers you never heard of! Norm complied one of the longest and most accomplished race resumes in American cycling! However, Norm is so modest about his accomplishments that he is often overlooked-except in the race peloton where others gave Norm a lot of respect as he could always wind it up in an instant! In over ten years of elite and pro level competition, Norm compiled a long and enviable list of accomplishments!
If you met Norm now, you probably would never know that he was on the USA Olympic team for the Seoul games. Or, that Norm rode the Tour De France’s with the great 7-11 squad that put USA athletes on the map as cyclists. Oh, he also rode 3 Giro’s and all the classics such as Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubiax, etc.! After Europe, Norm rode for powerhouse Saturn squad, and set the hour record in 1997! Now, the next time you are out riding, try to get your bike to 30mph on level ground. If you can do this, then try to think about doing this for an hour, and you will get an idea of how fast Norm could ride! At the regional TT series, Norm will still pop a time that equals around 30 mph! A while back, Norm saw a Bastigone named wheel from HED (Liege-Bastigone is an early season classic in Europe) in our showroom one day and commented about how difficult the conditions made the race one year. At first you kinda toss it off as idle conversation, or someone simply showing off a bit of race history knowledge. After all, there are a few guys such as Joe Lindsey and Patrick Brady who have exceptional knowledge about race history, and can recall amazing details. But as you listen a little more, it hits you—this guy isn’t talking about viewing the race, or studying the race, he was IN the race! And, he was in hundreds of them! 
Unlike a lot of bike racers, Norm has a college degree, and he puts it to use working as an investment manager for Wells Fargo Private Bank. Now that cycling is becoming the “new golf” for business, every now and then Norm gets an opportunity to pitch a new client on a ride. If you are that client, all we can tell you is forget about tossing out the old city limit line challenge. Even though Norm rides now pretty much for fun, he can still crank out 400 watts on a bad day, so you better be eating the Wheaties before you decide to wind it up!
Sampson was first introduced to Norm in 1988 as we were a sponsor of the USA Olympic team that year with our then brand-new clipless pedals, and for years Norm was on teams that had different sponsors. As luck would have it, we were able to have Norm race a Psychic a few years ago as part of the research and development—so we knew it was tough! Norm used mostly Sampson components as his teams provided him with bikes, until last year. Norm felt his bike form a previous sponsor wasn’t helping out enough, and Norm wanted a bike that was tough, light, smooth and powerful. The result was we built Norm a bright yellow Diablo S. The yellow is so Norm’s 5 young kids can spot him moving through the crit fields at 30 mph! As they say, the proof is in the pudding—Norm and the Diablo S delivered a big sprint win in Denver last year, with the family cheering him on at the finish! Thanks Norm, and we hope to see you winning a few more events this year too! |